[Image above] Credit: Mark Rober, YouTube

By now you should be somewhat familiar with Mark Rober, the former NASA engineer turned YouTube star.

He has made several appearances on Ceramic Tech Today, where we reported on his giant super soaker, his liquid sand hot tub, his family picnic suggestion, and his insights into the science behind carnival games.

Today, it’s all about finding the right battery to power a Volkswagen electric car for the Pikes Peak Hill Climb.

In the video, Rober and his accomplice William Osman attempt to make a VERY LARGE lemon battery using copper (electron-attracting) and zinc (electron-repelling) electrodes submerged in 1,232 lemons.

Unfortunately, their lemon battery fails to provide the needed power for Volkswagen’s car.

So Plan B involves a zip line and a bunch of kids attempting to add power to a portable drill battery, to which Rober planned to add to a giant self-driving 48 kWh battery that Volkswagen sent to him.

But it still wasn’t enough.

And Plan C? What’s left but the obvious? Rober probably should have checked out the first paragraph of this website before spending time on his lemon battery.

But hey, it makes for great video.

Watch how Rober went from lemons to solar in the 12-minute video below.

YouTube video

Credit: Mark Rober, YouTube

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Faye Oney

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