The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1901-08-18
EdiSOn'S Storage
Battery.
lSnringield Renubllcan.)

The standing OF Thomas A. Edison
as an original inventor is yet prob
lematicaI, Notwithstanding the great
prominence of his name and the value
of his reputation and his work Tor so
many years to the important General
Electric company. But a few months
ago it was stated in the name OF MI
Edison that he had perfected a SuoI-
age battery which would be free from
the defects of all previous storage bat
teries. These have been the weight,
due TO the fact that the plates are OF
lead, its limited capacity, which limits
the distance which an electric car or
an automobile can compass; and the
brief life of the battery, and cOnse-
Quent cost Of partial or complete re-
newal. Mr.. Edison's alleged assertions
were that his battery would not con-
tain lead, would have double the ca
pacity and output of the well known
chloride accumulation for the same
weight, and would deteriOrate only
about one-tenth as rapidly as other
batteries.
The Electrical World and Engineer
has printed an abstract Of an English
patent granted TO Mr.. Edison, which
showed that he had dispensed with lead
and adopted copper and cadmium. The
New York Tribune, considering this
patent and other experiments in the d.
IGCLlOu OF Improvement u IA4G 4EfAtA-
plate system. says that the Edison bat
terry resembles a Swedish patent to
Schmidt & Gunger and to the Waddell-
Eutz battery, It says:
The method Of using the copper and
cadmium which is described in the
Edison patent is briefly this: Reser-
vOirs or pockets are made in the sur
face of a pair of nickel plates. Into
those of one the finely divided copper
is packed. Powdered cadmium is put
into the other set of perfOratiOns. Thin
sheets of asbestos are placed between
the plates. Each cell should contain
two pairs. The eleCtrOlyte is 10 per
cent solution Of hydroxide of soda, an
alkali.'
It then proceeds to say:
'One of ,the lines of inquiry that
were suggested by this announcement
was where the cadmium would come
from to make Mr. EdisOn's batteries.
The chief use to which this metal IS
now put is 10 form an alloy for filling
teeth. The iOdide is OF some value in
photography, and the sulphide pro-
duces a brilliant yellow color The
principal source of supply is the zinc
ore of Selisia. Inasmuch as the pres
ence of cadmium renders the other
metal too brittle for service, it is
deemed necessary to remove it. Other
wise it would be- left in At best il is
is carried on only by a few concerns.
Some one asked the Engineering and
Mining Journal about the imports Of
cadmium, and the reply was that the
quantity was so small that It is classed
by the treasury department with
"other chemicals" Germany's total
production does not appear to exceed
$4,000 or $4,000 pounds a year. Much
of this is consumed as a salt. and only
a limited proportion remains in the
much of the latter comes to America
Doubts we're expressed yesterday
whether 100 pounds OF cadmium could
be picked up in New York at the pres
ent time"
In the Tribune article is observed
that there is a close parallel between
the ground Mr. Edison is going over
and that covered by Mr.. Eutz some
years ago, and Mr.. Eutz, very able
electrician. gave up his labOrs In this
direction because convinced that the
difficulties we're inSupeTable- Mr.. Edi-
son, while this matter is discussed,
says nOthing-slways the strong point
of the wizard of Menlo park. But he
does not exhibit his battery, although
it was said that he would do so at the
recent exhibition in New York City of
the American institute Of electrical en-
gineers. It is true that skepticism is
growing IS to Mr.. Edis0n's having
made any discovery at all in this mat
ter. although there are those who have
watched his experiments who believe
that he viii now be able to produce
this result in a commercial shape.