More than likely, you're already familiar with redox (reduction-oxidation) chemistry in your daily life. Looking around the home, you'll find examples readily available. Batteries create electrical current through redox reactions of various metals. (Rechargeable batteries use electricity to reverse the reaction, so they can be used again.) Nails, cheap silverware, and anything else made with iron may show signs of rust - a redox reaction between iron and oxygen. Getting slightly fancier, the same type of reaction causes silver to tarnish, and gives copper that green patina. Bleach destroys stains through a redox process, as do other "oxy-" cleaners. Using peroxide on one's hair is the same chemistry as well. Back in the kitchen, that apple you sliced earlier is probably turning brown - a redox reaction that you could have prevented had you dipped the exposed edge in a citrus juice (orange, lemon....). The juice contains vitamin C, a well-known anti-oxidant which functions as a barrier, undergoing a redox reaction itself rather than whatever it is covering.

Now, knowing that redox reactions surround you, wouldn't it be great to set up a few of your own? You can, but since some reactions or ingredients also present the potential for injury, make sure to protect yourself when appropriate, with eye protection, aprons, gloves, or just getting to a safe distance if necessary. Here are a few ideas for you to explore.

#1 Potato Battery

Potato batteries are something of a classic, using the potato as an electrolyte bridge between a pair of electrodes (zinc and copper, traditionally). A small voltage results from oxidation of the zinc and reduction at the copper surface. A single potato is usually enough for a minimal application like an LED display clock. For more voltage, a number of potatoes can be connected in series. For a quick visual, enjoy this young scientist as he builds a two-potato system. With enough potatoes, anything is possible. Just see what five hundred spuds can do here.

#2 Burning Marshmallows

Fire (combustion) is always a redox process. The fuel is oxidized, oxygen from the air (and the fuel itself, if oxygen is a part of its formula) is reduced. Marshmallows are mainly sugar and air (with gelatin and whatever additives get thrown in). Sugar is a fantastic fuel (it gives human a lot of their energy for that matter), containing a good deal of oxygen to begin with, and the puffed nature of the marshmallow ensures that there is oxygen readily available throughout as well. As a result, one the burning gets

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