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December 1966 Radio-Electronics
 [Table of Contents]
Wax nostalgic about and learn from the history of early electronics.
See articles from Radio-Electronics,
published 1930-1988. All copyrights hereby acknowledged.
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In a 1966 issue of
Radio-Electronics magazine, a revolutionary sodium-sulfur storage battery
was demonstrated at a Detroit press conference, suggesting that Ford could enter
the electric car market within the next ten years, and in the process "bring
back electric autos." That suggests there were EVs before, and in fact,
there were, at the turn of the 20th Century. The new battery, operating at 800°
Fahrenheit, was completely sealed and produced 15 times more power than a
lead-acid battery of the same weight, without the need to vent charging gases.
The battery's design featured sodium and sulfur separated by a ceramic
partition, with sodium ions moving through the ceramic to form sodium sulfide
during discharge and reversing the process during charging, producing no gases
or byproducts. The article noted that electric cars were close to becoming
practical, particularly given the increasing concerns about air pollution from
gas-driven vehicles.
Tech Notes: New Storage Battery Could Bring Back Electric Autos
 A radically new type of storage battery demonstrated to a Detroit press conference
could put the Ford Co., in the electric car business within the next 10 years, according
to a company spokesman.
The new storage cells differ markedly from all previous storage batteries: It
operates at 800° Fahrenheit. It is completely sealed, with no need to vent charging
gases. It produces 15 times as much power as a lead-acid battery of the same weight.
The active elements of the new cell are sodium and sulphur. These are separated
by a ceramic partition (reminiscent of the porous cup used in old liquid primary
cells, but now called "the electrolyte" apparently in imitation of fuel-cell terminology).
Electrons are given off at the sodium terminal. The positive sodium ions then move
through the ceramic and unite with the sulphur to form sodium sulphide. In charging,
the process is reversed; the sodium ions go back through the ceramic electrolyte
and unite with electrons injected by the charger to form sodium again. The process
produces no gases or other byproducts.
General Electric and General Motors are both said to be working on a battery
for motor cars - whether storage or fuel-cell type is not known. The electric car
is just below the practical level today - there are a few electric delivery trucks
in every large city - and problems of air pollution prevention are bound to increase
the costs of gas-driven devices. The prediction "electric cars in 10 years" may
therefore turn out to have been overcautious.
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