AUTOMOBILES, 



69 



turns to get momentum to compress the charge in The Electric Automobile. The electric auto- 

 the engine; then the lever (17) is thrown into mobile is in many' ways superior to either the 

 place, which causes the belt (19) to engage the steam- or the gas-propelled vehicles. It is neater 



small 



turn causes 



driving pulley of the motor, which in in appearance than the other types, and the 

 luses the piston (5) to move up and down mechanism is much simpler and easy to manage; 



THE STBATTOK MOTOR CYCLE. 



in the cylinder (4), thereby drawing in the gas, 

 which is formed in the mixing-valve (2). By 

 turning the switch (15) the electric current is 

 turned on, thereby causing a spark at the end of 

 the plug (8), which ignites the gas, and the ex- 

 plosion forces the piston (5) downward, thereby 

 causing the fly-wheels (7), which are connected 

 to the small driving pulley, to revolve, and tfie 

 power is transmitted to the rim (18) by the V- 

 shaped belt (19). Compartment 13 contains cylin-' 

 der oil, which automatically flows into the casing 

 of the motor and lubricates the piston (5) and 

 all the wearing parts. The exhaust gases of the 

 motor are carried off through the pipe (20) into 

 a muffler (21), which practically takes up all the 

 noise. The mixing-valve (2) is a simple device 

 for transforming the gasoline into a vapor and 

 mixing it with air to form an explosive mixture. 

 The batteries (10) supply the necessary current to 

 ignite the gas in the engine. This current is made 

 to flow through a coil of wire, and when the cur- 

 rent is interrupted a second current is created in 

 another coil of wire, known as the secondary 

 coil, which is wound outside of the first coil, and 

 this current is of much higher voltage and is used 

 to make the spark. This double-coil arrangement 

 is known as a sparking coil. The batteries are of 

 the ordinary dry-cell type used for door-bell calls. 

 In case the fuel gives out or the motor fails to 

 work, the tension on the belt can be relieved by 

 means of the lever (17), and the bicycle can then 

 be propelled in the ordinary way. 



but its faults are of such a nature that they are 

 hard to remedy. 



Its mechanism consists of. a storage-battery, an 

 electric motor, an electric controller for regulating 

 speed and reversing, gearing from the motor to 

 the rear axle, differential gear to allow one rear 

 wheel to run faster than the other in turning cor- 

 ners, etc., steering-gear, brakes, and signals. All 

 the mechanism of this type has been fairly well 

 perfected for propelling automobiles, with the ex- 

 ception of the storage-batteries. . These have been 

 perfected for work where they remain at rest, as 

 in a power plant, but when they are placed on 

 a moving vehicle, they are often shaken vio- 

 lently, and continually discharge the current at 

 different rates, often at a higher rate than they 

 can stand, and thus many troubles arise. In the 

 first place, they are very heavy, and the active 

 material comes loose from the plates; the plates 

 buckle when the rate of discharge is too great; 

 the acid creeps out of the batteries; the solutions 

 become weak, or one cell gets badly out of order 

 and causes a choking of the current; they some- 

 times short-circuit, thus losing the power. But 

 the most serious drawback is the fact that, on ac- 

 count of the size and weight, they can not carry 

 enough cells to propel an ordinary vehicle much 

 more than 30 miles on one charge of the battery. 

 It then becomes necessary to recharge, and this 

 can only be done at some electric-power station. 

 In case the vehicle is taken too far, and the elec- 

 tricity gives out, it becomes necessary to push the 



