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A lemon can be used as a battery, and is often used to teach kids the basics about electricity and chemistry. This is due to their acidic and electrolytic properties.

What happens to a lemon when it goes flat, does it drain like an ordinary battery? Once the lemon is flat, can it be recharged like a rechargeable battery? How does this affect the lemons decomposition?

Martin - マーチン
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Steve
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    A lemon does not discharge, or recharge, or go flat; it is metal that is the source of all charge-related phenomena here. – Ivan Neretin Jun 03 '20 at 09:24
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    Is this any better? Could you explain this a little, maybe provide an answer if you have one – Steve Jun 03 '20 at 09:24
  • See this one: https://chemistry.stackexchange.com/a/80252/79678 and search for “lemon battery” here. Minor point: technically, it is a lemon cell, since a battery is two or more cells. – Ed V Jun 03 '20 at 12:25
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    It is the same thing as my answer here: https://chemistry.stackexchange.com/a/116171/79678. All the lemon cell does is inefficiently tap some of the energy resulting from the reaction of the metal anode, e.g., zinc, with the citric acid in the lemon juice. The citric acid gets consumed, the metal gets consumed (oxidized), and the lemon is then contaminated with metal ions. The lemon cell is not rechargeable. – Ed V Jun 03 '20 at 14:18
  • Could also be a dried-out lemon, losing contact. Give it a squeeze. – DrMoishe Pippik Jun 03 '20 at 21:07
  • Please also see this answer: https://chemistry.stackexchange.com/a/9332/79678. – Ed V Jun 03 '20 at 21:34
  • @DrMoishePippik I just about dropped my flask of colored water and dry ice when I saw your “Give it a squeeze.” comment! ;-) I wonder why no one uses grapefruits ... – Ed V Jun 03 '20 at 23:54

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