Electric Battery History - Invention of the Electric Battery Invention: electric battery in 1800 Function: noun / electric batï¿½tery Definition: In science and technology, a battery is a device that stores energy and makes it available in an electrical form. A battery converts chemical energy into electric energy. It is a connected bunch (or ï¿½batteryï¿½) of electro-chemical devices. Inventor: Count Alessandro Giuseppe Antonio Anastasio Volta Criteria: First to invent.

Birth: February 18, 1745.in Como, Lombardy, Italy Death: March 5, 1827.in Como, Lombardy, Italy Nationality: Italian Milestones: 1650 German physicist Otto von Guericke experimented with generating electricity 1729 The English physicist Stephen Gray discovered electrical conductivity 1752 Ben Franklin studied the properties of electricity by conducting his kite flying experiment 1780 Luigi Galvani erroneously discovers "animal electricity" 1794 Alessandro Volta believes that a chemical interaction causes electricity 1800 Alessandro Volta developed the so-called voltaic pile, a forerunner of the electric battery 1813 Sir Humphry Davy deduced that electrolysis was the action that produced electricity 1820 John Daniell invented a cell consisting of copper and zinc plates and copper and zinc sulphate 1834 Michael Faraday conducted experiments with a ferrite ring, a galvanometer, and a battery 1834 Michael Faraday also developed the principle of ionic mobility in chemical reactions of batteries. 1836 John F.

Daniell an English chemist, produced a cell that was not subject to polarization. 1839 William Grove developed the first fuel cell, produced energy using hydrogen and oxygen 1859 Gaston Plante invents lead acid storage battery "wet cell" 1868 Georges Leclanche invents "single fluid electric generating battery".using zinc 1881 Emile Alphonse Faure developed batteries using a mixture of lead oxides for the positive plate 1886 German scientist, Dr. Carl Gassner Jr. invents the first "dry cell" batteries. (US 373,064) 1886 The National Carbon Co. was founded the then Brush Electric Co. executive W. H. Lawrence 1896 First commercial battery for sale.

Carbon-zinc battery by National Carbon Company 1898 National Carbon Company introduces the first D cell battery 1898 Nathan Stubblefield, combined primary and secondary electric battery (US 600,457) 1898 Conrad Hubert invents "electric hand torch" flashlight 1900 Thomas Alva Edison invents storage battery 1900 Waldemar Junger and Karl Berg invent nickel-cadmium battery (ni-cad) 1905 American Electrical Novelty & Mfg. Co renamed The American Ever Ready Company 1914 National Carbon Company buys half interest in The American Ever Ready Company 1917 National Carbon Co. merged with Union Carbide to form The Union Carbide and Carbon Co 1942 Samuel Ruben and Philip Rogers Mallory developed the mercury cell. 1949 Lew Urry developed the small alkaline battery at the Eveready Battery Company laboratory 1953 Samuel Ruben improved the alkaline manganese battery 1954 The Mallory Battery Company introduced alkaline manganese cells in a new size, the AAA.

1954 Gerald Pearson , Daryl Chapin , and Calvin Fuller invent the first solar battery or solar cell 1955 Russell S. Ohl developed a wafer of silicon that produced free electrons 1956:Eveready Battery Company develops the 9-volt battery 1956 Francis Thomas Bacon developed the hydrogen - oxygen fuel cell 1959:Eveready Battery Company introduces the first commercially available alkaline battery. 1960:Miniature silver-oxide or ï¿½button batteriesï¿½ are developed for hearing aides and watches. 1960 First nickel-cadmium rechargeable battery system is developed by Waldmar Junger in Sweden. 1964 Duracell brand alkaline batteries introduced by the Mallory Battery Company 1989 The Energizer Bunny starts "going and going" 1992:The first lithium batteries are commercially available. Powerful AA-size batteries battery, electric battery, voltic pile, wet cell, dry cell, Alessandro Volta, Luigi Galvani, John F. Daniell, William R.

Grove, Gaston Plante, Georges Leclanche, Thomas Alva Edison, Carl Gassner Jr, Waldemar Junger, Karl Berg, Lew Urry, volt, invention, history, inventor of, history of, who invented, invention of, fascinating facts. The Story: Electricity has fascinated human kind since our ancestors first witnessed lightning. In ancient Greece, Thales observed that an electric charge could be generated by rubbing amber, for which the Greek word is electron. In 1938 a jar was found just outside Baghdad, Iraq (that may be, could be or is believed to be) the first battery. The jar is about 2000 years old from the Parthian period. The jar is composed of a clay jar with a stopper made of asphalt. Sticking through the asphalt is an iron rod surrounded by a copper cylinder. When filled with vinegar - or any other electrolytic solution - the jar produces about 1.1 volts. But, such ancient knowledge in the history of electricity bears no known continuous relationship to the development of modern batteries.

Its form, though, is nearly identical to the principles that are in use today The German physicist Otto von Guericke experimented with generating electricity in 1650. The English physicist Stephen Gray discovered electrical conductivity in 1729. The American statesman and inventor Benjamin Franklin studied the properties of electricity by conducting his famous experiment of flying a kite with a key attached during electrical storms in 1752. Luigi Galvani is famous for his experiments concerning "the electrical forces in muscular movements", leading up to his theory of animal electricity. This began with the accidental observation, in 1780, of the twitching of the legs of a dissected frog when the bared crural nerve was touched with the steel scalpel. He worked diligently along these lines, but waited for eleven years before he published the results and his ingenious and simple theory. This theory discovered that when nerve and muscle touch two dissimilar metals in contact with each other, a contraction of the muscle takes place. But he incorrectly thought fluid in the frog's body was the source of the electricity. The theory has been abandoned by scientists on account of later discoveries by Italian inventor Alessandro Volta.

Volta proved that the source of the electricity was a reaction caused by the animal's body fluids being touched by two different types of metal. Beginning his work in 1794, Volta observed the electrical interaction between two different metals submerged near each other in an acidic solution. Based on this principle, his first battery consisted of a series of alternating copper and zinc rings in an acid solution known as an electrolyte. His device for generating a consistent flow of electricity was invented in 1800. He called his invention a column battery, although it came to be commonly known as the Volta battery, Voltaic cell or Voltaic pile. Voltaï¿½s discovery of a means of converting chemical energy into electrical energy formed the basis for nearly all modern batteries. Volta researched the effects which different metals produced when exposed to salt water. In 1801, Volta demonstrated the Voltaic cell to Napoleon Bonaparte (who later ennobled him, Count, for his discoveries). In 1800 , William Nicholson and Anthony Carlisle used a battery to decompose water into hydrogen and oxygen. Sir Humphry Davy researched this chemical effect at the same time.

