Fun Renewable Energy Experiment using mashed potato.
Electric current is the movement of electrons from one atom to another in a conductor. Inserting the two metal electrodes into the mashed potato causes a chemical reaction to occur resulting in current. The potato does not participate directly in the reaction. It is there rather as an electrolyte to facilitate the transport of the zinc and copper ions in the solution, while keeping the copper and zinc electrodes apart. The potato contains phosphoric acid (H3PO4), which facilitates the electro-chemical reaction of zinc with copper