Trough battery

A trough battery is a modification of a voltaic pile, and a design of a historic wet-cell battery for the extraction of DC voltage; they were developed around 1800 by William Cruickshank.

A major disadvantage of voltaic pile is due to the vertical structure in the form of a column. By the weight of the stacked metal sheets between the metal plates and impregnated with electrolyte inserted cardboard or leather pieces are pressed together. Thereby, the liquid electrolyte, especially in the lower region of the column, pressed outwards and reduces the battery capacity of the entire arrangement.

The trough battery avoids this disadvantage by a horizontal structure consisting of several individual small rectangular vessels ( trough ) in a long line, as shown in contemporary illustration. In each trough which is in itself a separate electrical galvanic cell, the two metal plates of zinc and copper are inserted as the electrode, fixed with shellac in position and adjacent cells connected in series electrically with each other to the electric power of the overall system to increase. As the electrolyte, as in the voltaic pile, used in each of the individual containers sulfuric acid.