Davy researched the decomposition of substances (called electrolysis ). In 1813 , he constructed a 2,000-plate paired battery in the basement of Britain's Royal Society, covering 889 ftï¿½ (83 mï¿½). Through this experiment, Davy deduced that electrolysis was the action in the voltaic pile that produced electricity. In 1820, the British researcher John Frederic Daniell improved the voltaic cell. The Daniell cell consisted of copper and zinc plates and copper and zinc sulphates . It was used to operate telegraphs and doorbells. Between 1832 and 1834 , Michael Faraday conducted experiments with a ferrite ring , a galvanometer, and a connected battery. When the battery was connected or disconnected, the galvanometer deflected. Faraday also developed the principle of ionic mobility in chemical reactions of batteries. In 1839 , William Robert Grove developed the first fuel cell, which produced electrical energy by combining hydrogen and oxygen. Grove developed another form the electric cell using zinc and platinum electrodes. These electrodes were exposed to two acids separated by a diaphragm.

The next step in the evolution of electrical energy storage was the invention of the lead acid storage battery in 1859 by the French physicist Gaston Plante. This chemical battery used a liquid electrolyte, and was not easy to move. Based on the pioneering work done between 1867 and 1877 by Georges Leclanche in France, the situation showed promise of changing to a more portable battery. Around 1881, Emile Alphonse Faure , with his colleagues, developed batteries using a mixture of lead oxides for the positive plate electrolyte. These had faster reactions and higher efficiency. Dr. Carl Gassner Jr. produced the first "dry" cell in 1886 with zinc as the container for the other elements as well as for the negative electrode. The electrolyte was absorbed in a porous material and the cell was sealed across the top. During 1886 Dr. Gassner obtained patents throughout Europe. A U.S. patent no. 373,064 was issued on November 15, 1887.

In the dry cell battery, the electrolyte is a damp paste so that there is no liquid to leak out, and thus quite portable. It became the prototype for the dry battery industry. The National Carbon Company was founded in 1886 by the then Brush Electric Company executive W. H. Lawrence. The company would supply carbon items needed in electrical devices such as carbon-arc electrodes, motor brushes and rods used in carbon-zinc batteries. That same year the first commercial battery went on sale. It was a carbon-zinc battery introduced by National Carbon Company. In 1898 the National Carbon Company introduces the first D cell battery. In 1905, National Carbon Company which had supplied "Eveready" with materials for their batteries, bought a half interest in the company for $200,000. Conrad Hubert remained president and there was little change in the general policies of the company. The name was changed to "The American Ever Ready Company". In 1914, American Ever Ready became part of National Carbon Company now forming a manufacturer specializing in both batteries and lighting products.

Since those early days, either 2000 years ago or 200 years ago, many improvements have been made to the battery. Even today chemist, scientists and inventors are working to find additional improvements and new applications for the electric battery. TO LEARN MORE When was the first battery invented? | HowStuffWorks When was the first battery invented? Justin Sullivan/ Getty Images Batteries are a common source of power in our present age. We use batteries to start our cars , to power our laptops , to allow us to talk on our cell phones for hours and even to propel some of our electric vehicles for miles and miles on a single charge. They can range from sizes smaller than a pencil eraser to as large as 2,000 square meters (21,528 square feet). The largest battery in the world has the capacity to power the entire town of Fairbanks, Alaska, a city of about 12,000 people, for up to seven minutes in an emergency situation [source: Conway ]. Some of the first primitive types of batteries can be traced all the way back to the Parthians around 250 B.C.

when the they lived in the area of modern day Baghdad [source: Buchmann ]. The Parthians made a clay jar, filled it with vinegar, then put a copper cylinder inside of it with an iron rod sticking out of the top. This early type of battery was used to electroplate silver. More on Batteries How Batteries Work But it wasn't until the late 1700s that scientists began conduct more serious experiments on electricity and its storage. Experiments were conducted that stored electricity or produced it, but none were able to create a continuous and controllable current of electricity. That is, not until the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta came along. In 1800, Volta created the first modern day battery when he built what came to be known as his voltaic pile. The pile was made of up of zinc and copper plates with vinegar- or brine-dampened pieces of leather or pasteboard placed in between each plate. The plates were then stacked in alternating order one on top of the other with the bottom plate and the top plate acting as the positive and negative terminals.

The pile looked like a stack of coins and created a constant flow of electricity that was less intense than previous attempts and allowed scientists to use electricity in controlled ways. A year after Volta first introduced his voltaic pile he presented his invention to the French National Institute, in which Napoleon Bonaparte was in attendance. In honor of Volta's invention, his name is used as the unit of electromotive measurement known as a volt. For more information about batteries and other inventions, follow the links on the next page. Information on the Invention of the Battery - Battery University Battery University BU-101: When Was the Battery Invented? Explore the earliest forms of batteries and the arrival of electricity. One of the most remarkable and novel discoveries in the last 400 years was electricity. We might ask, “Has electricity been around that long?” The answer is yes, and perhaps much longer. Its practical use has only been at our disposal since the mid to late 1800s, and in a limited way at first.

Some of the earliest public works gaining attention were streets lights in Berlin in 1882, lighting up the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893 with 250,000 light bulbs, and illuminating a bridge over the river Seine during the Paris 1900 World Fair. The use of electricity may go back further. While constructing a railway in 1936 near Baghdad, workers uncovered what appeared to be a prehistoric battery, also known as the Parthian Battery. The object dates back to the Parthian empire and is believed to be 2,000 years old. The battery consisted of a clay jar that was filled with a vinegar solution into which an iron rod surrounded by a copper cylinder was inserted. This device produced 1.1 to 2.0 volts of electricity. Figure 1 illustrates the Parthian Battery. . Figure 1: Parthian Battery. A clay jar of a prehistoric battery holds an iron rod surrounded by a copper cylinder. When filled with vinegar or electrolytic solution, the jar produces 1.1 to 2 volts. Not all scientists accept the Parthian Battery as a source of energy.

It is possible that the device was used for electroplating, adding a layer of gold or other precious metals to a surface. The Egyptians are said to have electroplated antimony onto copper over 4,300 years ago. Archeological evidence suggests the Babylonians were the first to discover and employ a galvanic technique in the manufacturing of jewelry by using an electrolyte based on grape juice to gold-plate stoneware. The Parthians, who ruled Baghdad (ca. 250 BC), may have used batteries to electroplate silver. One of the earliest methods to generate electricity in modern times was by creating a static charge. In 1660, Otto von Guericke constructed an electrical machine using a large sulfur globe which, when rubbed and turned, attracted feathers and small pieces of paper. Guericke was able to prove that the sparks generated were electrical in nature. In 1744, Ewald Georg von Kleist developed the Leyden jar that stored static charge in a glass jar that was lined with metallic foil on the inside and outside of the container.

