Grove cell, or battery
Date1848-1855
Inventory Number0353
ClassificationGrove Cell
Subject
Attributed to
Daniel Davis, Jr.
1813 - 1887
Inventor
Sir William Robert Grove
1811 - 1896
Cultural Region
Place of Origin
Dimensions21.3 x 11.3 x 11.3 cm (8 3/8 x 4 7/16 x 4 7/16 in.)
Material
Bibliography
DescriptionA glass vessel contains a cylindrical piece of zinc (~1 cm thick) and porcelain cup. Brass fittings into a black insulator make screw connections to coiled, cotton-insulated copper wire standing in the center of the cell. The battery appears to have been modified with time.
This is how Davis described this cell in 1848: "The containing vessel is glass. Within this is a thick cylinder of amalgamated zinc, standing on short legs, and divided by a longitudinal opening on one side, in order to allow the acid to circulate freely. Inside of this is a porous cell of unglazed porcelain, containing the nitric acid and strip of platinum. The platinum is supported by a strip of brass, fixed, by a thumb-screw and an insulating piece of ivory, to the arm proceeding from the zinc cylinder. The amalgamated zinc is not acted upon by the dilute sulfuric acid until the circuit of the battery is complete; but a small portion of the nitric acid filters through the porous cell, by which the zinc would be readily attacked. It is therefore advisable to remove it from the acid when the battery is out of action for any length of time."
Davis listed this battery between $2.00 and $2.50 in 1848.
This is how Davis described this cell in 1848: "The containing vessel is glass. Within this is a thick cylinder of amalgamated zinc, standing on short legs, and divided by a longitudinal opening on one side, in order to allow the acid to circulate freely. Inside of this is a porous cell of unglazed porcelain, containing the nitric acid and strip of platinum. The platinum is supported by a strip of brass, fixed, by a thumb-screw and an insulating piece of ivory, to the arm proceeding from the zinc cylinder. The amalgamated zinc is not acted upon by the dilute sulfuric acid until the circuit of the battery is complete; but a small portion of the nitric acid filters through the porous cell, by which the zinc would be readily attacked. It is therefore advisable to remove it from the acid when the battery is out of action for any length of time."
Davis listed this battery between $2.00 and $2.50 in 1848.
Signedunsigned
Curatorial Remarks
FunctionThis battery maintained a constant E.M.F. of 1.5-1.7 depending upon temperature and purity of Zn or Zn Hg (amalgum).
Sir William Robert Grove invented the zinc-platinum cell in 1839. For more info on Grove cells, see the following website.
Also, for a historical account, Donato Tommasi, Traité des piles électriques (Paris, 1889), 171.
Sir William Robert Grove invented the zinc-platinum cell in 1839. For more info on Grove cells, see the following website.
Also, for a historical account, Donato Tommasi, Traité des piles électriques (Paris, 1889), 171.
ProvenanceFrom the Department of Chemistry, Harvard University.
