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STORAGE BATTERY TECHNOLOGIES 59

can be repeated numerous times. In general, batteries when delivering stored energy
incur energy losses as heat when discharging or during chemical reactions when
charging.

The Daniell cell The Voltaic pile was not good for delivering currents over long
periods of time. This restriction was overcome in 1820 with the Daniell cell. British
researcher John Frederich Daniell developed an arrangement where a copper plate was
located at the bottom of a wide-mouthed jar. A cast-zinc piece commonly referred to
as a crowfoot, because of its shape, was located at the top of the plate, hanging on the
rim of the jar. Two electrolytes, or conducting liquids, were employed. A saturated
copper-sulfate solution covered the copper plate and extended halfway up the remain-
ing distance toward the zinc piece. Then, a zinc-sulfate solution, which is a less dense
liquid, was carefully poured over a structure that floated above the copper sulfate and
immersed zinc.
In a similar experiment, instead of zinc sulfate, magnesium sulfate or dilute sulfu-
ric acid was used. The Daniell cell was also one of the first batteries that incorporated
mercury, which was amalgamated with the zinc anode to reduce corrosion when the
batteries were not in use. The Daniell battery, which produced about 1.1 V, was exten-
sively used to power telegraphs, telephones, and even to ring doorbells in homes for
over a century.

Plante’s battery In 1859 Raymond Plante invented a battery that used a cell by
rolling up two strips of lead sheet separated by pieces of flannel material. The entire
assembly when immersed in diluted sulfuric acid produced an increased current that
was subsequently improved upon by insertion of separators between the sheets.

The carbon-zinc battery In 1866, Georges Leclanché, in France developed the
first cell battery. The battery, instead of using liquid electrolyte, was constructed from
moist ammonium chloride paste and a carbon and zinc anode and cathode. It was
sealed and sold as the first dry battery. The battery was rugged and easy to manufacture
and had a good shelf life. Carbon-zinc batteries were in use over the next century until
they were replaced by alkaline-manganese batteries. Figure 3.9 depicts graphics of
a lead acid battery current flow process.

Lead-acid battery suitable for autos In 1881 Camille Faure produced the first
modern lead-acid battery, which he constructed from cast-lead grids that were packed
with lead oxide paste instead of lead sheets. The battery had a larger current-producing
capacity. Its performance was further improved by the insertion of separators between
the positive and negative plates to prevent particles falling from these plates, which
could short out the positive and negative plates from the conductive sediment.

The Edison battery Between the years 1898 and 1908, Thomas Edison developed
an alkaline cell with iron as the anode material (–) and nickel oxide as the cathode
material (+). The electrolyte used was potassium hydroxide, the same as in modern
nickel-cadmium and alkaline batteries. The cells were extensively used in industrial