Many scientists, including Peter van Musschenbroek, professor at Leiden, the Netherlands, thought that electricity resembled a fluid that could be captured in a bottle. They did not know that the two metallic foils formed a capacitor. When charged up with high voltage, the Leyden jar gave the gentlemen an unexplainable hefty shock when they touched the metallic foil. The first practical use of static electricity was the “electric pistol” that Alessandro Volta (1745–1827) invented. He thought of providing long-distance communications, albeit only one Boolean bit. An iron wire supported by wooden poles was to be strung from Como to Milan, Italy. At the receiving end, the wire would terminate in a jar filled with methane gas. To signal a coded event, an electrical spark would be sent by wire to detonate the jar. This communications link was never built. Figure 1-2 shows a pencil rendering of Alessandro Volta. In 1791, while working at Bologna University, Luigi Galvani discovered that the muscle of a frog would contract when touched by a metallic object. This phenomenon became known as animal electricity.

Prompted by these experiments, Volta initiated a series of experiments using zinc, lead, tin and iron as positive plates (cathode); and copper, silver, gold and graphite as negative plates (anode). The interest in galvanic electricity soon became widespread. Early Batteries Volta discovered in 1800 that certain fluids would generate a continuous flow of electrical power when used as a conductor. This discovery led to the invention of the first voltaic cell, more commonly known as battery. Volta learned further that the voltage would increase when voltaic cells were stacked on top of each other. Figure 3 illustrates such a series connection. Silver (A) and zinc (Z) metals are immersed in cups filled with electrolyte and connected in series The metals determine the battery voltage; they were separated with moist paper soaked in salt water. Courtesy of Cadex In the same year, Volta released his discovery of a continuous source of electricity to the Royal Society of London. No longer were experiments limited to a brief display of sparks that lasted a fraction of a second; an endless stream of electric current now seemed possible. France was one of the first nations to officially recognize Volta’s discoveries.

This was during a time when France was approaching the height of scientific advancements. New ideas were welcomed with open arms as they helped to support of the country’s political agenda. In a series of lectures, Volta addressed the Institute of France. Napoleon Bonaparte participated in the experiments, drawing sparks from the battery, melting a steel wire, discharging an electric pistol and decomposing water into its elements (see Figure 4). Figure 4: Volta’s experimentations at the Institute of France. Volta’s discoveries so impressed the world that in November 1800 the Institute of France invited him to lecture at events in which Napoleon Bonaparte participated. Napoleon helped with the experiments, drawing sparks from the battery, melting a steel wire, discharging an electric pistol and decomposing water into its elements. Courtesy of Cadex In 1800, Sir Humphry Davy, inventor of the miner’s safety lamp, began testing the chemical effects of electricity and found out that decomposition occurred when passing electrical current through substances. This process was later called electrolysis.

He made new discoveries by installing the world’s largest and most powerful electric battery in the vaults of the Royal Institution of London, connecting the battery to charcoal electrodes produced the first electric light. Witnesses reported that his voltaic arc lamp produced “the most brilliant ascending arch of light ever seen.” In 1802, William Cruickshank designed the first electric battery for mass production. He arranged square sheets of copper with equal-sized sheets of zinc placed into a long rectangular wooden box and soldered together. Grooves in the box held the metal plates in position. The sealed box was then filled with an electrolyte of brine, or watered-down acid. This resembled the flooded battery that is still with us today. Figure 5 illustrates his battery workshop. Figure 5: Cruickshank and the first flooded battery. William Cruickshank, an English chemist, built a battery of electric cells by joining zinc and copper plates in a wooden box filled with an electrolyte solution. This flooded design had the advantage of not drying out with use and provided more energy than Volta’s disc arrangement. Courtesy of Cadex Invention of the Rechargeable Battery In 1836, John F.

Daniell, an English chemist, developed an improved battery that produced a steadier current than earlier attempts to store electrical energy. In 1859, the French physician Gaston Planté invented the first rechargeable battery based on lead acid, a system that is still used today. Until then, all batteries were primary, meaning they could not be recharged. In 1899, Waldmar Jungner from Sweden invented the nickel-cadmium (NiCd) battery that used nickel as the positive electrode (cathode) and cadmium as the negative (anode). High material costs compared to lead limited its use. Two years later, Thomas Edison replaced cadmium with iron, and this battery was called nickel-iron (NiFe). Low specific energy, poor performance at low temperature and high self-discharge limited the success of the nickel-iron battery. It was not until 1932 that Schlecht and Ackermann achieved higher load currents and improved the longevity of NiCd by inventing the sintered pole plate. In 1947, Georg Neumann succeeded in sealing the cell. For many years, NiCd was the only rechargeable battery for portable applications.

In the 1990s, environmentalists in Europe became concerned about the harm incurred when NiCd is carelessly disposed. The Battery Directive 2006/66/EC now restricts the sale of NiCd batteries in the European Union except for specialty industrial use for which no replacement is suitable. The alternative is nickel-metal-hydride (NiMH), a more environmentally friendly battery that is similar to NiCd. Most research activities today revolve around improving lithium-based systems , first commercialized by Sony in 1991. Besides powering cellular phones, laptops, digital cameras, power tools and medical devices, Li-ion is also used for electric vehicles and satellites . The battery has a number of benefits, most notably its high specific energy, simple charging, low maintenance and being environmentally benign. Electricity Through Magnetism Generating electricity through magnetism came relatively late. In 1820, André-Marie Ampère (1775–1836) noticed that wires carrying an electric current were at times attracted to, and at other times repelled from, one another.

In 1831, Michael Faraday (1791–1867) demonstrated how a copper disc provided a constant flow of electricity while revolving in a strong magnetic field. Faraday, assisting Humphry Davy and his research team, succeeded in generating an endless electrical force as long as the movement between a coil and magnet continued. This led to the invention of the electric generator, as well as the electric motor by reversing the process. Shortly thereafter, transformers were developed that converted alternating current (AC) to any desired voltage. In 1833, Faraday established the foundation of electrochemistry on which Faraday’s law is based. It relates to electromagnetism found in transformers, inductors and many types of electrical motors and generators. Once the relationship with magnetism was understood, large generators were built to produce a steady flow of electricity. Motors followed that enabled mechanical movement and Thomas Edison’s light bulb appeared to conquer darkness. Early electrical plants produced direct current (DC), with distribution limitations from the plant of no more than 3km (~2 miles) in distance.

