replacement batteries information: When was the first battery invented?

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

When was the first battery invented?

The invention of the storage battery is credited to the Italian Alessandro Volta (from whom comes the term 'volt' and its derivatives). He developed the zinc-copper storage battery or 'pile', as it is still called by some, in 1800.

This invention followed on research begun in the 1780s by Luigi Galvani (from whom comes the term 'galvanic'), who experimented on the electrical stimulation of muscles. Galvani had found that two different metals could be used to stimulate muscles in the same manner as the direct application of electricity, which could be produced using an electrostatic machine and stored in a Leyden jar.

It was a difference of opinion between Galvani and Volta about the source of electricity that led to the development of the battery. Galvani believed that electricity was generated naturally within body tissue (animal electricity), while Volta believed it was produced through a chemical reaction between different metals. Volta was correct and created the first working battery to prove it.