A NEW AND ECONOMICAL METHOD OF PRO- DUCING DYNAMIC ELECTRICITY, THEREBY OBTAINING USEFUL CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS
Year: 1861

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Frederick Tolhausen at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 26th August
1861. A communication from Jean Baptiste Théodore Rousse, Professor,
residing at the Imperial Lyceum, St. Etienne, France.
I, FREDERICK TOLHAUSEN, Civil Engineer and Patent Agent, of 35, Boule-
vart Bonne Nouvelle, Paris, in the Empire of France, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "A NEW AND ECONOMICAL METHOD OF PRO-
DUCING DYNAMIC ELECTRICITY, THEREBY OBTAINING USEFUL CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS,"
to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a new arrangement of piles or batteries, having
constant and energetic currents, and yielding useful products at the poles of
each element. The principle of this method is based on this theory that the
electro-motive power of a battery is proportional to the chemical action that
takes place by the contact of a metal and an acid, which chemical action on
the other hand is directly proportional to the caloric evolved, 1st, by the
oxydation or decomposition of the metal by the acid, 2nd, by the combination
of the metal or metallic oxyd with the acid used, said chemical action being
inversely proportional to the absorption of caloric produced by depolarization.
In order to form a battery by this method, I use a metal or an alloy, and either
a free acid or an acid that is combined with an electro-negative metal, so as
to produce a very pure salt which may be used in the arts directly or indirectly.
In order to produce an energetic current I use such metal and acid as will give

page_text: rise to a rather powerful chemical action, and evolve much heat, c.g., iron,
zinc, lead, copper, and silver; nitric, hydrochloric acids, and clorhydrate, sul-
phuric, acetic, and chronic acids. Nitric acid being used as a depolarizer at the
positive pole yields the best results because it depolarizes by absorbing the
hydrogen with the least absorption of caloric. In order to absorb the nitreous
vapours which are given off as in Bunsen's pile, I use oleine or oleic acid from
fatty bodies or non-siccative oils, which are thus converted into concrete elaidine
or elaidic acid, and may be used for making stearine candles. I also sometimes
absorb the nitrous vapours by means of any of the light oils drawn from tar
which are apt to combine with hyponitric acid, and may be used for producing
colouring matter such as nitro-benzine, nitro-naphtaline, nitrate of aniline, and
so forth. The batteries which I arrange according to this method aro free
from obnoxious emanations and deposit useful matter at each pole. There
is also no waste of the chemicals employed, thus affording an economical
means for producing electric currents which may be employed for any manu-
facturing and scientific purposes. In constructing this voltaic battery I uso
an earthenware recipient similar to Bunsen's or Daniel's, a metallic cylinder
of the same height, which may be inverted whenever required, and a porous
vessel of the same height as the outer one. This porous vessel is cup-shaped
near the upper brim so as to allow inserting another vessel which contains the
absorbing substances. The vessel last mentioned is made of glazed or
enamelled pottery or stone, and is made up of two cylinders one of which is
narrower than the porous vessel, and the other wider than the charcoal which
it surrounds. The two cylinders are connected by a perforated bottom for the
passage of the nitrous or other vapours. In order to avoid taking the battery
to pieces for feeding it whilst working day and night without stopping the cur-
rent, use a conductor with two wires which are connected at one end with a
cone which fits into a recess at the top of Bunsen's charcoal pile, and at the
other with a tightening screw. After the reaction which hardens the fatty
bodies bas ceased, the vessel holding the concrete product may be removed
without stopping the current, and a fresh oue put in its place containing soft
The vessels containing the elaidine or elaidic acid are put in a hot
bath in order to gather the contents into one solid cake. These improved
batteries may be used for any of the known purposes to which electricity is
applied, such as lighting, heating, motive power, telegraphing, and chemical
operations, affording in all these cases considerable economy over the batteries
now in use. The charcoal which constitutes the positive polo forms at its
lower part a cylinder or a prism, and at its upper portion a cylinder of
less diameter so as to fit into the glazed stone vessel, and shut it up against
matter.

page_text: the passage of the nitrous vapours. At the top it has a circular recess and
two opposite faces or flat surfaces to which are fitted the metallic conductors,
which are faced with some inoxydable metal, such as aluminium, gold, platinum,
and palladium. The particular shape of the vessels and charcoal cylinders are
very important, as they constitute a useful improvement on Bunsen's or any
other nitric acid batteries now in use.