In around 1886, the Niagara Falls Power Company offered $100,000 for a method to transmit electricity over a long distance. When no one responded, the world’s brightest minds met in London, England. The prize was eventually given to Nikola Tesla (1856–1943), a Serbian immigrant who created the AC transmission system. Figure 6: Nikola Tesla (1856–1943). Serbian-American physicist, inventor and engineer best known for alternating current supply systems and rotating magnetic fields. DC systems run on low voltage and require heavy wires; AC could be transformed to higher voltages for transmission over light wires and then reduced for use. Older folks supported DC while younger geniuses gravitated towards AC. Thomas Edison was dead set against AC, giving danger by electrocution as a reason. The disagreement continued, but AC became the accepted norm that was also supported by Europe. George Westinghouse, an American inventor and manufacturer, began developing the Tesla system to the displeasure of Thomas Edison.

In 1883, Westinghouse created a lighting system for Niagara Falls using AC current and to everyone’s amazement lit up the Chicago World Fair in 1893 (Figure 7). Westinghouse then built three large generators to transform energy from the Niagara Falls to electricity. Three-phase AC technology developed by Tesla enabled the transmission of electric power over great distances cheaply. Electricity was thus made widely available to humanity to improve the quality of life. Figure 7: 250,000 light bulbs illuminate the Chicago World Fair in 1893, also known as Chicago's World Columbian Exposition. The success of the electric light led to building three large hydro generators at Niagara Falls. Source: Brooklyn Museum Archives. Goodyear Archival Collection Telecommunications by wire that was strung along railways operated mostly by primary batteries that needed frequent replacement. Telex, an early means to transmit data, was digital in that the batteries activated a series of relays. The price to send a message was based on the number of relay clicks required. In the mid-1800s, telegraphy opened new careers for bright young men.

Staff operating these devices moved into the growing middle class, far removed from mills and mines burdened with labor, dirt and danger. Steel magnate Andrew Carnegie recalled his early days as a telegraphy messenger: Alfred Hitchcock started his career as an estimator before becoming an illustrator. The invention of the electronic vacuum tube in the early 1900s formed the significant next step towards high technology. It enabled frequency oscillators, signal amplifications and digital switching. This led to radio broadcasting in the 1920s and the first digital computer, called ENIAC, in 1946. The discovery of the transistor in 1947 paved the way for the arrival of the integrated circuit 10 years later, and the microprocessor that ushered in the Information Age. This forever changed the way we live and work. Humanity has become dependent on electricity and with increased mobility, people gravitate towards portable power involving the battery. As the battery improves further, more tasks will be made possible with this portable power source. Last Updated 2016-06-02 *** Please Read Regarding Comments *** Comments are intended for "commenting," an open discussion amongst site visitors.

Battery University monitors the comments and understands the importance of expressing perspectives and opinions in a shared forum. However, all communication must be done with the use of appropriate language and the avoidance of spam and discrimination. If you have a suggestion or would like to report an error, please use the " contact us " form or email us at: BatteryU@cadex.com . We like to hear from you but we cannot answer all inquiries. We recommend posting your question in the comment sections for the Battery University Group (BUG) to share. The Answer to Who Invented the Battery Will Surely Surprise You Follow Us The Answer to Who Invented the Battery Will Surely Surprise You Batteries convert chemical energy to electrical, which in turn is used to provide power to various devices. The benefits of a battery reaped by us, today, would not have been possible without efforts of the person who invented it. Advertisement Recharge Your Batteries! Each year February 18, which happens to be Alessandro Volta's birth date, is observed as the National Battery Day to acknowledge and recognize this great invention that is hard to live without these days.

Everybody knows the varied use of batteries these days as they are found in several devices and machines used on a daily basis like cell phones, cars, vehicles, laptops, etc. This list can go on and on. They come in all shapes, sizes, and power capacities. There are batteries for machines as small as watches and hearing aids to as big as cars. It was the main source of electricity before electrical generators and power grids were developed towards the end of the 19th century. In spite of the great benefits that a battery offers, very few of us know about its inventor. It was a milestone in that particular era and has proved to be highly instrumental in the modern batteries that we encounter these days. The Battery's Inventor Alessandro Volta Alessandro Volta, an Italian physicist, invented the first battery in 1800 that came to be known as the Voltaic pile. He has also made important discoveries in pneumatics, meteorology, and electrostatics, but his greatest invention for all humankind was the battery. 29 years after being born in Como, Italy, Alessandro Volta got the opportunity to serve as a physics professor at the Royal School in his hometown.

In 1774, it was at this place where he contrived his foremost invention―electrophorus, a device which generated static electricity. Through the process of igniting static sparks, he studied as well as experimented with atmospheric electricity. After five years at the Royal School, he was called to be a Professor at the University of Pavia, in 1779. It was at this place where he invented the voltaic pile, the first practical method of generating electricity. He constructed the voltaic pile by placing copper and zinc discs alternately, one above the other, with cardboard pieces soaked in brine placed in between them. This voltaic pile generated electric current. To carry the electricity over a long distance, a metallic arc was used. This was the first ever battery to produce a consistent and reliable current of electricity. It was the world's first "wet cell battery". Voltaic Pile Reconstruction Luigi Galvani, a contemporary of Alessandro Volta, had earlier come up with the theory of galvanic responses, which stated that animal tissues had some form of electricity present in them. This happened when he was dissecting a frog that was affixed to hook made of brass.

When he touched the frog's leg with the iron scalpel, the leg started twitching. He believed that the energy that caused this contraction had come from the frog's leg itself. Thus, he called it "animal electricity". As a protest against this theory, Alessandro Volta invented the voltaic pile to establish the fact that electricity is produced when different metals like brass and iron come in contact with each other in a moist atmosphere, and not through animal tissues. To commensurate the work of this genius in the minds of people forever, the unit of electromotive force or difference of potential that causes current to flow through resistance, Volt, was named after Alessandro Volta. Timeline of the Battery 1748 ― The term 'battery' came into existence after Benjamin Franklin defined it as an arrangement of charged glass plates. 1780―1786 ― The theory of electricity present in animal cells was brought out by Luigi Galvani, which provided the foundation for other scientists for further research. 1800 ― Alessandro Volta invented the voltaic pile, which was the first ever battery that produced consistent electric current.

