Now we are all talking about electric cars that will hopefully replace the ones that run on oil. But, even during the early days of automobiles there were electric vehicles. They were, in fact, more popular in the beginning than the oil-driven ones. However, the electric cars of those days had a big problem with their batteries. They were heavy and often leaked acid, corroding the insides of the car. This gave a challenge to Edison, who was also a lover of automobiles. He started on a project to invent a lighter, more powerful and more dependable battery.
It was no easy task, and he knew that the conventional batteries of those days needed thorough improvements. His aim was to make a new battery that was three times more powerful than the existing ones and weighed less, too. He did extensive research on this. Even though an early design flopped, Edison succeeded in making a reliable battery, in 1903, which went into mass production in 1910. However, this new invention could not retain public attention, as Henry Ford brought out the Model T cars, which ran on an internal combustion engine using petrol, and were inexpensive.
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