ELECTRICITY FROM SAND.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 25 November 1924, Page 7

ELECTRICITY FROM SAND.

BATTERIES THAT WILL LAST 2000 YEARS. SCIENTIST TAPS A NEW SOURCE OF POWER. BIRMINGHAM, Oct. 9. Electric batteries that will last thousands of years before running down are a possibility pf the near future if a Birmingham scientist’s theories become actuality. Mr. j. B. Kramer claims to have discovered, a new generative source of electricity by which energy will be drawn in limitless quantities irpm vast natural resources of radio-active substances and harnessed to the science of mankind. Fuel and chemicals are not needed. Mr. Kramer gavo details of his discovery, the principal of which is based on a perfectly" natural process. “It is so noticeable and elementary,” he said, “that scientists appear to have overlooked it. “Briefly, it consists of placing radioactive material between plates of different metals, such as copper and aluminium, which by virtue of their differences have _a quality of discriminating between the positive and negative elements in the radio-activity and storing them up in a charge of electricity which can be drawn off iff the usual way. “The world is full of radio-active substances —there are'countless millions of tons available. “There ar e some kinds of sands on the shores of India and elsewhere which ar© radio-active, and upwards of twenty different minerals have similar properties. Most of these substances endure fob thousands of years, and the energy would be good for the whole of the time. “This radio-activity is a natural process. It is going on ceaselessly, and il remains. only for man to devise .some means of storing it and turning it into electrical energy.” Mr. Kramer believes that he has dont this. With his apparatus he has succeeded iff .driving a small engine, whicl he hopes to demonstrate shortly. “Imagine the process applied to wive less,” suggested Mr. Kramer. “Wjtl a cell made up in this way yoi would have a constant source of energy which would last at a moderate estimate 2000 years, in substitution for tb( present troublesome high storage bat teries.” Mr. Kramer is now hard at work or an instrument by means of which he wil demonstrate the practicability of hi: discovery. “I can foresee,” said Mr. Kramer, “eletronic batteries built up with metal plates an acre or more in area. There seems no reason why every house should not have in an outhouse at the back a battery of cells of this kind to provide power and lighting. “Such batteries would require no attention, and there would be no maintenance cost whatever. ‘‘There are millions of tons of radioactive substances available, which go on discharging energy for a minimum period of 2000 years.”