1836 ― The Daniel cell was invented by John Daniel, which consisted of a zinc and copper electrolyte. It lasted longer and was considered much safer than the battery invented by Volta. 1839 ― The first fuel cell was invented by William Robert Grove, which generated electric current by uniting oxygen and hydrogen. 1839―1842 ― Numerous scientists and inventors improvised batteries by using liquid electrodes to generate electricity. 1859 ― The rechargeable lead-acid battery, used these days in cars, was invented by a French inventor, Gaston Planté. 1866 ― The carbon-zinc wet cell bettery called the Leclanche cell was patented by another Frenchman named Georges Leclanché. 1881 ― The first battery which had a negative electrode and porous pot kept on a zinc cup was discovered and patented by J.A. Thiebaut. 1881 ― The first ever dry cell battery, which was also a commercial success, was invented by Carl Gassner. 1899 ― The nickel-cadmium battery, which could also be recharged, was invented by Waldemar Jungner.

1901 ― The alkaline storage battery was invented by Thomas Alva Edison. 1949 ― The small alkaline battery was invented by Lewis Urry. 1954 ― The first ever solar battery was invented by Calvin Fuller, Daryl Chapin, and Gerald Pearson. Alessandro Volta - The True Inventor of Batteries? On basis of certain archaeological excavations carried out in 1936, few scientists as well as historians believe that the battery was invented about 2,000 years ago in Baghdad. During their excavations, archaeologists found pots made of terracotta filled with copper rods and iron sheets. Electricity can be produced by adding lime juice and vinegar to this pot. But as there was no strong and confirmed evidence of these pots being used for electricity, this theory was considered unworthy. Thus, as per historical evidences, Alessandro Volta still remains the person who invented the ever-important battery in 1800. Suketu Mehta When Was the Battery Invented? When Was the Battery Invented?

Isidor Buchmann, Cadex Electronics, Inc isidor.buchmann@cadex.com The battery, today’s technological necessity, is the result of 400 years of scientific effort. One of the most remarkable and novel discoveries in the last 400 years is electricity. One may ask, “Has electricity been around that long?” The answer is yes and perhaps much longer, but the practical use of electricity has only been at our disposal since the mid to late 1800s. One of the early electrical attractions that gained public attention was an electrically illuminated bridge over the Seine River during the 1900 World’s Fair in Paris. The use of electricity may go back much farther. While constructing a new railway in 1936 near Baghdad, workers uncovered what appeared to be a prehistoric battery. The discovery was known as the Baghdad or Parthian battery (see Figure 1) and was believed to be 2000 years old, dating back to the Parthian period [The Parthian empire existed in what is now Iran from 247 BC-224 AD. — Ed.]. The battery consisted of a clay jar filled with vinegar.

An iron rod surrounded by a copper cylinder penetrated into the liquid and produced 1.1 to 2 V of electricity. Not all scientists accept the Parthian battery as being a source of energy because the application is unknown. [There are alternative explanations for the Parthian battery but it does work as a battery. — Ed.] It is possible that the battery was used for electroplating a layer of gold or other precious metals onto a surface. The Egyptians are said to have electroplated antimony onto copper over 4300 years ago. Modern Battery Experiments The earliest method of generating electricity was by inducing a static charge in some substance. In 1660, Otto von Guericke (1602-1686) constructed the first electrical machine consisting of a large sulphur globe that, when rubbed and turned, attracted feathers and small pieces of paper. Guericke was able to prove that the sparks generated were electrical in nature. The first practical use of static electricity was the “electric pistol,” which was invented by Alessandro Volta (1745-1827). An electrical wire was placed in a jar filled with methane gas.

When an electrical spark was sent through the wire, the jar would explode. Volta (see Figure 2) then thought of using this invention to provide long distance communications, albeit only one Boolean bit. An iron wire supported by wooden poles was to be strung from Como to Milan, Italy. At the receiving end, the wire would terminate in a jar filled with methane gas. To signal a coded event, an electrical spark would be sent by the wire to detonate the electric pistol. This communications link was never built. In 1791, while working at the University of Bologna, Luigi Galvani (1737-1798) discovered that the muscle of a frog contracted when touched by dissimilar metallic objects. This phenomenon became known as “animal electricity” — a misnomer, as was later proved. Prompted by these experiments, Volta initiated a series of experiments using dissimilar metals. He tried combining zinc, lead, tin or iron as positive plates and copper, silver, gold or graphite as the negative plates. Early Batteries Volta discovered in 1800 that certain fluids would generate a continuous flow of electrical power when combined with a pair of dissimilar metals.

This discovery led to the invention of the first voltaic cell, more commonly known as a battery. Volta discovered further that the voltage would increase when voltaic cells were stacked on top of each other. Figure 3 illustrates such a serial connection. In the same year, Volta released his discovery of a continuous source of electricity to the Royal Society. No longer were experiments limited to a brief display of sparks that lasted a fraction of a second. A seemingly endless stream of electric current was now available. France was one of the first nations to officially recognize Volta’s discoveries. France was approaching the height of scientific advancements and new ideas were welcomed with open arms. By invitation, Volta addressed the Institute of France in a series of lectures at which Napoleon Bonaparte was present as a member (see Figure 4). Napoleon helped with the experiments, drawing sparks from the battery, melting a steel wire, discharging an electric pistol and decomposing water into its elements. After Galvani’s successful experiments and the discovery of the voltaic cell, interest in galvanic electricity became widespread.

Sir Humphry Davy (1778–1829), inventor of the miner’s safety lamp, made new discoveries when he installed the largest and most powerful electric battery into the vaults of the Royal Institution. He connected the battery to charcoal electrodes and produced the first electric light. Witnesses reported that his voltaic arc lamp produced “the most brilliant ascending arch of light ever seen.” Davy began to test the chemical effects of electricity in 1800 and soon found that by passing electrical current through some substances, decomposition occurred, a process later called electrolysis. The generated voltage was directly related to the reactivity of the electrolyte with the metal. Davy understood that the actions of electrolysis and the voltaic cell were the same. In 1802, Dr William Cruickshank designed the first electric battery capable of being mass produced. Cruickshank arranged square sheets of copper with equal sheet sizes of zinc. These sheets were placed into a long rectangular wooden box and soldered together. Grooves in the box held the metal plates in position.

The sealed box was then filled with an electrolyte of brine, or watered down acid, resembling the flooded battery that is still with us today (see Figure 5). Rechargeable Battery In 1836 John F. Daniell, an English chemist, developed an improved battery that produced a steadier current than Volta’s device. Until then, all batteries were primary, meaning that they could not be recharged. In 1859, the French physician Gaston Planté invented the first rechargeable battery. It was based on lead and acid, a system that is still used today. In 1899, Waldmar Jungner from Sweden invented the nickel-cadmium battery (NiCd), which used nickel for the positive electrode and cadmium for the negative. Two years later, Thomas Edison produced an alternative design by replacing cadmium with iron. High material costs compared to dry cells or lead acid systems limited the practical applications of the nickel-cadmium and nickel-iron batteries.

