The Royal School of Chemistry (RCS) is an international organization that connects thousands of scientists together. It hosted a record attempt in Manchester that was broadcast on Sky News, to highlight the importance of energy storage and address the need for new innovations to achieve a zero-carbon world.
With the help of battery expert Professor Saiful Islam and science presenter Fran Scott, lemons were turned into batteries by cutting the lemon in half and attaching strips of zinc and copper to both ends. For the record, 2,923 lemons were used to generate an electrifying 2,307.8 volts, breaking the record for the highest voltage from a fruit battery on 15th October 2021.
As Professor Islam explains, the lemon becomes a battery with "the lemon juice [acting as] an electrolyte [while] zinc and copper are the electrodes". Going further, the lemon juice (electrolyte) allows the ions to flow from the strip of zinc to the strip of copper.
To verify the attempt, the lemons were placed together on shelves and attached to a voltmeter to determine the exact voltage.
Source: guinnessworldrecords.com
