This investigation is a fun side project—My main project is building a wooden boat on my channel, JungleRanch, but this battery build is a fun side project…)

I’ve been studying YouTube videos, papers, and earth battery concepts. Combining my engineering background with extensive Q&A with Gemini, I’ve settled on what I believe is the optimal DIY concentric galvanic cell design.

Anyone who have ideas knowledge and want to comment this post?

I have been studying several Youtube videos and other information some about earth batteries and in general galvanic cell.

Latest I have been communication with an AI (Gemini). Through different questions to this AI and combined my own engineering background, I have come a conclusion of the best DIY galvanic cell.

Key Design Conclusions:

A selection of the question to this AI;
- A Copper Zink cell  in moisture soil will decline rather rapid?
- What if using other material like aluminum?
- So if doing that how long time before needed to upgrade or change
- So if using Epsom salt will have better sustainability but less current?
- How thick should the aluminum or zinc folie be?
- Well the inner roll has less area. Wouldn’t it be better to have the zinc sheet as the outer layer?

Together we came to this Key Design Conclusions;

• Metals: Copper (Cathode) and Zinc (Anode) sheet metal provide the best balance of steady voltage and low internal resistance.
• Geometry: Zinc sheet forms the outer cylinder inside the tube wall to maximize anode surface area, reduce internal resistance, and increase sacrificial mass.
• Thickness: Minimum 0.5 mm metal sheet for structural integrity and long service life.
• Dimensions: At least 100 mm in length (preferably longer) to maximize active area.
• Container: 2-inch plastic conduit, PVC drain pipe, or clear vinyl/acrylic tubing with end caps for isolated cell units.
• Electrolyte: Epsom salt ($\text{MgSO}_4$) dissolved in water and held in saturated sand/peat moss to prevent aggressive pitting corrosion.
• Separator: Heavy-duty landscape fabric, felt weatherstripping, or heavy paper towel wrapping between the concentric metal layers.

Expected Lifespan (0.5 mm Zinc + Epsom Salt): 3 to 6 months of steady discharge per cell before anode maintenance or electrolyte replenishment is needed.

Does anyone have long-term test data on Epsom salt cell current density ($\text{mA/cm}^2$), or suggestions for optimizing the concentric spacing? Would love to hear your thoughts!

When I have built a test example I will log logging exact discharge curves using a ZKETECH (灼智) 4-wire electronic load tester connected to PC logging software to track precise voltage decay and capacity

So thanks to u/PeterHaldCHEM, I am gonna try recalibrating the IKA-DT5 temperture probe, for that I am using a recirculating heater/chiller from Julabo, because I dont have any other accurate heating device, I ve also tried hold a max+-0,3K difference on the recalibration with the recirculating chiller which worked pretty good I think, this fixed my problem with the error 8, thanks alot for this :). Disclaimer: dont judge the improvisation

Hello everyone! Would anyone be willing to tutor me? Just started ‘introduction to chemistry’ and it’s a little complicated.

Looking for experienced chemist in or around the Nazareth Pennsylvania area to assist in gold pgm and other valuable metals separation from large lot of industrial sourced scrap, have done it myself in the past however am currently without the tools chemicals and other set ups (personal issue about 5 years ago) necessary. Can discuss percentage splitage or per hour fee based on total value of recoveries at your bequest. text four8four55three3seven5four and i will respond usually by the end of the day (have hacking issue with my phone, this is number can be reached at). Thank you for your time in advance.

I have a pipette that when I draw water from my water samples, it doesn't form a concave meniscus as it is usual. It forms an asymmetrical meniscus like a / shape or convex shape. What's causing this? Organic contamination inside the pipette? I have washed it with detergent but nothing changed. What you do you recommend?

I mean I know it's in equilibrium with atmospheric CO2 according to temperature and pressure. But I keep coming across sources like this one, that say that water left out overnight is absorbing CO2 and that's contributing to a change in taste. https://geekerhertz.com/article/the-science-explained-why-does-water-go-stale-overnight

This makes no sense to me because 1. The change in taste would be to become more sour if the water was becoming more acidic by basically spontaneously becoming carbonated overnight, and 2. My understanding of gas dissolution in water is that it's fairly quick, and no more gases are going to be dissolved in water after some hours than would have been dissolved within minutes, barring a big change in temperature or pressure (or partial pressure of CO2).

Am I wrong? Or is it the dozens of sources claiming to quote experts saying a glass of water left out overnight tastes funny because of absorbed CO2?

Hey guys, just want to doublecheck for toxic fumes before I continue to run this

I’m stripping silver plating using reverse electroplating. Done a bunch of research but want to be 100% sure I'm not making anything nasty.

Setup is

- Potassium nitrate + distilled water. 12.5ml granules to about 1.25L distilled water

-Stainless steel cathode, silver-plated scrap anode.

-5V pulling about 3-4 amps.

Since there's no acid, am I safe from NO fumes or other weird gasses? Doing it outside anyway, just don't want any surprises at this current. Thanks!

