112 Neiv Secondary Cell for Electrical Storage. 



peroxide is reduced and the apposed element oxydised, the 

 oxide formed combining with the acetic acid, and forming 

 acetate of lead. 



During my experiments I found that the red oxide of lead 

 is a bad conductor of electricity; that peroxide of lead is a 

 good conductor ; and that by amalgamating lead plates with 

 mercury a marked increase was immediately manifest in 

 polarisation effects, the plates being more uniformly and 

 rapidly peroxidised, and local action entirely disappearing. 

 These mercury amalgamated plates at once gave me an 

 advance over other cells. 



I used them in many ways, constructing cells in which 

 the positive electrode was amalgamated lead, the negative 

 being coated with prepared peroxide or with the red oxide, 

 or amalgamated, or combinations of these and solutions of 

 various kinds. 



I also made cells of peroxide, and also of red oxide, formed 

 into porous conglomerites, having a wire projecting from each 

 end, the conglomerite being immersed in dilute hydric sul- 

 phate. I constructed cells in which the plates were parallel, 

 and the red oxide, as also the peroxide, being filled in between 

 the plates. In this case the red oxide is useless and peroxide 

 efficient, owing to their relative conducting power. In all 

 cases in which amalgamated lead was used as a positive 

 electrode the effects were very marked. 



Having thoroughly tested the amalgamated lead, and found 

 it the most efficient positive electrode for conserving the 

 oxygen of the decomposed solution, I investigated the be- 

 haviour of various forms of negative electrode, having always 

 the object in view, of making the hydrogen of the decom- 

 posed solution do some work ; the proper thing, of course, 

 being to make it assist in depositing metal from the solution 

 on the negative electrode. 



I thought by having negative electrodes, whose oxides 

 should be soluble in the solution remaining after electrolysis, 

 and which could be redeposited from the solution, or by 

 having metallic solutions from which the metal could be 

 deposited — the resulting solution being such that on the 

 oxidation of the deposited metal it would combine with the 

 oxide, and again form the original solution- — I should pro- 

 duce a perfect means of storing electric energy by conversion 

 into chemical energy, and which would economically return 

 the current as the chemical affinity ran down. 



Having started from this foundation, the results obtained 



