Guide
www.SquishyCircuits.com Page 3
BackgroundKnowledge
What is a Battery?
A battery is a device that produces electricity through an electrochemical reaction between two metal
electrodes and an electrolyte.
In this project, we have two different electrodes, one made out of zinc (the galvanized nail) and one
made out of copper (the wire). At a chemical level, the zinc ‘wants’ electrons more than the copper
does, so when they are both placed in the electrolyte (conductive dough) electrons start moving from
the copper to the zinc. These moving electrons are electricity!
In all batteries, the two electrodes are called the cathode and anode. The cathode ‘wants’ the electrons
and the anode ‘gives’ the electrons. So, the Squishy battery the copper wire is the cathode and the
galvanized nail is the anode.
This project is very similar to the lemon battery or potato battery experiments. There are many great
explanataions and tutorials online that you check out for more information. The SciShow has a good
explanation of the chemistry on Youtube: https://youtu.be/GhbuhT1GDpI
Credit: SciShow