In our continuing quest to replace the nation's current lighting needs with glowing fruits and vegetables, we're pleased to bring you the "glowing pickle project." Yes, that's right -- a glowing PICKLE! Unlike
the glowing tomato project, this variation doesn't require you to inject lethal amounts of chemicals into your
proto-bulb. It does, however, make use of unhealthy amounts of electricity, so extreme caution should be used.
Materials
- A big ol' juicy pickle
- Two metal forks
- A couple holding rods (or something to suspend your forked pickle that isn't conductive)
- An old extension cord
- Heat shrink tubing, or electrical tape
Tools
- Variable power supply (the original tutorial uses a variac, so as not to blow a fuse in your outlet)
- Wire cutters
Time
Less than an hour.
Steps
- Jab your forks into each end of the pickle, but make sure they're not touching. If the forks touch, they'll arc when you pass current through them.
- Snip off the female end (i.e. the end that does NOT plug into the outlet) from your extension cord, and separate the two wires so they can reach each end of your forks.
- Strip the ends of the exposed wires and attach them to the forks.
- Use your heat shrink tubing or electrical tape to secure the wires to the forks.
- Place your forked pickle on your non-conductive holder, and plug the extension cord into your power supply.
- Slowly increase the voltage with your variable power supply.
- Sit back and enjoy the (stinky) show!
If everything goes as planned, your pickle should start to heat up and smoke. As the salts inside the pickle begin to burn, they'll release their energy in a display of red and orange flashes. Cool! Apparently burning a pickle doesn't produce the most pleasant of smells, so you might want to do this in a well-ventilated area, unless, of course, you're trying to roll your own "
saumure flambée" air freshener.
You can see the original tutorial
here, or skip to the good stuff and
see the glowing pickle in action.
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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)
I cannot say this is safe, but I have done this OUTSIDE at parties using nails instead of forks, nothing else attaching the wire to the nails, laying the pickle on the ground, and plugging the extension cord (I used the cord from a broken tape deck) into an outlet. The STINK cannot be overemphasized though, as this was a very exciting chemistry lab experiment in high school but every year you KNEW it was that day. Thank you Council Rock High School!
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