It was not before Shlecht and Ackermann achieved major improvements by inventing the sintered pole plate in 1932 that NiCd gained new attention [sintering is the process of fusing nickel powder at a temperature well below its melting point using high pressures]. This resulted in higher load currents and improved longevity. The breakthrough came in 1947 when Neumann succeeded in completely sealing the nickel-cadmium cell. In the 1980s and 1990s, the attention was on nickel-based chemistries. Concerned about environmental contamination if NiCd was carelessly disposed, some European countries began restricting this chemistry and asked the industry to switch to nickel metal hydride (NiMH). Many say that the NiMH is an interim step to lithium-ion (Li-ion) and this may well be true. Much of the research focuses on improving lithium-ion batteries. Besides powering cellular phones, laptops, digital cameras, tools and medical devices, Li-ion is also a candidate for vehicles. Li-ion has a number of benefits including a higher energy density, is easier to charge and does not have maintenance issues unlike nickel-based batteries. Nor does Li-ion suffer from sulfation that is common with lead-based systems.

Electricity through Magnetism Electricity through magnetism, an alternative method of generating electricity besides static charge and battery, came relatively late. In 1820, André-Marie Ampère (1775-1836) noticed that wires carrying an electric current were at times attracted and at other times repelled from one another. In 1831, Michael Faraday (1791-1867) demonstrated how a copper disc provided a constant flow of electricity while revolving in a strong magnetic field. Faraday, assisting Davy and his research team, succeeded in generating an endless electrical force as long as the movement between a coil and magnet continued. This led to the invention of the electric generator and then the electric motor. Shortly thereafter, transformers were developed that could convert alternating current (ac) to any desired voltage. In 1833, Faraday established the foundation of electrochemistry by publishing his laws of electrolysis. Once the relationship with magnetism was discovered in the mid 1800s, large generators began producing a steady flow of electricity. Motors followed that enabled mechanical movement and the Edison light bulb appeared to conquer darkness.

The three-phase ac technology developed by Nikola Tesla (1857-1943) enabled transmission lines to carry electric power over great distances. Electricity was thus made available to humanity to improve overall quality of life. The invention of the electronic vacuum tube in the early 1900s was the significant next step toward high technology, enabling the development of frequency oscillators, signal amplifications and digital switching. This led to radio broadcasting in the 1920s and the first digital computer called ENIAC in 1946. The discovery of the transistor in 1947 paved the way to the integrated circuit 10 years later. The microprocessor ushered in the Information Age and revolutionized the way we live today. Humanity depends on electricity, and with increased mobility, people are moving more and more toward portable power storage — first for wheeled applications, then portability and finally wearable use. As awkward and unreliable as the early batteries may have been, future generations may look at today’s technologies as nothing more than clumsy experiments.

1600 William Gilbert (UK) Establishment of electrochemistry study 1791 Luigi Galvani (Italy) Discovery of “animal electricity” 1800 Alessandro Volta (Italy) Invention of the voltaic cell (zinc and copper disks) 1802 William Cruickshank (UK) First electric battery capable of mass production 1820 André Marie Ampère (France) Electricity through magnetism 1833 Michael Faraday (UK) Announcement of Faraday’s laws 1836 John F.

Daniell (UK) Invention of the Daniell cell 1839 William Robert Grove (UK) Invention of fuel cell (H2/O2) 1859 Gaston Planté (France) Invention of the lead-acid battery 1868 Geroge Leclanché (France) Invention of the Leclanché cell (carbon-zinc) 1899 Weldmar Jungner (Sweden) Invention of the nickel-cadmium battery 1901 Thomas A, Edison (USA) Invention of the nickel-iron battery 1932 Shlecht and Ackermann Invention of the sintered pole plate 1947 Neumann (France) Successfully sealing the nickel-cadmium battery 1949 Lew Uir, Eveready Battery (USA) Invention alkaline-manganese battery 1970s Group effort Development of valve regulated lead-acid battery 1990 Group effort Commercialization of nickel-metal hydride battery 1991 Sony (Japan) Commercialization of lithium-ion battery 1996 Moli Energy (Canada) Introduction of Li-ion with manganese cathode 2005 Val

ence, A123 System (USA) Introduction of Li-ion with phosphate cathode Illustrations from Cadex Electronics Inc.

Isidor Buchmann is the founder and CEO of Cadex Electronics Inc, a Canadian company specializing in the design and manufacture of advanced battery testing instruments. He has studied the behavior of rechargeable batteries in practical, everyday applications for two decades. As an award-winning author of many articles and books on the subject, Mr Buchmann has delivered battery-related technical papers around the world. You can find more battery information at Cadex’s battery university . Isidor can be contacted at 22000 Fraserwood Way, Richmond, BC V6W 1J6, Canada. Inventor Alessandro Volta Biography Inventor: Alessandro Giuseppe Antonio Anastasio Volta Criteria: First to invent. Birth: February 18, 1745.in Como, Lombardy, Italy Death: March 5, 1827.near Como, Lombardy, Italy Nationality: Italian Invention: electric battery in 1800 Function: noun / electric batï¿½tery / voltic pile Definition: In science and technology, a battery is a device that stores energy and makes it available in an electrical form. A battery converts chemical energy into electric energy.

It is a connected bunch (or ï¿½batteryï¿½) of electro-chemical devices. Milestones: 1775 Volta devised the electrophorus, a device that produced a static electric charge. 1777 he studied the chemistry of gases, discovered methane 1779 he became professor of physics at the University of Pavia 1794 Volta married Teresa Peregrini, daughter of Count Peregrini; the couple had three sons. 1800 he developed the so-called voltaic pile, a forerunner of the electric battery 1810 In honor of his work in the field of electricity, Napoleon made him a count 1815 the Emperor of Austria named him a professor of philosophy at Padova. 1816 Volta's works were published in five volumes in Florence 1881 an important electrical unit, the volt, was named in his honor. Volta, Alessandro Volta, Count Alessamdro Volta, battery, electric battery, voltic pile, wet cell battery, volt, inventor, biography, profile, history, inventor of, history of, who invented, invention of, fascinating facts.

