Oxide? Exide?
Norm
Excerpt from The History of Exide Technologies
http://www.exide.com/Media/files/The%20History%20of%20Exide%20Technologies.pdf
The evolution of what is now Exide Technologies began with creation of The Electric Storage Battery Company, founded in 1888 by W.W. Gibbs. As vice president of the United Gas Improvement Company, a Philadelphia gas lighting firm, Gibbs recognized that electricity had great potential as a source for lighting, and as such, posed a threat to gas. Gibbs formed the Electric Storage Battery Company to create a dependable mechanism for storing power so electric lighting companies could provide services to their customers if and when it was necessary.
Realizing that a better storage battery was a necessary first step, Gibbs purchased the ideas and patents of French inventor, Clement Payen, to transform good ideas about storage batteries (then widely referred to as "Pickled Amperes") into thoroughly reliable commercial products. With the development of the storage battery, or the "Chloride Accumulator," the Electric Storage Battery Company brought the electric lighting industry to a new level.
In 1890, the Electric Storage Battery Company installed the first practical storage battery at the Germantown Electric Lighting Company in Philadelphia. The battery furnished the lighting current, while a dynamo charged the battery. Soon after, the battery company received a request for 13,000 cells to power six new electric streetcars for the Lehigh Avenue Railway Company in Philadelphia. These streetcars became the first self-propelled vehicles to challenge the supremacy of the horse. Throughout the 1890s, the demand for storage batteries increased, forcing the Electric Storage Battery Company to move to larger facilities.
The possibilities for storage batteries continued to grow. The Pullman Company used Chloride Accumulators to light a few of its luxury railroad cars, and small batteries were sold to operate electric fans, sewing machines and phonographs. In 1898, batteries powered the first submarine in the U.S. Just before the turn of the century, Electric Storage Battery Company batteries were used as power sources in electric locomotives, streetcars, passenger cars, surface boats and telephone exchanges, and for the nation's first automatic switching and signaling systems for railroads.
As the new century dawned, electric taxicabs first appeared in many large cities. They became so popular that The Electric Storage Battery Company developed a product of greater capacity and less weight especially for the "Ply-for-hire" trade. This new battery, introduced in 1900, was the first to bear the trade name "Exide," short for "Excellent Oxide."
Wow. Wow and wow some more.
A linked site that might prove interesting here @ The Electropaedia - Battery and Energy Technologies Linked: http://www.mpoweruk.com/leadacid.htm
That link has a lot of information on Lead acid batteries. Many od use who had occasion to ride in older passenger equipment remember the large battery compartments that those types of cars carried, occasionally seeing those batteries service while the train was at the station platforms.
The batteries mentioned as being used in WWII Submarines were of the lead-acid variety and took up much room within the hull. Cells weighted in at over a thousand pounds each. Dry cell technology was a fore runner of today's various sized battreries, used in tools, and appliances. Ray-o-vac Battery Co. was acquired by Excide Technologies. Kind of off the topic, but there it is!
Remember the NS 999 of several years back?
http://phys.org/news/2013-01-longer-battery-life-electric-locomotive.html
"Researchers seek longer battery life for electric locomotive"
FTA:"...Phys.org)—Norfolk Southern Railway No. 999 is the first all-electric, battery-powered locomotive in the United States. But when one of the thousand lead-acid batteries that power it dies, the locomotive shuts down. To combat this problem, a team of Penn State researchers is developing more cost-effective ways to prolong battery life..."[snipped]
Here is a link to photos and details of NS 999 @ http://www.nsdash9.com/rosters/999.html
Is NS still operating 999?
OTOH we residents of central Los Angeles County have a different view of their battery production:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exide_lead_contamination
Hello Elon Musk, how does the output of your Gigafactory compare? Just a little suspicious .....
Links to my Google Maps ---> Sunset Route overview, SoCal metro, Yuma sub, Gila sub, SR east of Tucson, BNSF Northern Transcon and Southern Transcon *** Why you should support Ukraine! ***
Electroliner 1935 Is NS still operating 999?
It is still on the roster, although it was rebuilt in 2014 with a new battery package. I presume that it is still being used mostly as a shop switcher at Altoona.
MikeF90OTOH we residents of central Los Angeles County have a different view of their battery production:
This is a problem with a lot of "green" energy sources. The end product may be "green," but getting it to that point is anything but...
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.