Why did we feel the need to invent the battery?
Because although electricity was known and studied at the time of Volta, they could not understand how to imprison it in an object to use it in another time.
Alessandro Volta was one of the most famous physicists in history, was born in Como on February 18, 1745, invented and perfected the electrochemical battery and discovered the great potential of methane gas. His name is related to electricity, in fact it has among units of measurement the "volt" (V). Volta began his research, questioning everything that was thought about electrical phenomena at the time. He developed several inventions that allowed the exploitation of electrical phenomena and others to accurately measure electricity, with the hope of introducing standard measures.
At the age of 55 he published the invention of the battery, but only after years of careful analysis and observations based on the theory of animal electricity by Luigi Galvani. Galvani conducted an experiment involving a frog, from which crural nerves and medulla were isolated, and placed at a certain distance from an electric machine. During the stroke of a spark, the internal crural nerve of the frog was touched with a scalpel and there was an intense contraction of the muscles of the animal’s legs. From this came the theory that animals and human beings possessed an intrinsic electricity produced by the brain, propagated through the nerves and stored in the muscles.
In this view, Volta realized that the animal could not be the means of passage of electricity, but the metals used. Then He developed several experiments to produce a battery capable of producing constant current. The final version consisted of a column of zinc and copper discs, with an intermediate layer of cardboard soaked in salt or acid water. By connecting the two poles with an electrical conductor, a circuit was created in which DC current passed.
On March 20th, 1800, Alessandro Volta announced this invention to the world by writing a letter to the Royal Society (simplifying: English Academy of Sciences).
After the life of Alessandro Volta, his invention continued a rapid evolution thanks to the efforts of other people.
Today, the traditional battery works by converting chemical energy into electricity, using two "half cells", one containing substances that are oxidized, the other hosting substances that are reduced. In order for energy to be created, redox must occur. So, we are talking about an exchange of electrons: one half cell earns them and the other loses them. As soon as the battery is balanced between the two parts, the battery will be empty and no longer usable.
In addition to traditional batteries, there are also rechargeable batteries, which are based on the same principle on which are based the batteries created by Galvani Power!
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