Accumulators, Batteries And Winding Radios

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Accumulators are a collective term for energy storage devices, in a similar way that ‘sport’ includes baseball and gridiron football. Those two sports are different although they all make use of balls. There are many different varieties of accumulators too.

The Main Categories of Accumulators

accumulators
Windup Toy Train: Clem Rutter: CC 3.0

Every accumulator accepts energy, stores energy, and releases it on demand. Some accumulators accept it slowly and then release it quickly, while others work the other way around.

A third category stores and releases energy at a similar rate. However, the definitions of quick, slow, and similar are on a sliding scale.

A particular accumulator may store thermal (temperature), mechanical (kinetic) or electrical energy (e.g. batteries and capacitors). Real life examples are steam accumulators, mainsprings, flywheel energy storage, hydraulic accumulators, capacitors, rechargeable batteries, compensated pulsed alternators, and pumped-storage hydroelectric plants.

Familiar Accumulators Encountered in Daily Living

accumulators
Tower Bridge Steam Pump: Arpingstone: P Domain

The London Tower Bridge lifted the central span with stored pressurized water (kinetic energy) from 1894 to 1974. Since then it used an electro-hydraulic system instead. Fifty years ago, small children played with model railways powered by windup mainsprings.

During the late 1980’s to early 1990’s inventor Trevor Baylis dreamed of windup radios so people in poor countries could receive information about AIDS. Finally, in a flash of inspiration, he assembled the first prototype in 30 minutes.

The original components were an electric motor from a toy car, a musical box clockwork mechanism, and a small transistor radio. Subsequent models used energy from a hand crank stored in an accumulator spring. When the user wanted to listen to the radio, they released the spring to drive an electrical generator.

Travel Well, Trevor Baylis

Trevor Baylis passed away on March 5 2018. He was a humble man who helped other inventors get their products to market. All the people in his windup radio factory were disabled. He once remarked, “The key to success is to risk thinking unconventional thoughts.

“Convention is the enemy of progress.” Then he added, “As long as you’ve got slightly more perception than the average wrapped loaf, you could invent something”. We will say amen to that!

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Accumulators, Capacitors and Airships

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Preview Image: Original Baygen Clockwork Radio

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About Author

I tripped over a shrinking bank balance and fell into the writing gig unintentionally. This was after I escaped the corporate world and searched in vain for ways to become rich on the internet by doing nothing. Despite the fact that writing is no recipe for wealth, I rather enjoy it. I will not deny I am obsessed with it when I have the time. I live in Margate on the Kwazulu-Natal south coast of South Africa. I work from home where I ponder on the future of the planet, and what lies beyond in the great hereafter. Sometimes I step out of my computer into the silent riverine forests, and empty golden beaches for which the area is renowned. Richard

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