STORY: Alessandro Volta, Italian physicist, known for his pioneering work in electricity. Volta was born in Como and educated in the public schools there. In 1774 he became professor of physics at the Royal School in Como, and in the following year he devised the electrophorus, an instrument that produced charges of static electricity. In 1776-77 he applied himself to chemistry, studying atmospheric electricity and devising experiments such as the ignition of gases by an electric spark in a closed vessel. In 1779 he became professor of physics at the University of Pavia, a chair he occupied for 25 years. By 1800 he had developed the so-called voltaic pile, a forerunner of the electric battery, which produced a steady stream of electricity. In honor of his work in the field of electricity, Napoleon made him a count in 1810. A museum in Como, the Voltian Temple, has been erected in his honor and exhibits some of the original instruments he used to conduct experiments. Near lake Como stands the Villa Olmo, which houses the Voltian Foundation, an organization which promotes scientific activities.

Volta carried out his juvenile studies and made his first inventions in Como. TO LEARN MORE This Month in Physics History: March 20, 1800: Volta describes the electric battery March 20, 1800: Volta describes the Electric Battery Alessandro Volta In the late 18th century, scientists were fascinated with electricity. Ben Franklin had conducted his famous kite experiment, drawing electricity from lightning in 1752. Leyden jars, invented in 1746, could store charge and produce a spark of electricity. Doctors were treating patients with electric shocks for all sorts of ills. But further research on electromagnetism and any practical use of electricity would require a source of continuous current, which was not available until 1800, when Alessandro Volta invented the first electric pile, the forerunner of the modern battery. Alessandro Volta was born in Como, Italy in 1745, to a wealthy noble family. He attended the Como Jesuit school and a local seminary. His teachers tried to persuade him to enter the priesthood, while his family wanted him to study law.

But Volta, even at age 14, knew his real interest was physics. Like many scientists of the time, he was especially fascinated by electricity. Volta dropped his formal studies, and did not attend university. Nonetheless, by age 18 he was corresponding directly with accomplished scientists, and conducting experiments in the laboratory of a family friend. In 1769 he wrote a treatise “On the forces of attraction of electric fire,” in which he put forward a theory of electric phenomena. In 1774 Volta accepted a post as an instructor at the Como grammar school, and continued his experiments on electricity. In 1775 he devised a “perpetual electrophorus” that could transfer charge to other objects, and in the next few years he noticed the bubbling of methane in swamps and was able to isolate the gas. Volta was made a professor of physics at the University of Pavia in 1778. Volta’s early work had already made him a well-known scientist, but his greatest contribution to science was the voltaic pile, which he invented as part of a scientific dispute with Luigi Galvani.

In 1780, Galvani, an Italian physician and anatomist, was experimenting with dissected frogs’ legs and their attached spinal cords, mounted on iron or brass hooks. In most of his experiments, the frog leg could be made to twitch when touched with a probe made of another metal. The frog legs would also jump when hanging on a metal fence in a lightning storm. These observations convinced Galvani that he had found a new form of electricity, which was being generated by the frogs’ muscles. He called the phenomenon “animal electricity.” Volta, though initially galvanized by this work, argued that the frogs’ muscles were simply reacting to the electricity, not producing it. He set out to prove Galvani wrong, and sparked a controversy that divided the Italian scientific community. Volta realized that the crucial feature of Galvani’s experiments was the two dissimilar metals–the iron or brass hook and the probe of some other metal. The metals were generating the current, not the frog parts. Instruments available at the time could not detect weak currents, so Volta, always a dedicated experimentalist, often tested various combinations of metals by placing them on his tongue.

The saliva in his mouth, like the frogs’ tissue, conducted electricity, resulting in an unpleasant bitter sensation. To show conclusively that the generation of an electric current did not require any animal parts, Volta put together a rather messy stack of alternating zinc and silver discs, separated by brine-soaked cloth. He built the pile, which consisted of as many as thirty disks, in imitation of the electric organ of the torpedo fish. A Voltaic Pile When a wire was connected to both ends of the pile, a steady current flowed. Volta found that different types of metal could change the amount of current produced, and that he could increase the current by adding disks to the stack. In a letter dated March 20, 1800, addressed to Joseph Banks, president of the Royal Society of London, Volta first reported the electric pile. Volta soon traveled to Paris and demonstrated his invention, which he initially described as an “artificial electric organ,” emphasizing that animal tissue was not needed to produce the current. The battery was a huge success. Not only did it swing the scientific community to his side in the debate with Galvani, it was immediately recognized as a useful device.

In 1800 William Nicholson and Anthony Carlisle used the current generated by a battery to decompose water into hydrogen and oxygen. Sir Humphry Davy also studied the same chemical effect. In the 1830s Michael Faraday used a battery in his groundbreaking studies of electromagnetism. Other inventors made improvements on Volta’s original design, and soon it was powering telegraphs and doorbells. Napoleon was impressed by the voltaic pile as well, and recommended many honors for Volta, including making him a count in 1810. The invention of the battery brought him great renown, but Volta seems to have preferred a quiet life, and soon gave up most of his research and teaching. He spent his last years living in a country house, where he died on March 5, 1827, at age 82. Since his death, Volta’s portrait has appeared on currency and stamps, and his name is immortalized in the unit of electric potential, the volt.

©1995 - 2017, AMERICAN PHYSICAL SOCIETY APS encourages the redistribution of the materials included in this newspaper provided that attribution to the source is noted and the materials are not truncated or changed. Editor: Alan Chodos Batteries - Engineering and Technology History Wiki Request account Batteries A battery converts chemical energy into electric energy. It is a connected bunch (or “battery”) of electro-chemical devices. The Italian inventor Alessandro Volta invented the first battery in 1799. Volta’s battery was called a pile —a messy stack of disks made of two types of metal. The discs were separated from each other by pieces of cloth soaked in salt water. The chemical reaction between the different metals and the salt water generated electricity. Volta gave his name to the unit of electromotive force, the “volt.” Types of Batteries The Dry Cell Eveready Dry Cell, 1923 The pile or battery remained a laboratory curiosity for years, until the newly invented telegraph and telephone created a demand for reliable electrical power. After many years of experimentation, the “ dry cell ” was invented in the 1860s for use with the telegraph.

The dry cell is not completely dry, but it seems dry in comparison to the voltaic pile. It holds a moist paste inside a zinc container. The interaction of the paste and the zinc creates a source of electrons. A carbon rod is inserted into the paste and conducts electrons to the outside of the cell, where wires or metal contacts carry the electrons that power the device. A single dry cell produces about 1.5 volts. Dry cells can be stacked inside a single container to produce batteries with other voltages. The small 9-volt batteries used today are a good example of this. Rechargeable Batteries The telephone , invented in the 1870s, also needed batteries and the success of the telephone system led to more battery research. Large, rechargeable batteries were developed to supply the needs of the telephone system after the 1880s. Most telephone systems, even today, supply power directly to the telephone from batteries rather than relying on commercial electric power lines. The batteries are located in the telephone company’s central offices and the electricity is carried to your home on the telephone wires. That’s why telephones usually continue to work during bad weather, when the lights go out.

