Fascinating facts about
Alessandro Volta
inventor
of the Electric Battery in 1800. |
Alessandro
Volta |
AT A GLANCE:
Alessandro
Volta, Italian physicist, known for his pioneering work in
electricity. Volta was born in Como and educated in the public schools
there. 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, the electrical unit
known as the volt was named in his honor. |
THE
STORY
RELATED INFO
BOOKS
WEB SITES
QUOTATIONS
HOW IT WORKS
DID YOU KNOW? |
| 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 bat·tery / 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 “battery”) 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
RELATED INFORMATION:
Invention of
the Electric Battery from The Great Idea Finder
History of
Electricity from The Great Idea Finder
ON THE BOOKSHELF:
The History of Science and Technology
by Bryan Bunch, Alexander Hellemans / Hardcover: 768 pages / Houghton Mifflin Company; (2004)
Highly browsable yet richly detailed, expertly researched and indexed,
The History of Science and Technology is the perfect desktop reference
for both the science novice and the technologically advanced reader
alike.
The Book of Inventions
by Ian Harrison / Hardcover: 288 pages /
National Geographic (November 1, 2004)
This extremely lively-and intricately researched-book is a rousing romp
through the history of inventions and their inventors through time, from the
tiny paper clip-coined "the world's most valuable invention"-to the massive
jet engine; from mastermind Leonardo daVinci, to quirky, colorful,
dual-cyclone-vacuum-cleaner inventor James Dyson.
Volta : Science and Culture in the Age of Enlightenment
by Giuliano Pancaldi / Paperback: 400 pages / Princeton University Press
(April 11, 2005)
Depicts Volta as an inventor who used his international network of
acquaintances to further his quest to harness the power of electricity. This
is the story of a man who sought recognition as a natural philosopher and
ended up with an invention that would make an everyday marvel of electric
lighting.
The
Ambiguous Frog: The Galvani-Volta Controversy on Animal Electricity
by Marcello Pera, Jonathan Mandelbaum / Hardcover - 203 pages / Princeton Univ. Press
(1992)
How do ideas become accepted by the scientific community? How and why do scientists choose
among empirically equivalent theories
Teach Yourself Electricity and Electronics
by Stan Gibilisco / Paperback: 800 pages / McGraw-Hill/TAB Electronics;3rd edition (August
2001)
Presented as a self-instructional guide for professionals, hobbyists, and technicians
desiring to competently enter the world of circuits (ac and dc), measuring devices,
resistors, cells and batteries, semiconductors, computers, and the Internet.
ON THE WEB:
Count Alessandro Giuseppe Antonio Anastasio Volta
His young childhood did not show the makings of a prodigy. It was not until the age
of four that he talked, and his family was convinced that he was retarded.
(URL: www.italian-american.com/volta.htm)
Volta's Electrical Battery Invention
The Voltaic pile stimulated so much scientific inquiry that, by 1831, when
Faraday built the first dynamo, the basic principles of electricity had been
established.
(URL:
www.ieee.org/organizations/history_center/milestones_photos/volta.html)
Chronology of Principal Events in Volta's Life
Volta received his greatest honor, however, at the hands of no ruler, but of
his fellow scientists. The unit of electromotive force- the driving force
that moves the electric current- is now called the "volt." The energy of
moving charged particles produced by modern atom-smashing machines is
measured in electron-volts.
(URL: chem.ch.huji.ac.il/~eugeniik/history/volta.htm)
Alessandro Volta
Volta, Alessandro, Count, Italian physicist, known for his pioneering work
in electricity, invented the Electric Battery in 1800.
(URL: www.thocp.net/biographies/volta_alessandro.htm)
Super Scientists
Volta modified this effect to produce the first continuous flow of electric
current. Around 1800, he invented a wet battery called a Voltaic Pile.
(URL: www.energyquest.ca.gov/scientists/volta.html)
Alessandro Volta Centre for Scientific Culture
The "Alessandro Volta" Centre for Scientific Culture is a non profit
organization acting since 1982, supported by the local Administrations of
Region Lombardy and Province Como, the Como Town Council and the Chambers of
Commerce of Milano and Como.
(URL: iride.unipv.it/camp95/volta.html)
Sparks Museum
The invention of the battery page includes copies of Volta's notes,
historical paintings and pages from his book.
(URL: www.sparkmuseum.com/BOOK_VOLTA.HTM)
Alessandro
Volta
In 1800 he constructed the first battery to produce
electricity.
(URL: scienceworld.wolfram.com/biography/Volta.html)
WORDS OF WISDOM:
"All power corrupts, but we need the
electricity." - Anonymous
"Faith is like electricity. You can't see it, but you can see the light." -
Anonymous
HOW IT WORKS:
The Voltaic pile was the first modern electric
battery, invented by Alessandro Volta in 1800. Volta demonstrated that when
metals and chemicals come into contact with each other they produced an
electrical current. In his research, Volta placed together several pairs of
alternating copper (or silver) and zinc discs separated by cloth and soaked
the cloth in brine (salt water) to increase conductivity, and an electrical
current was produced.
DID YOU KNOW?:
- Alessandro Volta's portrait, appeared on
Italian 10.000 lira banknote before the introduction of the euro.
- The electrical unit known as the "volt"
was named in his honor.
|
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trademarks and brands are the property of their respective owners. |
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Reference Sources in BOLD Type. |
This page revised September 21, 2005. |
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