The search for the modern battery depends on bursts of inspiration separated by periods of diligent research. The story begins in 1780. At the time, Luigi Galvani was preparing to dissect a frog hanging from a brass hook. When he touched the animal’s sciatic nerve with his iron scalpel the leg twitched. He thought he had discovered ‘animal electricity’.
His Italian chum Allessandro Volta disagreed. He thought the source was two different metals separated by a moist intermediary, in this instance the frog. One thing led to another. To settle the argument Allessandro Volta invented the first battery. This ‘sparked’ considerable interest including a visit by Napoleon. Since then we have measured electrical potential in ‘volts’.
Volta’s battery comprised alternating pairs of copper and zinc discs separated by cardboard or felt spacers soaked in a salt-water. When he connected the top and bottom contacts, he had electric power! For the entire 19th Century, all batteries followed the same principle.
Scientists refined his basic battery because the design proved impractical. A Scotsman laid the Volta battery on its side in a box. This was to prevent pairs of discs squeezing out the salt water and making direct contact. This increased battery life to approximately one hour, after which the zinc was degraded.
More improvements followed enabling electrical experiments to continue. We have much to thank Luigi Galvani for discovering the ‘galvanic’ process of electric current produced by chemical reaction. He was a goldsmith with several conflicting interests including a fourth wife and the possibility of entering the church.
At the time of his discovery, he was lecturing in surgery with a focus on medical electricity. Galvani was an eclectic person with an agile mind. Do you suppose he was the Elon Musk of the 18th Century? Though, he made little money from contributing to the first battery.
Related
