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Edison and his electric car batteries

CNET -- In the early 1900s, electric vehicles were in a close battle against other automotive technologies for dominance. Famed inventor Thomas Edison, pictured at left, took up the cause himself in 1900 and designed an entirely new battery chemistry to improve the range of electric automobiles, locomotives, and trucks. After some setbacks, he ultimately made some improvements with his alkaline batteries. But by 1910, gasoline-powered automobiles were catching on and Edison abandoned his work on batteries for electric cars. This slideshow will give you a taste of the rich history of electric vehicles, the present-day resurgence, and a glimpse into the future.

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Submitted Feb 07, 2012 By: TC88Gas

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JCI46009IN All-Star Author Indiana Posts:562 Points:188,470 Joined:Sep 2011	Message Posted: Feb 8, 2012 6:28:37 AM Ignore JCI46009IN Report Abuse Really enjoyed this article........... We need another Edison!
PhilMils Champion Author Virginia Posts:5,441 Points:1,045,565 Joined:Dec 2008	Message Posted: Feb 7, 2012 11:49:23 AM Ignore PhilMils Report Abuse Great post!!!
db60 All-Star Author Indiana Posts:982 Points:211,255 Joined:Oct 2011	Message Posted: Feb 7, 2012 10:16:57 AM Ignore db60 Report Abuse Good post.
jrs4125 All-Star Author Indiana Posts:891 Points:224,720 Joined:Sep 2011	Message Posted: Feb 7, 2012 9:44:57 AM Ignore jrs4125 Report Abuse Good article.
doeslayersr Champion Author Illinois Posts:5,779 Points:505,225 Joined:Dec 2010	Message Posted: Feb 7, 2012 9:43:01 AM Ignore doeslayersr Report Abuse Even the genius of a man like Edison knew when it was time not to pursue a an idea which was not practical or feasible and would turn out to be a bad idea. He had many more failures than successes, but that is a mark of a genius when one idea does not work out, to keep thinking and keep trying. This just turned out to be one of his failures. He would not have tolerated government trying to take his ideas and force feed them down to the populace at the expense of the tax payers.
carnifolks Veteran Author New Jersey Posts:354 Points:351,635 Joined:Sep 2006	Message Posted: Feb 7, 2012 9:37:53 AM Ignore carnifolks Report Abuse edison was a man ahead of his time
Night Owl Champion Author Toronto Posts:5,761 Points:1,430,745 Joined:Jul 2004	Message Posted: Feb 7, 2012 9:26:47 AM Ignore Night Owl Report Abuse It's a shame that battery technology hasn't improved much since the early 1900s.
OHMS Champion Author Orange County Posts:11,247 Points:1,332,350 Joined:May 2005	Message Posted: Feb 7, 2012 9:23:21 AM Ignore OHMS Report Abuse By 1910, gasoline-powered automobiles were catching on and Edison abandoned his work on batteries for electric cars.
LilRedWagonIN Champion Author Indiana Posts:5,922 Points:1,203,375 Joined:Oct 2008	Message Posted: Feb 7, 2012 8:40:39 AM Ignore LilRedWagonIN Report Abuse Imagine what electric locomotives would be like if they replaced steam locomotives instead of diesel. The GM division's name would have more impact.
portlandcat Champion Author Tennessee Posts:1,805 Points:324,255 Joined:Apr 2011	Message Posted: Feb 7, 2012 8:37:29 AM Ignore portlandcat Report Abuse too bad he gave up, just think of where we'd be if he pressed on....
mossimo36 All-Star Author St. Louis Posts:614 Points:129,825 Joined:Sep 2011	Message Posted: Feb 7, 2012 8:37:18 AM Ignore mossimo36 Report Abuse Very impressive Mr. Edison
UncaLar All-Star Author Indiana Posts:954 Points:205,085 Joined:Apr 2005	Message Posted: Feb 7, 2012 8:33:20 AM Ignore UncaLar Report Abuse What a visionary... Edison was a genius!
RitaVespa Champion Author Oregon Posts:1,662 Points:445,980 Joined:Jan 2011	Message Posted: Feb 7, 2012 8:28:24 AM Ignore RitaVespa Report Abuse Amazing
fuel2use Champion Author Seattle Posts:1,786 Points:405,300 Joined:Dec 2010	Message Posted: Feb 7, 2012 8:19:07 AM Ignore fuel2use Report Abuse It was a start.
kress999 Sophomore Author Alabama Posts:214 Points:245,220 Joined:May 2011	Message Posted: Feb 7, 2012 8:17:20 AM Ignore kress999 Report Abuse Cool presentation, too bad the technology is not there for the miles needed.
dorisntx Champion Author Fort Worth Posts:1,247 Points:331,225 Joined:Apr 2011	Message Posted: Feb 7, 2012 8:12:03 AM Ignore dorisntx Report Abuse ok
blupupher Champion Author Houston Posts:1,670 Points:415,890 Joined:Feb 2011	Message Posted: Feb 7, 2012 7:56:24 AM Ignore blupupher Report Abuse Still does not change the fact that batteries are still limited in distance, take a long time to charge and are expensive.
joseph000 Champion Author Houston Posts:1,060 Points:205,430 Joined:May 2011	Message Posted: Feb 7, 2012 7:48:04 AM Ignore joseph000 Report Abuse The first car was electric, go figure. I read an article on these batteries in Nuts and Volts magazine, that's my hobby, it's good to see there are possible technologies that might really benefit EVs. Just keep in mind, the oil industry has actively bought up patents to stagnate progress in EVs as they them as a threat to their profits. We have some problems with patent law being used this way that needs to be fixed. Holding a patent should not allow the holder to prevent use of the technology.
mwc407 All-Star Author North Carolina Posts:807 Points:334,340 Joined:Jan 2011	Message Posted: Feb 7, 2012 7:43:17 AM Ignore mwc407 Report Abuse I had NO IDEA that EVs went all the way back to Edison and the early 1900s! Can you imagine how much further along we'd be with EV technology if electric cars would have taken off?? Probably would have never had "muscle cars". This is pretty interesting!