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I found these small corroded canisters on top of a mountain in Nevada,
They were about 3 inches long and some had a metal post inside that has green corrosion on them. I think they are trash from when the nearby survey marker was put in 1944.
What are they?
A quick note that if you ever hike in areas where you might wander into any place that may have been a bombing range, please familiarize yourself with the concept of unexploded ordinance: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unexploded_ordnance
That’s probably a battery. Some have a metal post and shell that might outlast other components after a few years / decades in the elements.
You can check dimensions against this list of standard battery sizes: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_battery_sizes
This cross section from http://iamtechnical.com/alkaline-cell shows the right materials for those colors of corrosion and the right general configuration. The shape of the steel(?) can in this picture isn’t a perfect match (what you found has no pronounced button) but that may not have been a feature of every battery.
Can’t say w certainty but that’s my guess.
Additional note (thanks James Jenkins) that the color of the corroded can may indicate an electroplating / other plating on steel, but could also mean a completely different metal. Similarly the amount of copper in “brass” ranges from sixty-something to ninety-something and this will affect corrosion color
I think the answer by mmcc is mostly correct. They are probably parts of an old electrical device battery. But the round case is not steel. Steel (ferrous metals) rust (oxidize) like the narrow strap with a rusty brown color. Non-ferrous metals oxidize in different ways. The green inside is a typical oxidation color of copper.
The canister is some type of non-ferrous alloy, I have some guesses at what it might be, but they are just guesses. If there are (or were) 6 canisters connected together it would be for a 12 volt battery. Though 6 volt was more popular around 1944.
I Googled around for a battery museum that might have images of popular batteries from 1944, but those searches did not go well, leading mostly to artillery battery.
I am guessing that someone is going to come along and be able to say, what kind of battery it was and what specific use it served, but it might be a while. I look forward to reading their answer.
