The Brattleboro reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1907-1912, 1907-02-08
EpIsoN's LATEST ACHIEVEMENT.
A Cobalt Storage Battery That Will En-
able All to Have Autos.

Thomas A. Edison has accomplished a
surprise for the world. He has worked
out successfully the problem OF cheap
power. He promises to put on the market
within six months a new storage battery
which will enable every man to travel
in his own private carnage at about the
cost OF car fare, says the New York Times
Without danger, without breakdowns,
without cost almost, carriage, once sup,
piled with the new power, Tor SUI, VIII
travel without repairs for 10 years, Tor
hundred thousand miles, If necessary, says
the wizard. He reiterates the deelara-
ton that he has invented a storage bat
terry which will solve the problem OF CON
gested traffic in the big cities OF the
world as soon as he can manufacture
enough of them. He is erecting two large
factory buildings, now nearly complete,
and is installing in them new machinery
especially for the manufacture OF motor
battery that will be as common a factor
in the business life OF the world as the
telephone is now.
The great inventor has moments OF eN-
ceeding amiability, and he rarely has time
to make contradictions SO that when IT
was announced last year that vehicle
could be driven from New York TO Phlla-
delphia and back at a speed OF 80 miles
an hour without rechargng the storage
batteries, he did not deny it till long al
ter the public mind was satisfied that 1t
was true Then he quietly told some one
that light vehicle might, under favorable
circumstances, be made to run at ~
miles an hour, on one charge, Tor 100
miles At that time vehicles of the Ad-
ans express company were using the
storage batteries, and they have been do
ing so ever since. Any other inventor
than Edison would have been quite salts
fed with this solution, and would have
put these batteries ON the market, but
his commercial genius is no less remark
able than his scientific intuition, for he
has refused many applications to make
these batteries for public use.
"A practical theory" says Edison, Is
a good lead, but it is not sure thing
Last year you were sure that you had
solved this problem he was reminded
by Times reporter.
Yes, last year | was sure, replied NJ
Edison but now | am dead sure. There
is difference between the two. It's one
thing, for instance, TO be sure, and an
other thing to be-Wall street, sure!
There is a gayety about the wizard
these days that is Enthusiastically indicative
of a new discovery, for when he is in a
blind mood, when nature refuses to re-
veal her secret, he is as tragic and silent
as the Sphinx.
He says that he will be able to sell at
the cost of $40 a cell a storage battery
that is almost indestructible. 1t will
travel a hundred thousand miles before
it is worn out Twenty cells will be all
that is needed for a runabout or
brougham, and 60 cells will be enough for
the largest and heaviest truck used. For
hn
power that will need no renewal for 10
years.
"Now, it lies with rubber tire manu-
acturers to meet this commercial reduc-
ton of motive power" said Mr.. Edison,
gayly.
"They have been getting ready for it
quite while. A lot of them are work.
ing at. it quietly. That will come, OF
course"
For three years $4,000 storage batteries
have been constantly at work in the
test shops of the Edison plant at Orange,
n. j.
Il never believed that nature, so pro.
life of resources could provide only lead
as a material ingredient of the battery,
said Mr.. Edison. Il have always found
her ready for any emergency, and, based
on this confidence that she has never be-
trayed | communed diligently with her.
One day | discovered that nickel-rust was
as good as lead. Then / thought ! had
accomplished the task"
But he hadn't, to the satisfaction of
his commercial instinct. The question of
the weight of the battery was most i'm
portant, as was that of its durability.
"You see, it takes about ii months in
experimenting with battery to be pre-.
pared for surprises in the phenomena OF
nature" he continued; sometimes longer.
So it has necessarily been slow work. A
very promising battery would work all
right that long, and then something would
go wrong. The public doesn't understand
these things, and they get impatient, as if
it was only matter of experiment, and
could hurry it.
We'll, nickel-rust failed, other things
failed, everything the ingenious Edison
could, with his trained scientific mind
conceive, failed.
"Then ! tried cobalt" he said, and
punctuated the statement with broad
smile.
"And it worked?"
'1t certainly did; but, cobalt being one
of the rare metals, the problem was not
solved. [ secured the country to find
cobalt in sufficient quantities to warrant
its use. and discovered lots of it in Can
ada. in Wisconsin, in Oregon, in Ken
lucky. Then / knew that / was all
right"
TWhat are you working at now in con.
nection with this phase of the discovery!
Zone of the most difficult problems in
metallurgy is to separate cobalt from the
ores with which it is associated. AT pres.
ont n IL done only at great expense and