Explore the power of microbes with the MudWatt™ Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC) Classic Kit. Simply fill this kit with soil from your backyard (or someone else's backyard), along with anything you find in your refrigerator. Within days the attached LED light will start to blink using only the power produced by the electricity-generating microbes in your soil!
Track the growth of your MudWatt's power and bacteria population and unlock new chapters of a comic with the free MudWatt Explorer App (available on iTunes and Google Play)!
The MudWatt is the perfect educational kit for classrooms and hobbyists since it incorporates a wide range of scientific topics. It's easy to incorporate the MudWatt into a class discussion on microbiology, soil chemistry, electrochemistry, or electrical engineering.
Microbial Fuel Cells (MFC) are bio-electrical devices that harness the natural metabolisms of microbes to produce electrical power. Within the MFC, microbes munch up the sugars and other nutrients in their surrounding environment and release a portion of the energy contained within that food in the form of electricity.
Microbes are ubiquitous throughout virtually all soils and sediments on the planet. Among these diverse communities of microbes are particular species with unique metabolic abilities that enable them to expel electrons onto oxidized metal compounds, such as rust. In a sense, these so-called “electrogenic” microbes are able to “breathe” metal compounds much like humans and other organisms breathe oxygen. MFCs employ these unique abilities by providing the electrogenic microbes with a certain configuration of two inert, graphite-based electrodes placed in environments with different levels of oxygen.
✔ 1x MudWatt Anode
✔ 1x MudWatt Cathode
✔ 1x MudWatt Vessel
✔ 1x MudWatt Blinker and Clock Circuits
✔ 1x Educational / Instruction Booklet
✔ 1x Pair of Nitrile Gloves
✔ Free Access to the MudWatt NGSS Teacher's Guide
✔ Free MudWatt Explorer App (available on iTunes and Google Play)!
The Hacker Pack lets you interact with your MudWatt in a fun and exploratory way. The included blinker circuitry gives you a visual indication that your microbes are hard at work. The faster it blinks, the happier your microbes are! After your MudWatt has powered-up, hook up the included digital clock/thermometer, completely powered by microbes in your dirt! The MudWatt HACKER PACK includes a Digital Clock/Thermometer circuitry, LED blinker circuitry, Voltage-boosting microchip, and a 8-pin hacking socket.
Enjoy discovery with one of the most creative, interdisciplinary STEM educational toys for the modern world: microbiology, chemistry, and electrical engineering all in one kit!
The MudWatt Anode is designed to maximize active surface area to foster a healthy community of microbes. When the Anode is placed within the MudWatt, electricity-generating microbes will develop on its surface.
• Material: Graphite Fiber Felt
• Thickness: 0.2” (0.5 cm)
• Diameter: 3.15” (8 cm)
• Connection: 9” Titanium Wire
• Insulation Color: Green
The MudWatt Cathode is designed for maximum active surface area for the cathodic reaction to take place. At the Cathode, oxygen and protons interact with the electrons being generated by microbes at the Anode, forming water. This completes the circuit of the MudWatt Microbial Fuel Cell, and allows electrical current to be generated.
• Material: Graphite Fiber Felt
• Thickness: 0.4” (1 cm)
• Diameter: 3.35” (8.5 cm)
• Connection: 7.5” Titanium Wire
• Insulation Color: Orange
Advanced Intro to Microbial Fuel Cells
What Kind of Soil is Best to Power Microbial Fuel Cells?
Presentation: Intro to Microbial Fuel Cells
NSF MudWatt Module
Microbial Fuel Cell Homework Assignment
Microbe Pre-Assessment Activity
MudWatt Power and Population Calculator
MudWatt Assembly Tutorial | HackerPack Assembly Tutorial |
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