National Republican., 1885-11-21
ELECTRIC SCIENCE.

Ofiice.
As early as 1903 German physicist |
named Ritter, discovered that If two dis |
connected plates Of the same metal were
immersed In n solution of hydrlc sulphate,
and connected respectively to the poles Of
a common voltaic battery, oxygen would be
evolved at one of said plates and hydrogen
at the other through electrolytic action
upon the solution, and that upon discon-
Meeting the voltaic battery, and then con-
Meeting the two plates in a metallic circuit
through n galvanometer, a current OF cleo
tricity would flow from the ano1e, or pole
last connected TO the positive pole OF the
charging battery, to the cathrole or pole last
connected TO the negative pole of said
charging battery.
The primary or charging battery by cleo
trOlytc action decompOses the hydric sui
phato into Its constituent gases oxygen
and hydrogen, the oxygen remaining at the
anodc or ingOing electrode, while the hydro |
gen goes to the cathode or outgoing cleo
trode.
This creates a difference of potential such
that on disconnecting the charging battery
and connecting the plates the process Of re-
composition takes place between the gases,
and ns O result electricity is generated.
Just here let us disnbuse our readers
minds of prevailing idea, that in storage
battery electricity is stored: Electricity is
never stored, unless we consider statical
or bound electricity, held by virtue Of con
slant electrical pressure or tension to be OF
this nature as, for instance, charged con-
dcnscrs, such as Leyden Jars.
When we speak Of storage batteries we
simply mean batteries In which chemical
potential or energy is stored, which poten-
tial when put in action by joining the cleo
trodes can generate electricity In the bat
terry Of Ritter the potential or energy lies in
the oxygen or hydrogen bound or retained
in or by the metal plates.
No further progress was made In this line
OF apparatus until about 1850, when Grove
improved It by arranging over the cleo
trodes retaining vessels for collecting the
escaping oxygen and hydrogen gases.
This Improvement is known as Groves gas
battery, and is of little value except as a
scientific curiosity.
1t was not until 1859 that CASTOR Plante
an eminent French physicist, invented a
storage battery of actual value. 1t con-
sisted of two lead sheets separated by In
sulating material in the nature of rubber
strips, the sheets being rolled upon each
other. These sheets were connected to the
charging battery, rs were the plates OF the
Ritter battery, after having been immersed
in liquid Of hydric sulphate. The action
then is electrolytic as before, lead peroxide
(Pb O2) being formed on the anode plate
attached to the positive pole OF the battery
by the action of the liberated oxygen upon
the lead of said plate, while the liberated
hydrogen goes to the cathode or plate con-
nected to the negative pole Of the battery
and tends TO precipitate lead In metallic
state upon said plate. The cathode is in
this manner covered with rough granular
surface, while the anode assumes brown
color, due to the peroxide of lead. This
battery is soon charged ON being
al 10 t1,a nr hor
ing battery, but only lightly, owing
to the light peroxide coating which
depolarizes the charging battery. 1t will
be understood that upon disconnectlng the
primary battery and connecting the plates
by wire they will discharge very quickly,
owing to the light coating formed upon
them by this preliminary charge. They
must then lie recharged by reversing the
anode and cathode so rs to peroxidze the
latter. The battery is then charged, first in
one direction and discharged; then 1t is
| charged IN reverse direction and again
| discharged. This process is called "form-
| ing" aud is very tedious, innsmuch as the
| battery only becomes valuable or useful
| after both plates have become thoroughly
| peroxidized or made spongy. Each charge
deepens the peroxide sponge until, after
| long and tedious series of charges, dis
| charges, and rcversals, as indicated, the
| plates become coated to sufficient depth
TO retain heavy charges of oxygen and hy
| drOgen gases, and hence maintain sufficient
| potential to be available for useful purposes
| 1t will be understood that this sPongy
peroxide gives an increased surface to the
| plates to maintain the oxygen and hydrogen
gases when liberated IN Increased quantl-
ties. The tedious and expensive process of
"forming" the electrodes In this manner,
| and the fact that the peroxide In its spongy
| nature disintegrates or becomes readily
detached from tho.plates, renders this bat
terry practically valueless. No further prog
Ices of importance seems to have been made
in the art until 1880, when Frenchman by
the name of Camille Faure hit upon the idea
Of giving the plates increased active surface
by mechanically applying the active mate
rial as a substitute for the spongy peroxide
produced by the tedious process noted. lie
coated his plates with covering Of red lead,
In the nature of paste, and retained II In
place by felt strips. In this way the process
of forming was materially cheapened, and a
battery was formed at once very susceptible
of heing charged quickly and of such capa-
city as was desired
This invention created Juror in the art,
and at once inventors in all parts OF the
world were inspired with wonderful en-
ergy to make advances in this seemingly
promising field.
Much was promised, and bright indeed
appeared the future of Faures seemingly
| Dub' uONtNtI
this future has appeared, no one has yet
reached the desired goal.
No one ever spoke truer words than did Nj
andet, In his valuable work on primary and
secondary batteries, when he said, "No one
knows the chemistry of batteries" 1t may
be to the discredit of the chemical world
that such is the fact, but whether or no this
be true, no fact is more palpable than that
secondary batteries are a failure because we
cannot know their peculiarities, chemical
or otherwise. Eminent men Of science have
given much thought and time to this line of
electrical apparatus, and to-day more than
100 patents are found in the records Of the
United States patent Office, but we doubt II
any one of them possesses all the merits
needed to make the storage of electrical
potential q success.
Among their many defects may be men
toned disintegration, or falling to pieces;
huckling, or short circuitlng; ''needling,"
or forming Of the "lead tree,n whereby the
elements are short circuited; the formation
Of delcterious or disagrecable gases, and
leakage due to unknown causes, often to
local circuits in the plates, &c.
During the Years 1881, 1882, and 1888
there was untiring energy displayed In this
line of invention, but for the past two years
the patent Office has not received on an
average two applications per month, and
we have little hope for any material pro
|
TELEGRAPHs.
Soon after Franklin's experiments IN
electricity the attention OF men Of learning
was given TO the transmission Of informa-
tion by its use.
The first attempt was In the direction o.
the decomposition Of water into It's compO,
nent gases, oxygen and hydrogen, A bat
terry was connected ut the transmitting sta
tion to a series Of wires, one for each letter
of the alphabet, running TO the receiving
station and through q tank of diluted sui
phurc acid and water, each wire being bro
ken at a point within the liquid, On closing
any particular key at the transmitting sta
tion circuit was made to the distant sta
tioD and hydrogen bubbles ascended In the
liquid, indicating the character signaled,
common return wire answered for all thC
direct wires
This apparatus was, of course, impraeu
cable. II was not until 1910 that Prof
O..