History
See also: History of the batteryBatteries with alkaline (rather than acid) electrolyte were first developed by Waldemar Jungner in 1899, and, working independently, Thomas Edison in 1901.
The alkaline dry battery using the zinc/manganese dioxide chemistry was invented by Canadian engineer Lewis Urry in the 1950s while working for Union Carbide's Eveready Battery division in Cleveland, OH, building on earlier work by Edison. On October 9, 1957, Urry, Karl Kordesch, and P.A. Marsal filed US patent (2,960,558) for the alkaline battery. It was granted in 1960 and was assigned to the Union Carbide Corporation.
When introduced in the 1960s, alkaline batteries contained a small amount of toxic mercury amalgam to control side reactions at the zinc cathode. With mercury content reduced by law and improvements in the purity and consistency of materials, manufacturers have reduced the mercury content in modern cells.
Read more about this topic: Alkaline Battery
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“Certainly there is not the fight recorded in Concord history, at least, if in the history of America, that will bear a moment’s comparison with this, whether for the numbers engaged in it, or for the patriotism and heroism displayed.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles.”
—Karl Marx (1818–1883)
“The myth of independence from the mother is abandoned in mid- life as women learn new routes around the mother—both the mother without and the mother within. A mid-life daughter may reengage with a mother or put new controls on care and set limits to love. But whatever she does, her child’s history is never finished.”
—Terri Apter (20th century)