During my recent holiday in Cornwall I stumbled upon a familiar name in the world of Cathodic Protection (CP); “The man himself” Sir Humphry Davy, famous for his research and application of CP back in the early 1800s, amongst many other discoveries!
The effect of galvanic couples between metals has certainly been observed for a long time (maybe by the Romans). In Florence, in 1792, Giovanni Fabbroni was the first one to describe bi-metallic corrosion.
In 1806, Sir Humphry Davy advanced the idea of a favourable effect on the corrosion of copper in sea water in contact with zinc, tin or iron. The first application of CP by a “galvanic system” using “sacrificial anodes” can be traced back to 1824 by Sir Humphry Davy, in a project financed by the British Navy. Back in 1820 the Navy was anxious to find the reason why copper sheathing sometimes got fouled, whilst iron was dissolving, and at other times the copper was dissolving rather too quickly.
Following an order from the Navy in 1824, he established within two years the basic principles of CP in sea water. He attached four cast iron anodes, two to the stern and two to the bow, with a surface ratio of 1:80 of the surface of copper, on the SS Samarang, a wooden warship with a copper hull which showed signs of corrosion after being used for three years.
By his early 20s, Davy’s work on gases had established his reputation. His discovery of the anaesthetic effect of nitrous oxide in 1799 was a major contribution to surgery. He also did early research on voltaic cells and batteries, tanning, electrolysis, and mineral analysis. He was the first to isolate potassium, sodium, barium, strontium, magnesium, and calcium; he also discovered boron and studied chlorine and iodine extensively. He analysed many pigments and proved that diamond is a form of carbon. His research on mine explosions and flame and his invention of the safety lamp brought him great prestige, and in 1820 he was made president of the Royal Society of London.
In 1872, a statue of Davy was erected in front of the Market Building, Penzance, (now owned by Lloyds TSB) at the top of Market Jew Street, Penzance, UK.
