Development of Teaching Material Using a Wooden Battery

Abstract

Low-density wood like Japanese cedar can absorb and contain over twice the weight of water owing to its porous structure, which resembles a bundle of straws with high porosity. Liquid injection process can facilitate effective absorption of the salt component into the lumen of a wooden cell, by mechanically changing the shape of the cell. A wooden battery, composed of zinc (Zn) in the anode, copper (Cu) in the cathode and salt (NaCl) in the electrolyte, was developed before introducing it as teaching material. The final goal of this research is to propose the use of wooden battery as the compound teaching material in junior high school. The wooden battery was found to generate 770mV of power over 20 days, enough to light LED in optimal conditions. In addition, one transistor AM radio powered by wooden battery suggested as the compound teaching material, delivered satisfactory performance and continued to work for 3 days, thus proving its effectiveness and potential.