If you are ever on your own in the wilderness with only a lemon, zinc nails, copper clips, wire, and steel wool in hand, then don’t panic. These are the only tools you will need to start a campfire as Swedish YouTuber NorthSurvival demonstrates in the video below.
While the above scenario will practically never happen in real life, the video is still a cool demonstration of how powerful and crazy science is. It’s a quick lesson in electrochemical reactions and circuitry!
In the video, NorthSurvival sticks zinc nails and copper clips into a lemon. These act as “electrodes,” and when two electrodes of different kinds of metal are connected by a conductive material (lemon juice), they generate electricity. Touching the exposed ends of the wire with steel wool completes a circuit and generates a spark. This spark can then be used to ignite a piece of paper.
While this isn’t a must-know survival hack, it’s still really cool to watch.
Please SHARE this awesome demonstration if you love science!
