Where does this come from, and can I check it?

Lewis Urry at Eveready swapped the acidic paste for potassium hydroxide and got a longer lasting cell. The figure is taken from National Museum of American History, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.

Is this really a technology fact?

Yes. It sits on the Technology shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.

What else can I read about it?

The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.

Mondo Knows Facts

Alkaline cells arrived in the late 1940s

Lewis Urry at Eveready swapped the acidic paste for potassium hydroxide and got a longer lasting cell Urry was working for Eveready in 1949 when he replaced the ammonium chloride paste of a zinc carbon cell with alkaline potassium hydroxide, which conducts ions more readily. A steel can took the place of the zinc case, so more of the volume held active material. The design reached shops that year but took decades to overtake the older chemistry. It sits in Mondo's technology collection, one of 200 facts that each trace back to the reference below.

Where this comes from

National Museum of American History

Facts that can change over time are reviewed and updated. If something here looks wrong, Mondo would rather know than be confidently incorrect.

Go further

Technology trivia History trivia

More facts like this

Lake Natron in Tanzania has extremely alkaline waterVolcanic sodium carbonate deposits give Lake Natron a pH level as high as 10.5.Satellites run on batteries twice a dayIn geostationary orbit the spacecraft spends about 72 minutes of each day in Earth's shadow and draws on stored power Lithium-ion batteries were commercialised by Sony in 1991John Goodenough, Stanley Whittingham, and Akira Yoshino received the Nobel Prize for their development Battery management systems prevent thermal runaway in lithium-ion batteriesIntegrated microcontrollers monitor cell voltages and temperature to ensure safe operation The lead acid battery dates from 1859Gaston Plante paired lead with lead dioxide in dilute sulfuric acid and could recharge the cell many times The zinc carbon cell began as a wet batteryGeorges Leclanche's 1866 design used zinc and manganese dioxide, and a sealed dry version followed twenty years later

Tags: batteries, alkaline, eveready

Alkaline cells arrived in the late 1940s: the short answers

Where does this come from, and can I check it?: Lewis Urry at Eveready swapped the acidic paste for potassium hydroxide and got a longer lasting cell. The figure is taken from National Museum of American History, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
Is this really a technology fact?: Yes. It sits on the Technology shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
What else can I read about it?: The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.