Alessandro Volta was born on 18 February 1745 in Como. An Italian physicist and chemist, Volta invented the electric battery. His voltaic pile, made of alternating discs of zinc and copper separated by cloth soaked in brine, produced a steady electric current for the first time and was announced in 1800. It grew out of a debate with Luigi Galvani, who attributed the twitching of frog legs to animal electricity, while Volta argued that the effect came from contact between different metals. He also discovered methane and invented the electrophorus, and the unit of electric potential, the volt, bears his name.
Before and after
- 1744Rise of House of Saud
- 1 August 1744Birth of Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck
- from 7 August 1744 to 25 December 1745Second Silesian War
- 1745Founding of North Adams
- 18 February 1745Birth of Alessandro Volta
- October 1745Publication of God Save the King
- 15 December 1745Battle of Kesselsdorf
- 1746Founding of Princeton University
- from 29 January 1746 to 22 February 1746Siege of Brussels
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The era
This moment belongs to the Early modern world (1500 CE to 1760 CE), voyages, printing and new ideas. You can also browse everything in the 18th century.