The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1894-05-26

SAllgkEAs l laeee~s5
BANDED PLATES OF STORAGE BATTERY.
and all, II their reports are to BIO trust
Ell, show commercial success, though
not to the extent Of the best trolley
roads
To passengers, pedestrians, equestri-
ans and tho occupants Of horse vehicles
alike they are grateful change from
the overhead trolley, which mars the
only part Of the face of nature sky
which the city buildings have not
generally hidden, and at the Same time
, 1T threatens man and beast with Us fear
full danger ms the sword of Damoclea
Merely first class horse car track is
oil tho storage battery car requires for
road. The batteries occupy tho space
beneath the seats, and tho wires which
take tho current from their positive
poles gather at the ono or two motors
! with which one of these cars, like those
of other systems, is usually equipped.
Having done its work IN tho motors, the
current passes by other wires to the
negative plates i'll the battery cells Be-
ing from first to last wholly beneath tho
/ car, the electricity, because Of tho law
of its nature, escapes, II at all, not up
ward, but downward, from any part Of
the apparatus, SO that In this system
there is absolute safety to the passengers
from electric shook Furthermore, all
testimony is to the effect that these cars
are moro uniform in movement and
more readily controlled than the trolley
cars and are therefore less dangerous to
persons and vehicles on tho street.
The number of cells In car varies,
/ of course according to tho dimensions
of both. They arc usually about to 8
A inches on n sido i'll horizontal area and
from 10 to 12 inches in height On two
of tho roads operated on this system in
Paris each cur has battery Of 1OS coils,
81 on each side, weighing about two
tons. These are sufficient to run tho car
| more than 40 miles with the full load
of SO passengers.
Whatever the size of the oar, most Of
the space under the seats is required for
A tho necessary cells. The total weight of
4 the Partisan car with full load Is 10
a tons, while those of tho Milford and
Hopodale road, in Massachusetts, weigh
\ but seven tons empty. Thiss1s about
ton lighter than tho usual trolley car of
h the same capacity.
n Construction of tho Bnttory.
The storage battery has much the
H same appearance as tho common primary
battery, except that tho cells Of tho lat
ter are generally of glass and cylindric-
I al in form. The containing vessel of
II tho storage cell is commonly either black
v rubber board, vulcanitc or obonite The
1 elements used in the battery Of the SEQ
n ond nvenuo line in New York city are
4 comminuted copper i'll anetwork Of cop
4 per wire within an insulating covering
i of cotton formed as plate and i'm
mcrsed in liquid alkali In which zinc
Il has been dissolved. The containing ves-
/ sci in this form of battery is Of iron,
and It's walls constitute tho negative
4 plate, tho copper being the positive.
q In all other storage batteries in use
Z for traction purposes both plates consist
4 mainly of lead and arc separated by
4 plates Of some insulating material The
4 positive plate is either grooved, reticu-
= lated or honeycombed rs far us possible,
III aud into it's cavities is pressed one Of the
Il oxides of lead, usually tho peroxide. In
4 some batteries the negative plate is
4 nearly plain, while In others this also is
made, with cavities to contain htharge
Il lower oxide of lead. These oxides con-
3 stitute the "active material" The coll
A is filled with diluted sulphuric acid,
4 and through the action Of this while
~ the battery is nj work, the active ma
d terial is decomposed and its lead most
A " deposited OH the negative plate The
d chemical action gives rise to an electric
q current which continues until the bat
terry is discharged.
III CT course care is taken to bring the
III cor back to the charging station before
W this condition is reached. The recharg-
ID Ing is done by an external current,
# fdrlnerly obtained from extensive pri-
ii MARY batteries, but in modern practice
n nom dynamos The operation consists
"a simply in sending the current through
a the| coils in direction opposite to that
"A in which it flowed out, thus reversing
\ thtk chemical action and restoring the
q deokomposed active material pretty near