Contribution to Society

How Did Lewis Invent the Alkaline Battery?

Lewis' field of study was chemical engineering which applies physical sciences, maths and life sciences to solve problems and create new materials or energy. This applies to Lewis' workplace in which he was using his knowledge to create more powerful batteries that lasted longer. Chemical engineers have to learn to address issues that have a large impact on society such as decreasing our environmental footprint, creating sustainable processes and improving human life. Some courses that the profession that the profession requires an individual to take is calculus, algebra, mechanics, physical chemistry and computer programming. When working at Eveready, Lewis made it his priority to discover new ways to create a battery that would last for a much longer time. This started when he was moved from Toronto to the United States to work in a laboratory that specialized in the improvements of batteries. Lewis had all this knowledge from studying at the University of Toronto and wanted to apply it to his job as a chemical engineer to improve batteries. First, Lewis made sure to look at all past experiments with an alkaline material on the inside of the battery. These allowed electrons to pass from an anode (positive) made from zinc to a cathode (negative) created from manganese with carbon while covered in an alkaline electrolyte. The problem was that all previous experiments did not function properly to be considered a more efficient battery. One of the most crucial discoveries Lewis made was that if he used zinc in a loosely packed form (such as powder), the electricity would be able to travel and the alkaline battery finally worked. Before his invention, most alkaline battery designs consisted of a button-shape; however, Lewis believed that a cylindrical shape would be ascetically pleasing. 

Before Lewis created the alkaline battery, zinc-carbon batteries were most commonly used and were unpopular amongst the population because they only lasted several minutes. The moment Lewis had created a prototype for the alkaline battery, he was ready to try and persuade the company to sell his product. To catch the eye of his employers, Lewis bought two toy cars and asked R.L. Glover, the Vice President of technology, to meet him in their cafeteria. In the first car, he placed his alkaline battery prototype and in the second he placed a carbon zinc battery. The outcome was that Lewis’ car travelled for a significantly longer time and went around several lengths of the long cafeteria, but the other car barely moved. The Vice President was thrilled and made it possible that the batteries were produced immediately. In 1959, Lewis patented the alkaline battery and a year earlier the battery actually sold in stores first. Compared to the previous carbon zinc battery, the alkaline battery lasted five to eight times longer being a huge improvement. After two years of being sold, the batteries were renamed Energizer, one of the world’s most famous batteries known to this day. 

In present time, new models of the alkaline batteries have been produced and last 40 times longer than the battery created by Lewis. Without Lewis’ invention, these improvements could never have been made to give the world this compacted energy. This invention changed modern day life and had great advantages.  Instead of sitting home and listening to the radio, an individual could now go for a long walk with a portable radio. Since the alkaline batteries lasted for an extremely longer time, people could enjoy portable power with their devices. Children were now able to play with electronic toys that lit up and moved. This also helped with powering safety devices throughout the household and in jobs such as a policeman or firefighter. Lewis’ invention has helped influence the entire technological world and has impacted the lives of billions.

''Our car went several lengths of this long cafeteria . 'The other car barely moved. Everybody was coming out of their labs to watch. They were all oohing and ahhing and cheering."

How Alkaline Batteries are Made