This color educational film is about storage batteries such as car batteries. This was made in 1959 and was produced by the Willard Storage Battery Division.

Titles: US Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines, The Story of the Modern Storage Battery (:13-:43). A man puts a storage battery together. He attaches the battery into a car. Close on the car’s radio. Atomic Submarine shot. Guided missile. Mariners on a boat. Doctors operate. A group of batteries. Many batteries are shown (:44-2:10). Our host explains a battery as it sits on a counter, he’s in a laboratory type environment. He holds a penny and a nickel. He cuts a grapefruit. He places the coins in the grapefruit and then makes it into a battery where an electric current can be tested. Other types of batteries are shown. A photo of Alessandro Volta is shown, he was the father of the electric battery. What he did to create it is shown with discs (2:11-4:45). He touches a storage battery. A photo of Gaston Planté was a French physicist who invented the lead–acid battery in 1859. Lead plates are put into an electrolyte solution. An experiment is shown. Close on bubbling water and lead plates. One lead is brown, one is not. He attaches wires to the two lead plates and runs a battery test. The host talks to the camera (4:46-8:13).

Animated diagram shows lead peroxide and lead in electrolyte dilute sulphuric acid. A light bulb is attached and lights up. Our host puts up elements from the periodic table on a blackboard. The experiment is shown in animation to light up a lightbulb. Lead sulfate is shown being made (8:14-11:09). A battery charger is inserted in the animated diagram. Our elements change and make lead and lead peroxide. Pioneers Brush and Willard are shown in pictures (11:10-12:22). Storage battery up close. A small storage battery is shown. Our host tilts the battery that is in a beaker, liquid is almost splashed. Another experiment causes lights to turn on. One light stays but the other starts to dim (12:23-14:26). Lead plates are placed on a table. Our host puts paste onto a grill, that is also lead, and that’s to hold the electricity. A grid for an automotive battery is shown. A close on the grill. Modern storage battery versus an old experimental one (14:27-16:41). Scientists look at a battery. Experiments occur. Lead in a molding machine. Grids are made from this. Grids are placed together in a factory. Lead is converted to lead oxide in a factory. It is made into a paste. Pasted grids go through a machine. Workers make grids (16:42-19:23). Laboratory checks grids. A worker places grid plates in a machine. The machine goes quickly. Battery plates are welded. The grids are placed into a car battery. The battery is made with sealing and grids placed together. The battery is completed. A dry charge battery has liquid poured into it. The battery is tested. Extreme temperatures are used to test the modern battery by scientists (19:24-22:04). A woman gets into her car with her children in the backseat. She tries to start the car but it isn’t turning over. She calls her husband. Her car sits in a service station. The husband talks with a service station employee. The employee points out parts of the battery. Damaged batteries are shown. Water is added to the husband’s battery. A plate from the battery is shown, it is ruined. A good plate to compare is shown. An overcharged battery is shown, it is ruined. A car battery is shown for sale. The two continue to talk. Car batteries at a junkyard are shown. A new car battery is put into the husband’s car. It starts and he drives away (22:05-25:59). A battery is shown. A moving train. A telephone. A missile. Our host with a car battery (26:00-26:50). End credits (26:51-27:05).

We encourage viewers to add comments and, especially, to provide additional information about our videos by adding a comment! See something interesting? Tell people what it is and what they can see by writing something for example: “01:00:12:00 — President Roosevelt is seen meeting with Winston Churchill at the Quebec Conference.”

This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com