They’ve been a mainstay of sci-fi props for years but you’ll be hard-pressed to find someone on the street that can tell you what they actually do. They’re Mercury Arc Reactors and our friends at Oobject have collected nine of the best.
If you’re looking for more accouterments for your evil laboratory, might I suggest these Frankestein’s lab items, this homage to the light bulb, or these crazy Tesla coils?
A three phase, six anode mercury arc rectifier, formerly used at a 600V DC traction substation of the Athens-Piraeus railway.
Household Mercury Arc Rectifier.
Mercury rectifier on display in Beromunster, Switzerland.
Mercury Vapour Arc Rectifier from University of Aberdeen Collection.
Rectifier at the Cengelhan Koc Museum in Turkey.
Rectifier from Type 80 Early Warning Radar System.
The two mercury arc rectifiers at Kempton Steam Museum, London.
Twin Mercury Arc Rectifiers from the Doncaster Odeon. movie theatre
Working Mercury Arc Rectifier.
LucasF
Saturday, September 24, 2011 at 10:50 PMCan’t you at least tell us what it is and how it works? It sounds interesting!!! To Wikipedia I go.
Jackson Bison
Monday, September 26, 2011 at 7:56 AMAgreed – while I do enjoy Gizmodo, the quality and thoroughness of articles is getting worse every week…
Pick up your game, Gizmodo, and/or hire an editor!
Michael
Monday, September 26, 2011 at 6:54 PMMore like fire the current editor and hire a new one.
sparhawk0
Sunday, September 25, 2011 at 9:17 AMNo love for Van de Graaff generators or oscilloscopes?
Fred
Sunday, September 25, 2011 at 10:39 AMSo its a A/C to D/C converter.
RB
Monday, September 26, 2011 at 11:58 AM“They’re Mercury Arc Reactors”
Someone has been watching IronMan a little too much.
case
Monday, September 26, 2011 at 1:58 PMFrom Wikipedia:
“A mercury-arc valve (mercury-vapor rectifier) is a type of electrical rectifier used for converting high-voltage or high-current alternating current (AC) into direct current (DC). Rectifiers of this type were used to provide power for industrial motors, electric railways, streetcars, and electric locomotives, as well as for high-voltage direct current power transmission. They were the primary method of rectification before the advent of semiconductor rectifiers such as diodes and gate turn-off thyristors (GTOs).”
Just This Guy ...
Monday, September 26, 2011 at 2:22 PM“They’re Mercury Arc Reactors ”
No, they’re rectifiers, not reactors.
And yes, they’re “merely” AC -> DC converters.
They certainly get your attention when you’re near one that’s running that’s fer sure!
Facter
Monday, September 26, 2011 at 3:56 PMThere are still some that are in working order in Melbourne, left over from the old DC power grid – they were still in active use up until about five years ago when they were finally decommissioned as the last DC lifts were closed down.
I saw them in the Melbourne Open house show – they are in the power station up near Exhibition street – go check it out when they open it up to the public again next year, totally and utterly ultra cool in action.