The narrator was challenged to create electricity to power an electric carbon fiber dual motor Volkswagen supercar for a race from Pikes Peak to the top of a high mountain in Colorado. They attempted to build the largest lemon battery in the world but found it inefficient. They then installed solar panels on their garage and devised a solution to prevent dust accumulation. After successfully charging the battery, they planned to deliver it to the racing team in Colorado.
1. The challenge was to create electricity to power an electric carbon fiber dual motor Volkswagen supercar.
2. The car was for a 12.5-mile race from Pikes Peak to a high mountain in Colorado.
3. The idea was to charge the car using a lemon battery.
4. The intention was to build the largest lemon battery in the world.
5. The Guinness record was consulted for this purpose.
6. The construction was estimated to take about three days.
7. They used strips of copper and zinc assembled into racks for the battery system.
8. The first half of the racks were connected in parallel and in series with the second half of the racks.
9. 1,232 lemons were used.
10. The largest lemon battery in the world was built to determine its energy production.
11. Lemon batteries produce energy through an electrochemical reaction using zinc and copper in lemon juice.
12. The total energy harvested from the lemons for the Volkswagen racing team equaled that of a single double-A battery.
13. Volkswagen provided a 48-kilowatt battery for the race.
14. The lemon battery's energy was added to this 48-kilowatt battery.
15. A zip line with regenerative braking was built to charge a drill battery.
16. Riding the zip line helps charge the battery.
17. The energy from the lemons and zip line was insufficient for the 200 football fields long race.
18. Solar panels were installed to harness solar energy.
19. Dust on solar panels reduces their efficiency.
20. A solution to keep the solar panels clean was devised using an irrigation system.
21. The solar panels successfully charged the battery to full capacity.