Galvanic Battery Applications 1840

JOURNAL OF THE eLAT IC SOCIETY. The Galvanic Battery in its various Practical Applications as an Igniting Agent.—By Lieut. R. Bairo Smirna, Bengal Engineers. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. The dependence of the action of the Galvanic Battery on chemical principles, the excitation of that action by the employment of chemical agents, and the habit of considering the Battery as an instrument of scientific research rather than of practical utility, have tended, to a certain extent, to excite impressions unfavourable to its extensive applicability in engineering operations. Practical men naturally dread employing any agent of whose nature they are not thoroughly cognizant, and are therefore liable to be prejudiced against the Battery, by finding themselves unable to apprehend the rationale of its effects. To aid in the removal of such an impression, it may be remarked that an acquaintance with the theory of the Battery, is by no means essential to the comprehension of its mechanical details and applications, as a little experience would immediately prove. A few opportunities of observing the Battery in action, of noting the different - manipulations, such as forming connections, apportioning solutions, &c. will, with common intelligence, enable any one to employ it independently. The remembrance of what has already been done, both at home and in this country, will also tend to remove an…