Historical Figure
Alessandro Volta
1745–1827
Italian chemist and physicist (1745–1827)
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Biography
Alessandro Giuseppe Antonio Anastasio Volta was an Italian chemist and physicist who was a pioneer of electricity and power, and is credited as the inventor of the electric battery and the discoverer of methane. He invented the voltaic pile in 1799, and reported the results of his experiments in a two-part letter to the president of the Royal Society, which was published in 1800. With this invention, Volta proved that electricity could be generated chemically and debunked the prevalent theory that electricity was generated solely by living beings. Volta's invention sparked a great amount of scientific excitement and led others to conduct similar experiments, which eventually led to the development of the field of electrochemistry.
Timeline
The story of Alessandro Volta, told in moments.
The unit of electrical potential, the volt, bears his name. Every battery in every phone, car, and flashlight descends from that stack of metal discs and wet cardboard.
Invents the electrophorus, a device that produces static electricity. He is 30 and already a professor of physics at the Royal School in Como.
Discovers methane while poking a stick into the muddy bottom of Lake Maggiore and collecting the gas that bubbles up. He ignites it with a spark from his electrophorus. Chemistry and electricity meet in a swamp.
Announces the voltaic pile in a letter to the Royal Society. Stacked discs of zinc and copper separated by brine-soaked cardboard produce a steady electric current for the first time in history. The battery is born.
Demonstrates the pile before Napoleon at the Institut de France in Paris. Napoleon is so impressed he makes Volta a count and awards him a gold medal on the spot.
Dies at home in Como at 82. He'd been retired for eight years, spending his final days quietly on his estate.
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