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| Battery, 1790s |
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| A battery, or electric cell, is a device that converts chemical energy into electricity. The battery was invented 200 years ago by Alessandro Volta in Italy. In 1774, Volta was a physics professor at the Royal School of Como, Italy, where he developed an idea for an instrument that produced controlled charges of static electricity. He called his idea the electrophorus, but it would be almost 25 years before he developed his idea of an electrophorus into the predecessor of our everyday batteries. He called his first successful battery the Voltaic Pile. It was composed of a series of silver and zinc disks in pairs. Between each of these discs was a sheet of pasteboard wet with salt water (salt water conducts electricity better than regular water). A steady stream of electricity was produced when the top disk of silver was connected by a wire to the bottom disk of zinc. In honour of his efforts, Napoleon named Volta a Count in 1801. The Volt (a measurement of electricity) was named in honour of Alessandro Volta in 1881. The problem with the voltaic cell was that it lost power rapidly once current was drawn from it. In 1836 British chemist John Daniell invented the �Daniell cell,� which supplied an even current during continuous operation. There are many kinds of batteries, and many other scientists further improved them. Today batteries power everything from watches and CD players to wheelchairs and cars. |