Batteries: Past, Present, and Future
History of the Battery The Idea The idea for the battery came to be through a peculiar observation in the 1800s. Luigi Galvani, a professor in medicine, watched a frogs leg twitch when subjected to electric current (Hoyer.) This sparked several theories for electricity storage. These theories were then further taken up by an Italian man by the name of Alessandro Volta who created what is now referred to today as the first working battery prototype. He called it the “voltaic pile” and it was “formed by an alternate sequence of two different metals (zink and silver disks separated by a cloth soaked in a sodium chloride solution…” (Scrosati.) Development The further development of the battery then picks up in France in 1859. The French Scientist, Gaston Plantè made a profound improvement to battery technology with his “lead-acid rechargeable battery.” And a few years later, in 1901 Waldemar Jungner, a Swedish engineer, discovered the “rechargeable nickel-cadmium battery.” (Scro...