We’ve become quiet blasé about auto starter batteries in North America. We expect them to keep working, and it’s an irritation on rare occasions when they don’t. But how often do we spare a thought for the people who brought forth all the things about starter batteries all those years ago.
The First Two Things They Brought for Today
Alessandro Volta doubtless tried more than four things before he hit on an idea that invented the battery in 1799. He stacked alternating layers of zinc and silver vertically with cardboard between. However his gadget only worked when he soaked the cardboard in salt water.
This ‘voltaic pile’ as historians call it was somewhat useless because the salt water leaked away until it stopped working. William Cruickshank solved this problem a year later when he laid the pile horizontally in a trough of salt water. Someone, somewhere possibly thought this looked like an artillery battery all aiming in the same direction. This may or may not have been the origin of the name of your batteries.
The Rechargeable Starter Battery for Gasoline Automobiles
Early batteries were unsuccessful because of two things. One of the discs formed an insulating layer, while the other, zinc one degraded. Then Gaston Planté invented the rechargeable lead-acid battery so automotive transport could take off.
The first autos with these batteries were actually electric cars. Ladies loved them because they did not have to crank-start petroleum engines. Doctors making late-night calls appreciated not waking the neighbors.
Then a Cadillac engineer died after a backfire sent a crank handle hurtling at his head. Two of his best mates, Henry M Leland and Charles Kettering invented an electric starter in 1912 so this need never happen again. The car had electric lights as a bonus.
The downside of the final of the four things we wrote about today was this invention set electric transport back a century. We might never have gotten so deep into global warming otherwise, but then we might also not be writing this blog.
Related
The First (Model) Electric Car: Anyos Jedlik 1828
Andrew Riker Drops Out to Build Electric Cars
Preview Image: 1912 Cadillac Self Start
