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Water Powered Clock

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May 16, 2011
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May 16, 2011
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I was wondering if it was possible to make some sort of clock that's powered by water alone? I'm not sure how water works exactly, I'm sure you'd have to know to be able to build this, but I think that water carries a super small current or something like that?

Anyway, here's a picture of a water powered clock to get the ball rolling

cropped_%20Water_Clock_%20Blue%20_Pouring.jpg
 

(*steve*)

¡sǝpodᴉʇuɐ ǝɥʇ ɹɐǝɥd
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Jan 21, 2010
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In all likelihood there are dissimilar metals in there and the water acts as an electrolyte.

There may be something in there to add ions to the water to make it conductive too.
 

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May 16, 2011
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I see, I'm not a huge science buff, but if there were two dissimilar metals in the water, to force it to act as an electrolyte, then the water would act as the positive? or would it act as a battery in the sense that the positive terminal would be one metal, and the negative would be the second metal?
 

(*steve*)

¡sǝpodᴉʇuɐ ǝɥʇ ɹɐǝɥd
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Jan 21, 2010
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The two dissimilar metals would be the terminals of the battery. The water would be the electrolyte between them.

Similar to sticking a coper and zinc nail in a lemon. In this case the water plays the part of the lemon. It's not nearly as conductive, so my conjecture that there is some source of ions there as well (a block of salt?) to make the water more conductive.
 
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