Carl Gassner was a German physician (17 November 1855 in

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

31 January 1942), scientist and inventor, better known to have contributed to improve the

Leclanché cell The Leclanché cell is a battery invented and patented by the French scientist Georges Leclanché in 1866. The battery contained a conducting solution (electrolyte) of ammonium chloride, a cathode (positive terminal) of carbon, a depolarizer of ...

and to have fostered the development of the first

dry cell An electric battery is a source of electric power consisting of one or more electrochemical cells with external connections for powering electrical devices. When a battery is supplying power, its positive terminal is the cathode and its nega ...

, also known as the

zinc–carbon battery A zinc–carbon battery (or carbon zinc battery in U.S. English) is the generic “heavy duty” disposable battery. It has been overtaken in recent times by the longer-lasting alkaline battery. A zinc–carbon battery is a dry cell that provi ...

, less likely to break or

leak A leak is a way (usually an opening) for fluid to escape a container or fluid-containing system, such as a Water tank, tank or a Ship, ship's Hull (watercraft), hull, through which the contents of the container can escape or outside matter can e ...

and that could be effectively industrially produced at large scale.

Life

Gassner studied the medicine at the

University of Strasbourg The University of Strasbourg (, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. Founded in the 16th century by Johannes Sturm, it was a center of intellectual life during ...

and then practiced in

(Germany) as a specialist in diseases of the eyes and ears. He also conducted experiments in physics and chemistry at the Balbach watchmaking industry.

Invention of dry cell

In 1880, most of the door bells operated with a wet

containing an aqueous electrolyte solution which often dried out, rendering the cell unusable. To remediate this inconvenience, in 1876, Georges Leclanché started to jellify the electrolyte of his cell by adding

starch Starch or amylum is a polymeric carbohydrate consisting of numerous glucose units joined by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by most green plants for energy storage. Worldwide, it is the most common carbohydrate in human diet ...

to the

ammonium chloride Ammonium chloride is an inorganic chemical compound with the chemical formula , also written as . It is an ammonium salt of hydrogen chloride. It consists of ammonium cations and chloride anions . It is a white crystalline salt (chemistry), sal ...

, making also his cell more portable. In 1885, Gassner also decided to modify the Leclanché cell by immobilising the liquid

electrolyte An electrolyte is a substance that conducts electricity through the movement of ions, but not through the movement of electrons. This includes most soluble Salt (chemistry), salts, acids, and Base (chemistry), bases, dissolved in a polar solven ...

plaster of Paris Plaster is a building material used for the protective or decorative coating of walls and ceilings and for moulding and casting decorative elements. In English, "plaster" usually means a material used for the interiors of buildings, while "re ...

used as a porous

binder Binder may refer to: Businesses * Binder FBM, a former German jewelry manufactory * Binder Dijker Otte & Co., the expansion of "BDO" in BDO International Computing * Binder Project, package and share interactive, reproducible environments * Fil ...

, to which he added

hydrophilic A hydrophile is a molecule or other molecular entity that is attracted to water molecules and tends to be dissolved by water.Liddell, H.G. & Scott, R. (1940). ''A Greek-English Lexicon'' Oxford: Clarendon Press. In contrast, hydrophobes are n ...

chemicals and

zinc chloride Zinc chloride is an Inorganic chemistry, inorganic chemical compound with the chemical formula, formula ZnCl2·''n''H2O, with ''n'' ranging from 0 to 4.5, forming water of hydration, hydrates. Zinc chloride, anhydrous and its hydrates, are colo ...

. The purpose of the addition of ZnCl₂ was to limit the

corrosion Corrosion is a natural process that converts a refined metal into a more chemically stable oxide. It is the gradual deterioration of materials (usually a metal) by chemical or electrochemical reaction with their environment. Corrosion engine ...

rate of the zinc

anode An anode usually is an electrode of a polarized electrical device through which conventional current enters the device. This contrasts with a cathode, which is usually an electrode of the device through which conventional current leaves the devic ...

when the cell is not used and so to extend the

service life A product's service life is its period of use in service. Several related terms describe more precisely a product's life, from the point of manufacture, storage, and distribution, and eventual use. Service life has been defined as "a product' ...

of the cell. On 8 April 1886 he obtained a patent in Germany, and on 15 November 1887 in the United States. He also obtained different patents in

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, France and England. His dry cell became known in 1890, when a friend of his shopkeeper asked him for help because the door bell did not work. Later also the other dealers wanted his dry cell. Subsequently, the director of the

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Central Germany (cultural area), Central German state of Thuringia, with a population of around 216,000. It lies in the wide valley of the Gera (river), River Gera, in the so ...

post-office ordered 100,000 batteries, forcing Gassner to establish a factory in

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

. He could have earned millions of marks, but for peace he renounced all the rights of the Frankfurt company and the production was interrupted. He is buried in the main cemetery of Mainz.

Zinc-carbon battery

The global chemical reaction occurring in the zinc-carbon battery is the following:

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References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gassner, Carl Battery inventors 19th-century German inventors 1855 births 1942 deaths Physicians from Mainz 19th-century German physicians

Life

Invention of dry cell

Zinc-carbon battery

See also

References

External links