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Battery

Alessandro Volta1800

Musée des arts et métiers

Musée des arts et métiers
Paris, France

In the late 18th century electricity was known only through electrostatic phenomena producing spectacular sparks. That made for very popular entertainment in physics cabinets, but this weak, fleeting form of energy had no practical applications until Italian physicist Alessandro Volta took a passionate interest in electricity and studied the muscle contractions in frogs observed by his friend Luigi Galvani. Believing this phenomenon to be the result of a current produced by the chemical reaction of two metals in contact with the muscle tissue, Volta discovered that metal plates in contact with a saltwater solution caused a current to circulate between them. In 1800 he developed his first battery, consisting of two copper and zinc discs separated by a fabric disk soaked in acid water. Volta stacked several of these groups atop one another, building an "electric column" that produced long-lasting power and opened up immense prospects in terms of applications.

Details

  • Title: Battery
  • Creator: Alessandro Volta
  • Date: 1800
  • Date Created: 1800
  • Provenance: Musée des arts et métiers
  • Subject Keywords: Électricité / Magnétisme
  • Type: Bois, cuivre, laiton, textile, verre, zinc
  • Contributor: Author: Serge Picard
  • Credits: © Musée des arts et métiers-Cnam/photo Sylvain Pelly

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