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1899: A New Kind of Battery:
Edison began experimenting on the storage battery in the summer of 1899. He was convinced that he could develop an improvement over existing lead-acid batteries, which were heavy, messy, and inefficient. Edison anticipated a large market for the new type of storage battery, particularly for use in electric automobiles.
He promised a storage battery that would make electrics more competitive with gasoline-powered cars: inexpensive, high power relative to weight, quick charging and low maintenance, with a long range.
In 1901, after thousands of experiments, he developed a nickel-iron storage battery. The publicity campaign began immediately. Edison's reputation drew many potential customers, despite a skeptical press. Edison batteries reached the market in 1903 but proved unsatisfactory. He ceased production in 1904 at considerable financial loss. He felt that his name and reputation were at stake.
Edison finally delivered a reliable battery in 1910, but by that time gasoline vehicles were cheaper and better than ever. Ultimately, Americans turned away from electrics. The battery company prospered nonetheless by selling the new battery for other uses, ranging from railroad signaling to mining to submarines.
Storage batteries rely on an electrochemical reaction that allows them to be charged and then discharged many times without becoming exhausted. Primary batteries, however, depend on a different type of chemical reaction that eventually destroys the electrodes; thus they can't be recharged. |