We Could Talk About The Weather

[NQ6U]

In fact, the actual function of the so-called Baghdad Battery is not known for certain. While it's possible that it was a primitive sort of galvanic cell, there are some reasons to believe otherwise. In any case, even if it were a battery, given the electrolytic chemicals available at the time the best that output that could have been expected from one would have been perhaps one-half to one volt, so it would have taken a whole hell of a lot of them to develop enough potential to power a Crookes Tube. That doesn't matter, of course, since the technology to build such a device was non-existent during the Parthian period.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/2804257.stm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baghdad_Battery

http://archyfantasies.wordpress.com/...ghdad-battery/

ON EDIT: BTW, that thing shown in the photograph is not a Crookes Tube. It looks like a pretty standard neon tube with a fancy-shaped electrode to me.

[N2NH]

Electricity may have fried the Behemoth but it ignited Godzilla's atomic fire and made things worse. Now which monster is responsible for attacking the weakest link in the Northeast Power Grid? Smart beastie he is, every time a key link, the Niagara Feeder to the city always fails. Back in 1965 the phrase was "Where were you when the lights went out?" and someone even wrote a song about it. I was home in Jersey (engineers had sense enough to cut the Linden Feeder to Staten island to stop the dominoes) doing some AM and FM broadcast band DXing with the FM stations off the air and no modulation and no splatter from the AM transmitters in the Meadowlands. Couldn't TVDX since I didn't have a BMF antenna and rotor then, rats. In any case the old land line pre cell phone network stayed up, if all else fails there's still the 48V Baghdad battery bank.

I was on the air and running the transmitter link to the city at WPAT (AM/FM) on the night of the 77 blackout. It was a hoot. We had two transmitters in the city, both went down. Oddly enough, it was one of a few stations with a THIRD backup FM Transmitter. That one was built by Armstrong himself. It hadn't been used in decades, but with the help of the CE and a lot of DPPG, I got it to run 3 watts. About as much as the average CB radio. With the bands totally quiet, I was told you could hear it all over the city and that meant the sponsors couldn't complain.

I'm glad I'm not in the city this Aug. 14th. Ten years ago for my 50th birthday, the great northeast blackout happened on that day. I can't imagine what's in store for my 60th, but I sure don't want to be around there for it.

[n2ize]

Last things first, the old NH can't switch to DC anything and still remain part of the NEC.

But they do. The same NH trains that run on the AC Catenary also operate off the DC third rail when they join the old New York Central Harlem line as Mount Vernon West. It's all 3rd rail DC the rest of the way. Unless it has to do with Amtrack requiring the AC Cat system as they do run along the NH line, I think... However doesn't Amtrack also run along the Hudson Line which is also a DC 3rd rail system ?

Outside of the NYC subway system my knowledge of railroad routes is limited. My interest in trains is limited to subways.

[n2ize]

I was on the air and running the transmitter link to the city at WPAT (AM/FM) on the night of the 77 blackout. It was a hoot. We had two transmitters in the city, both went down. Oddly enough, it was one of a few stations with a THIRD backup FM Transmitter. That one was built by Armstrong himself. It hadn't been used in decades, but with the help of the CE and a lot of DPPG, I got it to run 3 watts. About as much as the average CB radio. With the bands totally quiet, I was told you could hear it all over the city and that meant the sponsors couldn't complain.

WPAT didn't have a backup generator to keep the station up ? Most NYC stations were up during the 65 and 77 blackouts on backup. Where was the transmitter site ? With no generators what did you use to power up the Armstrong built transmitter ?

I'm glad I'm not in the city this Aug. 14th. Ten years ago for my 50th birthday, the great northeast blackout happened on that day. I can't imagine what's in store for my 60th, but I sure don't want to be around there for it.

Godzilla might come. Remember what he did to Tokyo back in the 50's.

[kb2vxa]

"That doesn't matter, of course, since the technology to build such a device was non-existent during the Parthian period."
Well, the Persians built batteries but not "Crookes tubes" even though Eric Von Dannyskin seems to believe in the Dendra light. Interesting how I couldn't put one over on you, take a closer look and you'll see a snake coming out of a lotus blossom in ancient Egyptian mythology.

"Oddly enough, it was one of a few stations with a THIRD backup FM Transmitter. That one was built by Armstrong himself. It hadn't been used in decades, but with the help of the CE and a lot of DPPG, I got it to run 3 watts."
More oddly you managed to find that museum piece and get it to run. That reminds me of Spock making a mnemonic memory out of stone knives and bear skins. What puzzles me is how Armstrong could have had anything to do with WPAT when his experimental station in Alpine was W2XMN which evolved into WQXR. It's easy to get lost on the 82nd floor of Empire, the JDL did and blew up WPIX TV 11 instead of WBAI.

"With no generators what did you use to power up the Armstrong built transmitter ?"
Babylonian batteries?

