Voltaic pile
date: label: date made
content: ca 1808
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: A very early voltaic pile, the first type of chemical battery. Alternating discs of zinc and copper (each about 2-13/16" diameter) are separated by (now degraded) pads that would have been damped with salt-water during use. About fifty pairs of discs are stacked vertically in a mahogany frame supported by 4 turned posts, there are 5 turned balls on top, four to secure the posts, and one in the center to adjust tension on the stack of discs. The discs are kept in position by 3 vertical glass rods 1/2" diameter by 30" long.
label: Description (Brief)
content: Developed by Alessandro Volta of Italy in the late 1890s and introduced in 1800, voltaic piles generated a steady source of electrical current. This allowed researchers to conduct experiments not possible with previous static electric generating equipment, and led within a few years to the discovery of electromagnetic effects that revolutionized electrical science. Further development of Volta’s initial concept resulted in batteries that powered early telegraph systems, electroplating devices, and experimental electric lights. This particular unit dates from around 1808, less than a decade after Volta announced his discovery.
label: Description (Brief)
content: Dickinson College provided a list of scientific apparatus in their possession, dated 21 May 1814, that includes two voltaic piles. Staff of the US National Museum borrowed one of the two piles in 1956 or 1957, constructed a replica, then returned the original to the college. In 1958, the college reported that their records indicated that the pile “was given to the College by Benjamin Rush [1746-1813], ... about 1808.”
label: Description (Brief)
content: In late 1965, Museum of History and Technology staff requested the loan of one original pile for exhibition. Dickinson College sent this pile in January 1966. We do not know if it is the one previously borrowed, since the original piles are identical. After the exhibition, staff placed the pile in storage. It has been displayed several times over the decades. In 2023, Dickinson College converted the loan to a gift.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Electricity
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: from Dickinson College
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: EM.327018
label: catalog number
content: 327018
label: accession number
content: 2023.0172
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Battery
label: Object Name
content: voltaic pile
physicalDescription: label: Measurements
content: overall: 34 in x 10 in x 10 in; 86.36 cm x 25.4 cm x 25.4 cm