Alessandro Bolt
The famous physicist Count Alessandro Volta is considered the inventor of the electric battery.
Childhood and Youth
Volta was born in Como, his parents were Filippo Volta and Maddalena Inzaghi. His family was middle class. As a child, Alessandro was not smarter than his peers, and did not speak until he was four years old. But by the age of seven he not only caught up with his peers in development, but also overtook them in ingenuity. Volta received his primary education at the Royal Seminary in Como. His parents wanted him to be educated as a lawyer or a priest, but Volta had already decided to tie his life to chemistry and physics.
Career
Volta's career in physics began with teaching the subject at the Royal Seminary at Como. For a year he studied atmospheric electricity and conducted tests in electrochemistry, electromagnetism and electrophysiology. In 1775 he invented an electric induction machine (electrophorus) that produced a static electric charge. It was a device that generated electricity only from friction, and the charge could be transferred to other objects. Between 1776 and 1778 Volta studied gases and discovered the presence of methane in the natural environment, which he eventually learned to isolate.
In 1800 he invented the Volta pole, the first electric battery. The battery consisted of plates of copper and zinc placed on top of each other, which were separated by cardboard spacers soaked in a salt solution, which allowed to maintain an uninterrupted supply of electric current. Volta also developed the law of capacitance and theoretically predicted the law of bimetallic contact.
Major works
One of the inventive scientist's major published works was "On the Attractive Power of Electricity," which was based on his in-depth research into the question of the force of attraction in an electric circuit.
Awards and Achievements
Volta was recognized as an honorary member of the Royal Society of London in 1791 for his innovative work in physics, especially in the invention of the electroscope.
In 1794 the Royal Society of Great Britain awarded Volta the Copley Medal for his discovery of Volta's law of a series of electronic potentials.
In 1801 Napoleon Bonaparte granted Volta the title of Count, after Volta demonstrated to him the principle of the battery he had invented.
Personal life and legacy
Volta married Teresa Peregrini, daughter of Count Ludovico Peregrini, in 1794. Three sons were born to the couple.
Volta died at age 82 at his estate in Camnago, Italy. He was buried there, and the place was renamed Camnago Volta for his distinguished services.
The Alessandro Volta Award is given for scientific merit in the field of electricity.
Over the course of his life, Volta collaborated with many distinguished individuals, including the famous French physicist Jean Antoine Nollet and the Italian experimenter Giovanni Battista.
Bern Dibner wrote a biography book called Alessandro Volta and the Electric Battery, which was published in 1964.
Another book with the title Volta: Science and Culture in the Age of Enlightenment was written by Julian Pancaldi and published in 2005.
Interesting Facts
The image of Alessandro Volta and a sketch of the device he invented, the voltaic pole, appeared on 10,000 lire banknotes in Italy.
Volta is also considered the father of the electric car.
Toyota named its car "Toyota Volta" in 2003 to commemorate Volta's outstanding personality, and in 2011 Chevrolet also honored the striking scientist's name.
In honor of the Volt, his fellow scientists named the unit of measurement for electrical voltage, the Volt.
The Bevatron is a type of nuclear particle gas pedal, the "v" in the original name of which refers to the name of Alessandro Volta.
The photovoltaic system, which converts light energy into electricity, is named after Alessandro Volta.
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