The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1881-07-05
THE STORAGE OF ELECTRICITY.
what f. Thought ct 10 BY Professor
TYmdA1l

WHAT - InOuHUt SIS - W
Tyndall.
Professor Tyndall has written the follow
ing to the London Times;
SIR-Woud you permit me to say wore
or two on a subjac Of great public interest
and considerable public perpiexiiy
refer TO the So called storage Of eleclriciiy.'
The usual condition for the production OF
vol,aic current is known to be the INNER
sion of two different metals in liquid
called al olec.rolye. When two pieces Of
install thus immersed arc connected with
galvsnometer the existence oil
current il declared by the detection OF
the needle of thu, instrument Subslllutlng
for the two metals two clean plates oil p'ali-
NUN and connecting them win inc ga'Vsno'
meter the needle remains unmoVed. Inc
platinum plates being Homogeneous, the,o Is
no reason wny n current shoud start from
one of them through tho eleclrolyte ratner
than from the other. Ii such currents
started they would DO equal and opposite
and would, therof re, neutraz, each other
III OlutI WDEus, WIN WV wv
plates of platinum we have n" current.
Bu, let Inc wires connected with these
platinum plates be detached tIom the
gslysnomot,r aud joined, even Tor moment
10 voltaic battery, the current winch passes
will destro, tho homoganeity VI tho p'alas.
Ii tho eleclrolyto, for example, DO acidulhled
water, tho liquid will be decompo'ed, a
film OF h, drogon covering one plate of pla.i-
mum, ana h,m Of oAJ gen covering the
other. These two films play the part ot the
different metals IN me ordinary volt,lc Bat
tory; and If the plates Of platinum thus
coated DO Connected with the galvanome.er,
the current produced will DO strong enough
10 dash the needle violently aside.
The expeil nent may DO varied in lifty or
five hundred ways, and when, instead OF the
films OF gas solid layers are deposited elec-
trOly ideally on one or the other Of the homo'
geneous plates, the duration Of the current
is prolonged Several cells ,hus rendered
active, through the agency OF an ex,raEeous
current, constitute what is known rs a Sec
ondary battery.
The discoverer of this battery was man
who, without pecdniary reward, almos. sac
rflced his senses to the investigation which
resulted 10 the discovery. The name OF TIL,
man WAS Ritter, native Of the small Ger.
man village of Liegnilz, Ho died, ms Dove
remarks, exhausted by restless labor, power
ty and dlsorderly wing. | think his name
and services ought not to be ignored at the
present time.
Other men labored aud wo have entered
i1to their labors. Il nployiOg homogeneous
plates of lead aud rendering them uon-hu-
mogeneous them ia fact, virtual
ly into diff rent plsles-by the action OF M
exlrsneous current, M. Plante greatly intensi
fled the fleets obtained by Ritter. NJ Faure
has followed and improved upon M. Pmnto
Covering tho plates Of lead with mnium,
with the aid Of the currents nov oblainaDv
at small expense, he has, IL appears, pro-
duced a secondary battery Of great power
and OF considerable promise from p aclical
point OF view.
But think scientific men have right to
demur to tho phraseology in which NJ
Faure's extension Of the di covery of Ritter
has been introduced. 1t has been severed, |
criticized in the R,vu, Scientii lue. Mum
bers of people in this country have been
thrown into perplexy by the first letter on
this subject published in The Times. With
regard. ter ex-mple, to tho "box of electric,
n.y." If such language be tolerated, we may
common pa kug-case containing a
voltac battery box OF electricity; but sm
not sure tina. science will profit by tormn-
oiogy which bewiders the public mind.
Your obedent servant,
.JOnN TYNDAIL