Re: [DL] Battery

[Brett Dixon <balance@tubas.net>]

On Friday, December 6, 2002, at 09:54  AM, Frempath2@netscape.net wrote:
> 11. The Daniell Battery.--- This combination consists of a jar of 
> glass or earthenware, F (fig. 3), about six inches in diameter and 
> eight or nine inches high. A plate of copper, G, is bent into a 
> cylindrical form, so as to fit within it, and is provided with a 
> perforated chamber, to contain a supply of sulphate of copper in 
> crystals, and a strap of the same metal with a clamp for connecting it 
> to the zinc of the next element. H is a porous cup, as it is 
> technically termed, made of unglazed earthenware, six or seven inches 
> high and two inches in diameter, within which is placed the zinc, X. 
> This is usually of the shape shown in the figure, which is called the 
> ``star zinc,'' but it is often made in the form of a hollow cylinder, 
> the latter giving greater power, but being somewhat more difficult to 
> clean.
> The outer cell is filled with a saturated solution of sulphate of 
> copper (blue vitriol), and the porous cell with a solution of sulphate 
> of zinc. A series of three elements connected together, as usually 
> employed on American lines for a local battery, is shown at I.
> The Full text, with illustrations can be found at:
> http://sd.znet.com/~cdk14568/mpet/contents.html

Thanks for the informative link! I remembered seeing some notes about 
the massive batteries the Telcos needed for early phone gear...

I think it's important to note that making this kind of thing even 
workable for use on a train car wouldn't be easy, but it'd definitely 
be in the realm of Mad Science. Making Gost Rock batteries would seem 
like a logical course of action for the aspiring Mad Scientist.