Engineer Guy vs. The Lead-Acid Battery

Science Technology
Engineer Guy vs. The Lead-Acid Battery
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Here, friends and neighbors, is the eighth and final video of Engineer Guy series #4. The element of the week is called plumbum in Latin, abbreviated to Pb on the periodic table, and generally known as lead. Formed into electrodes with its oxide and submerged in sulfuric acid, lead is an essential component in the ignition batteries that start cars and other gas-powered vehicles.

Though the lead-acid cell dates to the mid-19th century, and in spite of lead’s density and toxicity, this technology remains a keystone of modern industrial society, and may well continue in that role for a long time. Bill and company explain this anachronism, and lots more, with all their usual flair. [Thanks, Bill!]

2 thoughts on “Engineer Guy vs. The Lead-Acid Battery

  1. miroslava von schlochbaum says:

    always wonderfully informative – thankee Bill and Make! i never knew exactly the engineered direction that “deep cycle” batteries took until this vid.

  2. MAKE | Text Tool: Eight Amazing Engineering Stories says:

    […] specifically, that was the seventh episode of series #1, about how Xerox-process photocopiers work. Just last week, we hit the eighth and final episode of series #4, covering lead-acid batteries. In the intervening […]

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I am descended from 5,000 generations of tool-using primates. Also, I went to college and stuff. I am a long-time contributor to MAKE magazine and makezine.com. My work has also appeared in ReadyMade, c't – Magazin für Computertechnik, and The Wall Street Journal.

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