Alessandro Giuseppe Antonio Anastasio Volta was born on this
day in Italy in 1745. A physicist, chemist and pioneer of electrical science, he’s
best known as the inventor of the electric battery. Using his invention,
scientists were able to produce a steady flow of electric current for the first
time, opening the door to many more discoveries. Volta was the first person to
isolate methane. He learned the gas mixed with air could be exploded using
an electrical spark: the basis of the internal combustion engine. He found electricity
could result from contact between different metals. In recognition of Volta’s work, we call a unit of electric potential a volt. It’s
difficult to imagine a world without his contributions. He’s credited with
saying, “You must be ready to give up even the most attractive ideas when
experiment shows them to be wrong.” Of course, he probably said it in Italian.
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