I was watching this video about potato batteries: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FITxr6bJmd8
He ends up connecting them in 3 pairs (parallel) of two (in series). This way, by connecting them in parallel, the voltage is not increased but the current is.
This confuses me. V=IR, so the resistance is what determines the current, given a constant voltage. So wouldn't it be more beneficial to connect them all in series, to get the voltage as high as possible?
Best Answer
"Real" batteries are capable of maintaining their voltage while delivering significant current.
However, the potato batteries are not capable of delivering much current - they have a relatively high internal resistance, so the voltage will drop significantly when they are delivering current. Putting the potatoes in parallel doubles the available current.