1. Jaclyn Mouras, Brianna Griffin, Amanda Bloom, and Billy McGuire

2. o Human kind has been fascinated by electricity since lightning was first witnessed 1938 - a jar was found in Iraq that could have been the first battery (It was over 2000 years old) 1650 - Otto von Guericke experimented with electricity 1729 - Stephen Gray discovered electrical conductivity 1752 - Benjamin Franklin studied properties of electricity o These discoveries led up to Alessandro Giuseppe Antonio Anastasio Volta’s invention of the battery

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. Battery Charger Phone Battery

9. 9 Volt Camera Battery

10. 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