Where was that bargain bag of steel bolts? I needed to fix everything together. I had everything ready, but the bolts. I searched the house. I found them, at last. I laid out ten M5 bolts on the bench.
It was getting dark, I needed a drink. Funny idea, I did something strange. Why I don’t know, I blessed the bolts. Good idea, I went for a drink or five.
The next morning I pushed the bolts to the side of the bench, time to finish the job. To my surprise the bolts sparked when I pushed them together. Odd. I took three bolts and arranged them as a triangle on the benchtop – more sparks.
I took another bolt and measured it with a voltmeter – three volts. I tried some others; they were just like batteries. I tried some bolts from the bargain bag – nothing. I sawed the first bolt in half – there was no hidden battery in it, just steel. Two times one and a half volts.
I took a large soldering iron and soldered four bolts in a line together and then with two wires to a small 12 volt car bulb. The lamp lit up.
No, I could not explain what was happening – no way. Good idea. I went for a drink or five. I had a good think. I did some more tests. I knew what I needed.
Liz
When I was at college people studied all sorts of things; there was one who studied metallurgy and that was Liz.