"But they do."
Hold on there! I said: Last things first, the old NH can't switch to DC anything and still remain part of the NEC. The old NH is a railroad, I said nothing about trains.
"The same NH trains that run on the AC Catenary also operate off the DC third rail when they join the old New York Central Harlem line as Mount Vernon West. It's all 3rd rail DC the rest of the way."
I believe I said something about 3rd rail powering the system after the inverter and before the DC power control. The rest of the way is into Grand Central Station since exhaust fumes are prohibited in NYC railway stations and tunnels.
"However doesn't Amtrack also run along the Hudson Line which is also a DC 3rd rail system ?"
Amtrak has dual power locomotives that run the Harlem Line too, the Hudson Line follows the river upstate and is Diesel. That's the line through Spuyten Duyvil where the garbage train derailed during the last heat wave.

"Godzilla might come. Remember what he did to Tokyo back in the 50's."
1956 to be precise. You forgot how he became asexual and a whole lot meaner and attacked New York in 1998. That came as quite a surprise to the LGBT community, "If Zilla can reproduce all by himself why can't we?"

[n2ize]

"But they do."
Hold on there! I said: Last things first, the old NH can't switch to DC anything and still remain part of the NEC. The old NH is a railroad, I said nothing about trains.

And what is the specific reason for that ?

"The same NH trains that run on the AC Catenary also operate off the DC third rail when they join the old New York Central Harlem line as Mount Vernon West. It's all 3rd rail DC the rest of the way."
I believe I said something about 3rd rail powering the system after the inverter and before the DC power control.

OK so you are saying the inverter converts it back to high voltage AC ?

The rest of the way is into Grand Central Station since exhaust fumes are prohibited in NYC railway stations and tunnels.

Tell that to Metro North. I've seen them running on diesel in the tunnels. And on more than one occaision our electric trains filled with smoke and fumes from deisels running in the tunnels. Apparently Metro-North bends the rules from time to time.

"However doesn't Amtrack also run along the Hudson Line which is also a DC 3rd rail system ?"[/quote]

Amtrak has dual power locomotives that run the Harlem Line too,

I don't recall ever seeing them on the Harlem. But like I said I don;t know much about railroad routes.

the Hudson Line follows the river upstate and is Diesel. That's the line through Spuyten Duyvil where the garbage train derailed during the last heat wave.

The Hudson is electrified through the Bronx and Westchester. They run electric commuter trains. Does it switch to deisel further north ?

[n2ize]

"That doesn't matter, of course, since the technology to build such a device was non-existent during the Parthian period."
Well, the Persians built batteries but not "Crookes tubes"

The problem, with the Persian/Bagdhad cell is that it has no external cathode connection. My guess is that it wasn't a cell at all.

[n2ize]

I was on the air and running the transmitter link to the city at WPAT (AM/FM) on the night of the 77 blackout. It was a hoot. We had two transmitters in the city, both went down. Oddly enough, it was one of a few stations with a THIRD backup FM Transmitter. That one was built by Armstrong himself. It hadn't been used in decades, but with the help of the CE and a lot of DPPG, I got it to run 3 watts. About as much as the average CB radio. With the bands totally quiet, I was told you could hear it all over the city and that meant the sponsors couldn't complain.

I'm glad I'm not in the city this Aug. 14th. Ten years ago for my 50th birthday, the great northeast blackout happened on that day. I can't imagine what's in store for my 60th, but I sure don't want to be around there for it.

Years ago I was running an AM Broadcast station when a tanker truck explosion knocked out power to the 50 Kw station and several other large AM stations. I grabbed an old Johnson Ranger and modified it to transmit on the AM band. I got it powered up to about 1/2 a watt and used it to get the station back on the air. I used a bunch of 12 V car batteries in series to power the thing up.

[N2NH]

WPAT didn't have a backup generator to keep the station up ? Most NYC stations were up during the 65 and 77 blackouts on backup. Where was the transmitter site ? With no generators what did you use to power up the Armstrong built transmitter ?

The only other station I heard on the air during the 77 blackout was WINS on the AM band. I could only get WPLJ on FM. I was picking up Albany on AM though and an FM station from Briarcliff Manor in Westchester (WTFM ?), all during the day. Had to run across Manhattan (West St to Bowery) to my ex-girlfriends apartment in Chinatown then up 22 stories in the dark only to find out she didn't have any water. Down and up 22 again lugging 2 gallons of water this time.

[NQ6U]

The problem, with the Persian/Bagdhad cell is that it has no external cathode connection. My guess is that it wasn't a cell at all.

Your guess and that of just about every serious archeologist. Since the copper and iron were both completely covered by the asphalt sealant, it seems very unlikely that the thing was used as a battery. The most likely scenario is that they were used to store important documents and that the acidic residue found in the jars was probably decomposed papyrus.