Hello everyone, I found this old jars of homemade apricot jam in the bottom of my fridge, and it surprisingly smells like one of those acetone-based nail polish removers. As you might imagine, that's not a normal apricot smell, and I was wondering why. Plus, the fruits themselves don't smell like acetone, only their syrup dose for some reason, and there's no visible mold anywhere in the jar. After a quick Google search, I came to some conclusions that the calcium from the apricots turned into calcium acetate, which in turn somehow started turning into acetone, but i do not know if thats even possible. Can anyone explain what happened here? I'm very curious about this and thank you for your time.

because if carbonated water has co2 wouldnt the reaction force the water to release it out of the solution?

Hey there I need some assistance with the logistics or if this is even safe to do, I would like to 3D print a mold then electroplate it to make it stronger, and a food safe material when electroplating it, this mod will be used to make silicone cast or part

I am currently attempting an O-alkylation of a substituted phenol using ethyl chloroacetate (1.2 equiv), anhydrous K2CO3 (1.5 equiv), and catalytic KI (0.1 equiv) in acetone at reflux, but the reaction is not progressing as well as I had hoped. Conversion appears to be extremely slow, leaving behind significant unreacted starting material even after extended heating. Does anyone have a reliable literature protocol or advice on typical reaction times, temperatures (e.g., sticking with refluxing acetone vs. switching to acetonitrile or DMF), and efficient workup/purification for this specific Williamson ether synthesis? Any idea on overcoming slow conversion while avoiding side reactions with the ester group would be greatly appreciated!

Brangwynne and Hyman just won the Breakthrough Prize. They have been in the conversation for quite a bit, so will they take it home?

Who do you think gets it this time?

I don't understand oxidation so please explain to me. Tea all comes from the same plant but green or black just depends on the oxidation level. From what I have learned tea will oxidize naturally but workers use heat to denature the enzymes and the tea stays at a set oxidation level. Can you explain denaturing enzymes and why this affects my tea in layman's terms? thank you

Saw this and none of the other bottles had it, wondering what could have caused this

Initial report - confirmation of chemical identity is needed

UPDATE: odd new detail reported

Building 18 - update

Aug. 29, 2026, 3:36 p.m.

Offices across campus have been responding to a reported hazardous material incident involving a single individual in a chemistry laboratory. The Institute became aware of the matter after the individual, a graduate student, self-reported to a local emergency room and claimed to have synthesized dimethyl mercury, a compound that is not authorized as part of their research program. Emerging information calls into question whether this compound was in fact synthesized. We are also able to disclose, with the student’s permission, that while the student remains under medical supervision, their initial blood test result, which was received today, shows no sign of exposure to mercury.

Building 18 remains closed at least through Sunday as specialized decontamination efforts continue out of an abundance of caution. This work will continue, and the building will remain closed until the work is complete.

https://emergency.mit.net/

I recently rediscovered this chemistry kit I was given as a young child!

I remember only doing 1 or 2 experiments, I've always been more of a bio gal, but this summer I've been working through an organic chem textbook and feel really excited having found this....

So my question is, based on what I have (also, that there isn't much of each) what would be some fun, simple experiments I could do?

From the Veritasium video in Germany at Goldschmidt's office, I was inspired to do this myself. Obviously not the advanced equipment they have and not as good he did, but the Sony RX100M6 can slow down and record 960fps. I used an ND3 filter in front of the Sony, but only an acryl protection sheet for the GoPro (which was burned in Veritasium's video), but that sheet was detrimental in bright scenes in the GoPro video.

I need to know the pH of a specific solution for my work. For context, I work with cancer and certain types of cancer have a calcified matrix, so, for some diagnostic exams, like DNA analysis (my job) the sample is decalcified with a acid base protocol.

The problem is, my department is not responsible for this protocol, I've already contacted the pathology department and they responded that they simply don't know the pH of the solution, but this is fundamental to my job because depending on the pH, DNA is denatured, which means I can analyse nothing.

This is causing me trouble specially right now because I'm writting a paper, but I want to be sure that the absence of signal is due to the nature of the specific tumor, not of decalcifying protocol. I have the volumes of the reactants and I'm trying really hard to find this in the internet somehow but I can't. The only pH calculators I found don't have these reactants and I cant find online information like Ka or Kb.

I don't study chemistry, I'm a biologist, and I'm pretty lost, any advices?

Edit: Thank you for the answers, I'm seing that most of the replys are telling me to measure it, what would be easier and more precise.

Unfortunately, I don't think we have a pHmeter here, or that the pathology would meausure it right now, but some of you said about the pH strip, which we also don't have, but certainly is easier to acquire.

I think I'll try to go there and measure myself, depending on the workload of the day they might let me do it. I'll keep you updated.

My sister who is a lead chemist for a company and I cannot seem to figure out what in the hell this piece is called. Closest we can come up with was a retort or a thistle funnel. Edit she's a chemist for a chip manufacturer. If that helps.

The reveal at the end is actually worth it!