All about batteries !!! and Volta

1. Alessandro Volta

2. A brief history of Alessandro Volta…
Alessandro Volta was born in Como, Italy in
1745. In 1774, he was appointed as a professor
of physics at the Royal School in Como. For years
at Como, he studied and experimented with
atmospheric electricity by igniting static sparks.
In 1779, Alessandro Volta was appointed
professor of physics at the University of Pavia
and it was while there that he invented his most
famous invention, the voltaic pile...

3. One of the most remarkable and novel discoveries in the last 400
years was electricity….
So what did Alex Volta exactly do?
…….
He invented the first electrical
batteries!!
(Voltaic Pile)
The first electrical batteries
looks like this…. →

4. How? What?
• Alessandro Volta invented the Voltaic Pile(the first electric battery) and
discovered the first practical method of generating electricity.
• He discovered in 1800 that certain fluids would generate a continuous
flow of electrical power when used as a conductor. This discovery led to
the invention of the first voltaic cell, more commonly known as the
battery. Volta discovered further that the voltage would increase when
voltaic cells were stacked on top of each other.
• The Voltaic Pile is 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 "wet cell battery"
that produced a reliable, steady current of electricity.
• However, the Voltaic Pile could not deliver an electrical current for a long
period of time.

5. Alessandro Volta has definitely made
an impact on the area of electricity.
Without him, we probably
won’t have such things
like mobile phones,
which uses batteries.

6. We were inspired by his perseverance towards
researching science, like how he found the way to isolate
methane gas(another one of his discoveries). We admire
him for his curious and open mind to accept new things,
and to investigate more about things around him.
Without him, we may not be able
to enjoy the luxury of having a
portable electrical supply
(batteries).

7. “I personally would like to have an open mind
and perseverance like Alessandro Volta. I want
to able to keep an open mind to new things, like
him. Without his perseverance in studying and
experimenting with atmospheric electricity, we
wouldn’t have batteries today. And for that, I
admire and am grateful to him, ” -Trudy

8. “ I admire Alessandro Volta for being responsible
as he was a professor at the university for 25
years. Also, he shows family importance as he
was married with 3 sons. I am inspired by how
he persevered to find the way to isolate
methane gas. Lastly, from him I’ve learnt that
the first battery was invented by him, consisting
of two electrode, which are copper and zinc.” -
Miao Ting

9. Reflection…
• We have learnt more about the history of
batteries and about new things that we never
knew existed, through this project. For example,
we were clueless about the Voltaic Pile at first
and we didn’t know there was such a name. We
have definitely more knowledgeable on this topic
now!
• We understand more about batteries and its
currents.
• And we are definitely more knowledgeable about
Alessandro Volta!

10. Reflection…
• We found it very hard to arrange a timing for
both of us to meet during the June holidays as
we were both busy with our CCAs, and going
for holidays with each of our families.
• When we finally found the time to meet up,
both of us ended up getting distracted instead
and we ended up doing nothing for the
science project.

11. Reflection…
• Luckily, we managed to find the time to do the
project online instead of meeting up to do it
together as we know that we would end up
getting distracted again.
So, that was how we managed to
overcome the problem that we
faced doing this assignment
together…

12. CREDITS
• Google
• Google Images
• Wikipedia