Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1901-06-10
EDISON's NEW BATTERY.
He AccompIishes What Electricians
Have Worked at for Forty Years.

He Accomplishes What Electricians
Have Worked at for Forty Years.
New York, June 2.-As a result of
experiments continued without inter
ruption for nine months Thomas A.
Edison has perfected what many cleo
trical experts regard as one of his
greatest inventions storage bat
terry, for which he has taken out pat
ents in all parts of the world.
One of the chief features of Mr.. Ed
ison's new storage battery is that the
inventor has adopted iron and nickel
as the metals used in the battery, in
stead of the copper-cadmium combina-
ton.
Until the announcement of Mr.. Edi-
sons invention, the history of the stor-
age cell had been essentially that of
the lead cell, discovered by Plante in
1860. For forty years experts have
been experimenting to improve this
cell.
The obstacle of excessive weight has
been overcome by Mr.. Edison, and
electric traction for carriages, trucks,
cars and even ferry-boats, it is pre-
dicted, will now come into general
use. The Electrical Review will say
in it's current issue:
Mr.. Edison has given the world
what promises to be another epoch
making invention He has produced
no invention of broader utility in the
electrical field since incandescent
lighting was evolved from his busy
brain The perfected battery means
the solution Of many difficult traction
problems, the betterment of electric
lighting and the foundation of the new
art of electrical navigation. Electric
tugboats will give new life to our
canals, and with electric ferry-boats
will revolutionize our harbors.'
Mr.. Edison, when he began to solve
the storage battery problem, sought
a cell which would possess these adj
vantages: an absence of deterioration
by work; large storage capacity per
unit of mass; capability of being rap
idly charged and discharged; capa-
bility of withstanding careless treat
ment, and responsiveness. In his new
battery the inventor uses iron in the
positive plate and nickel in the mega
tive plate. An alkali fluid is employed,
but it is hydroxide of potash instead Of
caustic soda.
The positive and negative plates in
the new battery differ only in the
chemical contents of their pockets.
Zach plate is formed Of comparative
ly thin sheet Of steel, out of which rec
tangular holes are stamped. Each
opening is filed with a pocket or shall
low box containing the active material,
which is made in the form of rectan-
gular cakes.
Mr.. Edison believes that he can
manufacture the new battery at
price not exceeding the present cost
of the old style lead batteries.
Mr.. Edison talked enthusiastically
about the new battery yesterday. He
said an automobile thus equipped
ought to travel seventy-five miles with
out recharging.
'This solves the trucking problem"
ne continued. You can Send your
truck out in the morning and it will
stay out all day and still have enough
energy left to get home on. The bat
terry undoubtedly can be used to adj
vantage in street car propulsion, and
by it power from the tides can be
used. In the Bay of Fundy they have
fifty-foot tides. This vast reservoir
of power could not be used because
the old lead batteries would not charge
quickly enough"