Alessandro Volta
Voltaic Pile
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By
Mary
Bellis
In 1800, Alessandro Volta of Italy built the voltaic
pile and discovered the first practical
method of generating electricity. Constructed of
alternating discs of zinc and copper, with pieces of cardboard soaked in brine
between the metals, the voltic pile produced electrical current. The metallic
conducting arc was used to carry the electricity over a greater distance. Alessandro
Volta's voltaic pile was the first battery that produced a reliable, steady
current of electricity.
One contemporary of Alessandro Volta
was Luigi
Galvani, in fact, it was Volta's disagreement with Galvani's theory of
galvanic responses (animal tissue contained a form of electricity) that led
Volta to build the voltaic pile to prove that electricity did not come from
the animal tissue but was generated by the contact of different metals, brass
and iron, in a moist environment. Ironically, both scientists were right.
Named After
Alessandro Volta
- volt
The unit of electromotive
force, or difference of potential, which will cause a current of one
ampere to flow through a resistance of one ohm. Named for Italian
physicist Alessandro Volta.
- Photovoltaic
Photovoltaic are systems that convert
light energy into electricity. The term "photo" is a stem from the Greek "phos," which means "light." "Volt" is named for
Alessandro
Volta, a pioneer in the study of electricity.
. For years at Como, he studied and
experimented with atmospheric electricity by igniting static sparks. In 1779, was appointed professor of physics at the University of Pavia and
it was while there that he invented his most famous invention, the voltic
pile.
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History
Photograph courtesy of the National Library
of Medicine
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Illustration:
Alessandro Volta
demonstrating the battery.
Alessandro Volta discovered the first practical
method of generating electricity.
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