At the telephone central station, where switchboard operators worked, large banks of acid-filled batteries supplied current to all the telephones in the area. The Car Battery After 1900 automobile designers also began demanding better batteries. Thomas Edison worked on smaller, "alkaline" batteries (based on nickel and iron) in the early 1900s, because he believed they could be excellent sources of power for electric cars. At that time, the superiority of the gasoline automobile had not yet been demonstrated, and there were many electric cars on the market. Edison’s work on batteries advanced the state of the art, but electric cars never achieved much success, and in fact almost disappeared by 1930. But the battery did become a permanent feature of every automobile. It was not used to power the car itself, but to operate the starter and to supply energy to the ignition systems of the rapidly evolving gasoline automobile. Today, the battery is an essential part of every automobile. In many ways, most auto batteries still resemble the lead-acid batteries that powered most electric cars in the early 1900s. Inside a sturdy box are heavy lead plates, separated by a liquid acid solution.

As in other batteries, the chemical reaction between the metal and the chemicals that are dissolved in the liquid creates a source of usable electricity. Today’s automobiles carry with them a small electric generating system that partially reverses the chemical processes in the battery which are responsible for generating electricity, and the effect is to "recharge" the battery while the engine is running. Lead-Acid Batteries The next big boost for the battery was the invention of radio broadcasting in the 1920s. Most homes in the 1920s still did not have electric service, so it was necessary to use batteries to power a radio . Many early radios required two or three batteries of different voltages to supply various circuits. These were usually designated as the “A,” “B,” and “C” batteries. Two of these batteries could be small dry cells, but one of them was usually a large, acid-filled battery that could ruin furniture and carpets if it was knocked over. Later, in the 1930s, engineers designed more efficient radios that used much smaller dry cell batteries, but these still had to supply up to 90 volts or more to operate the radios’ vacuum tube circuits.

That is very high voltage compared to today’s radios, which need only a 9-volt battery to operate. Fortunately, most homes got central station electric power by around 1940, but portable radios continued to rely on batteries. The batteries that most people used in their homes from the 1930s through the 1950s were the familiar C or D cells that we still sometimes use for flashlights—in fact we still call these “flashlight batteries.” These batteries have to be changed often, and if “dead,” can leak chemicals. In the 1950s after engineers at Bell Laboratories invented the transistor , new kinds of battery-operated electronic devices began to appear. The transistor was a replacement for the vacuum tube , which was used in all electronic circuits prior to the invention of the transistor. The transistor was much smaller than the vacuum tube and consumed very little power, making it ideal for things like portable radios. Soon, portable electronics took off, and people were using battery-powered radios, phonographs, televisions, and tape players.

Transistors needed 6 to 9 volts to operate, but most flashlight batteries were only 1.5 volts, so engineers designed a small 9-volt battery just for transistor radios. This new “transistor battery” is still popular today—the small, rectangular type with two round terminals on the top. Alkaline Dry Cell Batteries Assortment of Alkaline Batteries Small dry cell batteries used in portable electronics in the 1970s were more or less the same as they had been in the 1930s. The Duracell Company was the first to offer an improvement in the form of its “alkaline” dry cell. Although similar in size and shape to the earlier dry cells, it lasted significantly longer. Still later, as cordless telephones, laptop computers, Walkmans , and other portable devices became more common, there was a great need for good rechargeable batteries. Since the 1950s, some portable electronic devices came equipped with expensive rechargeable batteries. Earlier rechargeable batteries were considered too large for the new generation of miniaturized devices. Designing good rechargeable batteries is still a very difficult problem that faces engineers as the drive toward more portable electronics continues.

Battery History - How Batteries Work | HowStuffWorks How Batteries Work The history of batteries can be traced back to 1800. Learn about the history of batteries and find out how the Daniell cell battery is constructed. HowStuffWorks.com Batteries have been around longer than you may think. In 1938, archaeologist Wilhelm Konig discovered some peculiar clay pots while digging at Khujut Rabu, just outside of present-day Baghdad, Iraq. The jars, which measure approximately 5 inches (12.7 centimeters) long, contained an iron rod encased in copper and dated from about 200 B.C. Tests suggested that the vessels had once been filled with an acidic substance like vinegar or wine, leading Konig to believe that these vessels were ancient batteries. Since this discovery, scholars have produced replicas of the pots that are in fact capable of producing an electric charge. These "Baghdad batteries" may have been used for religious rituals, medicinal purposes, or even electroplating. In 1799, Italian physicist Alessandro Volta created the first battery by stacking alternating layers of zinc, brine-soaked pasteboard or cloth, and silver.

This arrangement, called a voltaic pile, was not the first device to create electricity , but it was the first to emit a steady, lasting current. However, there were some drawbacks to Volta's invention. The height at which the layers could be stacked was limited because the weight of the pile would squeeze the brine out of the pasteboard or cloth. The metal discs also tended to corrode quickly, shortening the life of the battery. Despite these shortcomings, the SI unit of electromotive force is now called a volt in honor of Volta's achievement. Up Next The history of batteries can be traced back to 1800. Learn about the history of batteries and find out how the Daniell cell battery is constructed. HowStuffWorks.com The next breakthrough in battery technology came in 1836 when English chemist John Frederick Daniell invented the Daniell cell. In this early battery, a copper plate was placed at the bottom of a glass jar and a copper sulfate solution was poured over the plate to half-fill the jar. Then the zinc plate was hung in the jar, and a zinc sulfate solution was added.

Because copper sulfate is denser than zinc sulfate, the zinc solution floated to the top of the copper solution and surrounded the zinc plate. The wire connected to the zinc plate represented the negative terminal, while the one leading from the copper plate was the positive terminal. Obviously, this arrangement would not have functioned well in a flashlight, but for stationary applications it worked just fine. In fact, the Daniell cell was a common way to power doorbells and telephones before electrical generation was perfected. By 1898, the Colombia Dry Cell became the first commercially available battery sold in the United States. The manufacturer, National Carbon Company, later became the Eveready Battery Company, which produces the Energizer brand. Now that you know some of the history, click over to the next page to learn the various parts of a battery.

Question: Which Italian invented the first battery?
Answer: Alessandro Volta