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How long have batteries been around?
We are indebted to Bill McGovern, national sales manager for Dataforth Corporation for this detailed history.
The birth of battery technology is credited to the Italian physicist Luigi Galvani who, in 1780, discovered that a frog’s leg would “twitch” when brass hooks attached to the muscle were touched to an iron plate. He named this phenomenon “animal electricity”.
Later in 1800, the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta capitalized on Galvani’s frog experiment by inventing the first recorded battery using zinc and copper electrodes separated in a solution of salt water. Next, in 1859 (only 145 years ago) the French physicist Gaston Plante developed the first rechargeable lead-acid battery technology, which is still in use today.
The historical evolution of commercial batteries has seen many major milestones since the frog experiment. Some of these are: the D-size Zinc-Carbon battery (1889), the Nickel-Cadmium battery (1899), the Alkaline battery (1959), the Lithium battery (1967), the Nickel-Metal-Hydrogen (NiMH) battery (1990), the Lithium-ion polymer battery (1999), and the Direct-Methanol Fuel Cell (2004).
Archaeologists, in 1936, discovered a clay vessel containing iron and copper electrode-like structures. The structure of this vessel resembles a crude battery, which is believed to have contained vinegar as an electrolyte and was used in a crude gold electroplating system. The jars are about 2,000 years old and from the Parthian period!
Bill McGovern says that if you are involved in battery or fuel cell design or manufacture, or if you just use them, Dataforth has a signal conditioner that can protect, amplify, isolate and filter your valuable measurement and control data. If your shop is still powering its systems with Baghdad batteries, however, you may be on your own.
How long have batteries been around?
April 21, 2008
We are indebted to Bill McGovern, national sales manager for Dataforth Corporation for this detailed history. The birth of battery technology is credited to the Italian physicist Luigi Galvani who, in 1780, discovered that a frog’s leg would “twitch” when brass hooks attached to the muscle were touched to an iron plate. He named this phenomenon “animal electricity”.
Later in 1800, the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta capitalized on Galvani’s frog experiment by inventing the first recorded battery using zinc and copper electrodes separated in a solution of salt water. Next, in 1859 (only 145 years ago) the French physicist Gaston Plante developed the first rechargeable lead-acid battery technology, which is still in use today.
The historical evolution of commercial batteries has seen many major milestones since the frog experiment. Some of these are: the D-size Zinc-Carbon battery (1889), the Nickel-Cadmium battery (1899), the Alkaline battery (1959), the Lithium battery (1967), the Nickel-Metal-Hydrogen (NiMH) battery (1990), the Lithium-ion polymer battery (1999), and the Direct-Methanol Fuel Cell (2004).
Archaeologists, in 1936, discovered a clay vessel containing iron and copper electrode-like structures. The structure of this vessel resembles a crude battery, which is believed to have contained vinegar as an electrolyte and was used in a crude gold electroplating system. The jars are about 2,000 years old and from the Parthian period!
 |
| The so-called “Baghdad Battery” may have been used for electroplating over 2,000 years ago. |
Bill McGovern says that if you are involved in battery or fuel cell design or manufacture, or if you just use them, Dataforth has a signal conditioner that can protect, amplify, isolate and filter your valuable measurement and control data. If your shop is still powering its systems with Baghdad batteries, however, you may be on your own.
Posted by Charlie Masi on April 21, 2008 | Comments (0)
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