The Possibilities of Producing Electric Power by the Oxidation of Carbon in an Electrochemical Cell

Since the transformation of the chemical energy stored in coal to electrical energy in a steam power plant is extremely wasteful, other methods of accomplishing this transformation have been proposed. Among the proposals which do not use a heat engine are the thermopile and the electric cell. Since the thermopile is even more wasteful of energy than the steam engine, it is evident that the electric cell is the better proposal. In this thesis I have made a study of the possibilities of such a cell both theoretically and experimentally.