Do batteries pick up staples This is for a science project. The question is what type of battery picks up the most staples and for how long. I can't even get the battery to pick up 1 staple Help?

Answer 1

Perhaps the experiment requires making an electromagnet using the battery as the power source. Tightly wind a couple of dozen turns (all in the same way) of insulated wire around a big nail. Use something like small speaker wire. What has been constructed is an electromagnet, and it should turn "on" when the poles of the battery are touched (taped?) to the ends of the wire. (Strip insulation back as necessary.) When the circuit is completed, current flows through the wire and turns the nail into an electromagnet. The nail should pick up the staples. AAA, AA, C and D cells should all pick up about the same amount of staples at first. All those cells have the same output voltage (if they're all good). Read the labels on the case of the batteries to find out the output voltage. The larger battery has more energy stored inside. Because in this type of battery it's stored in the form of chemical energy, more chemicals = more stored energy. That larger battery should last longer than the smaller ones.