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Q:
Will apricots conduct electricity?
- Allison (age 10)
Hampton VA
A:
Alison -
Yes, apricots will conduct electricity, like most other fruits and
vegetables. Although they are mostly made up of water, which by itself
is not a very good electrical conductor, they also contain acids, salts
etc. These greatly increase the concentration of electrically charged
particles (ions) in the water, and those carry the electrical current.
One interesting question might be whether the way apricots are
made of cells changes the conductivity much. The cells are surrounded
by membranes and cell walls that don't conduct well. I wonder if
mushed-up apricots, with many of the cells broken open, might conduct
better than intact apricots. This should be a fun experiment.
-Tamara and Mike
(published on 10/22/2007)
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