Can you power an iPod with an onion?

Sadly, our post-apocalyptic wanderer is in for a very disappointing evening. He or she will soon discover that attempting to power an iPod with a Gatorade-soaked onion doesn't work. Many Internet users ­today have made the same discovery after viewing the video in question, produced by the Web site HouseholdHacker.com.­

First, let's examine the idea of powering any electronic device with a fruit or vegetable. The concept is believable because you can create a battery with a few potatoes. This experiment is a science class favorite because it helps demonstrate how the galvanic cells that make up a car battery work.

Some batteries use galvanic cells to transfer chemical energy into electric energy. They depend on two metals, a cathode or positive terminal (such as copper) and an anode or negative terminal (such as zinc). These are placed in an electrically conductive solution that allows ions to travel freely between the two metals. The solution is typically an acid. Car batteries use sulfuric acid, but potatoes contain phosphoric acid, which also works. The acid steadily eats away at the zinc, a chemical reaction that releases spare zinc electrons. These electrons then join with spare hydrogen ions in the acid to create hydrogen gas.

Meanwhile, the copper isn't doing anything in its acid bath -- that is until you connect it directly to the zinc using a thin, conductive wire. The spare zinc electrons are still intent on forming hydrogen gas, but they have an easier time doing it with the hydrogen surrounding the zinc anode. So the electrons from the copper cathode travel through the wire to get to the zinc. Batteries exploit this flow of electrons, allowing us to use their combined electricity. To learn more, read How Batteries Work.

Potato batteries typically use a zinc galvanized nail and a copper penny. The two metals are stuck into the potato and connected with a conductive wire. The potato isn't the only supermarket item that meets the mandatory chemical requirements. You can conduct the experiment with any fruit or vegetable -- or an electrolyte solution such as Gatorade, which also contains phosphoric acid.­

While you'd risk damaging your iPo­d, you can connect your iPod to one of these fruit o­r vegetable batteries and get the device to register a charge [source: The Naked Scientists]. The Household Hacker method, however, falls flat for two main reasons:

­Hurt by Household Hacker's inaccuracies? Wipe away those onion tears. On the next page, we'll discover why someone would create such a misleading video.

Are the filmmakers at Household Hacker horrible at science, or do they just want everyone's iPods to smell like onions? If you're wondering why someone would go to the trouble of making such a misleading video, you have to realize that their videos are examples of disinformation.

­Disinformation isn't just false information; it's intentionally incorrect data that's purposely spread to influence public opinion. This takes many forms, such as disinformation fed by a government to its citizens. Other forms, however, fall more into the rea­lms of satire, culture jamming and reality hacking. While such efforts are generally humorous, the added result is always the same: to urge the public to question accepted facts about the world by feeding them a believable lie.

The Household Hacker Web site hosts multiple videos in which an unseen, reassuring narrator guides the viewer through seemingly plausible do-it-yourself experiments. Videos claim to instruct viewers on how to bake a turkey with only a light bulb and some DVDs, how to turn an iPod into a Taser and even how to construct "hover shoes" by gluing magnets onto a pair of sneakers. Despite the ludicrous nature of these claims, many readers buy into the ideas -- either applauding the hackers for finding such cheap and entertaining shortcuts or actually attempting to carry out the experiments themselves.

If you read the user comments on the YouTube pages, you'll find numerous complaints from viewers who tried the experiments and failed to get the desired results. Various bloggers, columnists and debunkers have also failed to fly on hover shoes and power iPods on Gatorade-soaked produce.

If you actually read the Household Hacker YouTube channel, you'll find the people behind it are open about their dealings in disinformation. Their profile states, "Whether for fun or practicality; we want you to think about everything you read, hear and even see with your own eyes. You must challenge, test and innovate in every way you can think of."

The message is simple: Don't believe something just because it happens to pop up on the Internet. Don't buy into a concept just because it's presented to you as fact. Instead, test theories yourself and question the world around you. More than 6 million people viewed the video on charging iPods with onions and Gatorade. Millions may have been completely duped, but many more were forced to explore their claims and discover how batteries actually work.

So if you find yourself wandering a forsaken Earth, scavenging up old iPods for your listening pleasure, be sure to gather lots of produce, pennies and nails as well. And don't waste too much time building hover shoes.

Explore the links on the next page to learn more about iPods and batteries.