Jaclyn Mouras, Brianna Griffin, Amanda Bloom, and Billy McGuire
o Human kind has been fascinated by electricity since lightning was first witnessed a jar was found in Iraq that could have been the first battery (It was over 2000 years old) Otto von Guericke experimented with electricity Stephen Gray discovered electrical conductivity Benjamin Franklin studied properties of electricity o These discoveries led up to Alessandro Giuseppe Antonio Anastasio Volta’s invention of the battery
o Luigi Galvani held the theory of animal electricity o He observed twitching in dismembered frog legs While hanging a specimen from a brass hook, Galvani touched a steel scalpel to a nerve & saw it move Galvani believed that when nerve and muscle touch two dissimilar metals in contact with each other, a contraction of a muscle occurs He thought the fluid in the body was the source of electricity o Volta was skeptical of Galvani’s belief He didn’t think the current could be generated within the frog’s leg, rather he believed the frog was just a conductor o Volta later disproved the animal electricity theory by inventing the battery in 1800
o In 1794, Volta began his work on the battery by experimenting with various metals & electrolytes o The first battery consisted of a series of alternating copper and zinc rings in an electrolyte o Glass rods surrounded & supported the metal discs The strength of the charged depended on the number of rods o This became known as the Voltaic Pile
o Volta presented his invention as a mechanism capable of continually holding an electrical charge o In Paris in 1801, Volta demonstrated his invention to prominent French scientists & Napoleon o Napoleon was so impressed that he gave Volta a gold medal, a pension, and appointments as a cavalier, senator & count
o Shortly after Volta publicized his work, many variations followed the Voltaic Pile o Some include: The Crow’s Foot battery Telegraph batteries Gaston Plante’s Lead Acid Battery TOP LEFT: Crow’s Foot Battery TOP RIGHT: Gordon Primary Telegraph Battery BOTTOM LEFT: Lead Acid Battery
Battery Charger Phone Battery
9 Volt Camera Battery
o Volta’s invention is so imperative that it’s still in use today o Modern batteries are much smaller & though improvements have been made, the science behind them is still the same o Batteries are used in the medical field, in appliances around the house, while driving cars & elsewhere o Scientists, chemists & inventors are still working to advance the battery o Thanks to Alessandro Volta’s discoveries & invention our world is better off