Alessandro Volta (1745-1827)
Inventor of the voltaic pile – the first electric
current battery – and namesake of volt, Volta was
born in Como
(region of Lombardia) to an aristocratic family. Volta
was seven years old when his father died; and a few years later,
Volta
was enrolled in a Jesuit school in preparation for a career as a priest. He
studied philosophy and literature for a few years, but developed a greater
interest in physics and chemistry. During the late 1760s, he wrote to
several prominent physicists about his theories on electricity, following
with a dissertation in 1769; and his writings continued to be published. In
1774, Volta
was appointed Superintendent of Schools in Como,
and in 1775, he became Professor of Experimental Physics. He improved and
named the electrophorus – a charging device – and studied the properties of
combustible gases, discovering methane.
In 1778, Volta was appointed to
chair the Experimental Physics department at
Pavia
University, a position he held until
the early 1800s. While there, he worked on Galvani’s theory of conducting
electricity, and developed the voltaic pile – a tower of zinc and silver or
copper discs alternating with brine-soaked cardboard, with wires attached to
the top and bottom of the pile that produced sparks when connected. In 1794,
Volta
received the Copley Medal, an award given by the Royal Society of London for
a distinguished achievement in science. After the invention of the voltaic
pile, Volta
traveled, lectured, and received many awards and honors, among them the
Order of the Iron Crown by Napoleon. Volta retied to
his family estate in 1819, and died in 1827. In 1881, the volt was named in
his honor, and on the 100th anniversary of his death,
Il Tempio Voltiano (The Volta
Temple) – which houses many of his papers and original instruments – was
constructed on Lake
Como.
LINKS:
Alessandro Giuseppe Antonio Anastasio Volta
Il
Tempio Voltiano
--------------------------------
Written by Janice Mancuso
