Twenty Bunsen cells furnished the current to a motor on Froment's
principle turning a pair of paddle wheels.
In all these reports there is a lack of data. We are interested to
know what power the motors developed, the time and speed, as well as
dimensions and weights.
Until Trouve's trip on the Seine, in 1881, and the launch of the
Electricity on the Thames, in 1882, very little was known concerning the
history of electric navigation.
M. Trouve originally employed Plante's secondary battery, but afterward
reverted to a bichromate battery of his own invention. In all the
primary batteries hitherto applied with advantage, zinc has been used as
the acting material. Where much power is required, the consumption of
zinc amounts to a formidable item; it costs, in quantity, about 3d. per
pound, and in a well arranged battery a definite quantity of zinc is
transformed. The final effect of this transformation manifests itself in
electrical energy, amounting to about 746 watts, or one electrical horse
power for every two pounds of this metal consumed per hour.
Pages:
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32