A 9-volt battery and battery clip can be purchased at an electronics or hardware store.
Platinum wires are recommended because other substances, such as copper, will react with the oxygen or the salt to pollute your solution with the products of this reaction. High quality stainless steel can also be used as it will not react as readily.
The shaping rod can be a nail, pick, wire coat hanger or lead on a battery tester.
Using the stripping portion of the wire cutters, strip the insulation off of one end of the cut wires. Only strip the ends of the leads you cut off the battery clip. Make sure that you have parental supervision while you’re cutting the wires.
Twist the red battery clip lead and the red clipped wire lead around the top end of one of the coils, leaving most of the coil free. Twist the black battery clip lead and black clipped wire lead around the top end of the remaining coil.
You can use clear plastic tape or electrical tape. It doesn’t matter as long as the electrodes are firmly attached to the stick.
Regular tap water has impurities in it such as minerals that can serve as electrolytes if you don’t have any salt handy. Add a tablespoon of salt or baking soda for each cup of water. Stir until fully dissolved.
If necessary, tape the stick in place so the electrodes stay in the water.
You may see a small amount of voltage at this point, such as 0. 01 volts, although the voltmeter should read zero at this point. You can also connect a small bulb, such as a flashlight bulb, or a light-emitting diode (LED).
Notice the bubbles forming around each electrode. One electrode has bubbles of hydrogen, while the other electrode has oxygen bubbles. The battery source does not need to be completely attached the clip, just touched to the battery terminals to begin the reaction.
A light bulb or LED may appear bright initially, but will quickly dim and then gradually fade away.
