ALESSANDRO VOLTA: BIOGRAPHY AND CONTRIBUTIONS - SCIENCE - 2024

Alessandro Volta (1745 - 1827) was an Italian physicist and chemist, pioneer of electricity and energy, inventor of the electric battery, which was the first source of continuous electric current. His experimental work in the field of chemistry and electricity, and his theoretical contributions to 18th century discussions on the same topics, led to great developments in physics and electromagnetism.

Due to the importance of his scientific contributions and the impact they had on the lives of ordinary people, Volta was a highly recognized scientist in his time. It was not only celebrated by poets and musicians but also highly loved by governments.

Alessandro volta

Apart from his scientific contributions, Volta successfully held highly relevant political positions. So much so that he was admired by Napoleon Bonaparte, who gave him high honors for his work.

Biography

Alessandro Volta, full name Alessandro Giuseppe Antonio Anastasio Volta, was born on February 18, 1745 in Como, Italy. His family had a noble character, which made it easier for him to receive an education from an early age.

Alessandro's mother was noble and the father was characterized by being part of the so-called high bourgeoisie. When he was barely 7 years old, his father died, which implied that he was lacking that father figure from very early on.

First studies

Alessandro showed interest in the phenomena of nature as a child; however, the first training he received - basic and medium - was more of a humanistic nature. His first school was one of Jesuits in his locality.

It is said that the teachers of this school wanted to motivate him to continue his training in the religious area. For his part, his family pressured him to dedicate himself to law, since it was a career of tradition in that family bosom.

Finding himself in the midst of these pressures, Alessandro stood firm in his own interests and chose a scientific training once he began his higher studies.

First inventions

According to historical records, it is known that Volta responded to his interest in electrical phenomena since he was young, since when he was 18 years old he began to communicate via mail with different electrologists residing in Europe.

As early as 1767 Volta began to share his notions about electricity; in that case he did it with Giovan Battista Beccaria, who was a professor in the city of Turin.

In 1774 Volta was proposed as professor of Physics at the Royal School of Como; there he began his teaching activity. Almost parallel to this appointment, in 1775, Volta produced his first electrical invention; it was the electrophore, a device through which it was possible to produce static energy.

In addition to the generation of static energy, the great advantage of this invention was that it was durable; that is, it only needed to be charged so that it was able to transfer energy to different objects.

Just two years later, Volta came up with another important discovery, in this case in the area of ​​chemistry: Alessandro Volta was able to determine and isolate methane gas. Volta continued with his teaching work, and from 1779 he began to work as a full professor of Physics at the University of Pavia.

Conclusions on current and animal tissue

From 1794 Volta was interested in the generation of electric current through metals, without using animal tissue, which was a popular notion at the time.

Luigi Galvani, who was another notable scientist and friend of Volta, had done some experimentation in this field a few years earlier, in 1780. According to the experiments done by Galvani, it was possible to generate electric current when two metals with different characteristics made contact with the muscle. of a frog.

On that occasion, Volta repeated these experiments and obtained similar responses, but he was not entirely convinced with the result.

So, through various experiments conducted in 1794, Volta was able to confirm that animal tissue was not necessary to generate electrical current. This was a revolutionary statement for the time.

From this moment on, Volta's searches began to test his hypothesis and obtain the approval of the scientific community. Volta carried out several experiments and finally, in 1800, the first electric battery came to light.

The pile created by Volta was made up of 30 metal wheels separated from each other by wet cloth. Finally, Volta made his invention public before the Royal London Society, which after conducting various checks, credited Volta with being the inventor of the first electric battery.

Recognitions

Of course, this invention was very influential at the time, as it turned out to be an implement that changed many processes, generating undoubtedly better ones.

The authorities of the time recognized this important discovery, so Alessandro Volta was summoned by various academic institutions to talk about his invention and the implications it had.

One of the personalities who was particularly interested in Volta's invention was Napoleon Bonaparte. In 1801, this strategist invited Volta to Paris to come to the Institut de France to explain the peculiarities of this electric battery.

The magnitude of the discovery so interested Bonaparte that he became very involved in the talks given by Volta and recommended him to receive the highest honors, which he considered this scientist deserved.

Scientific verification and appointments

After this, it was the National Institute of Sciences that verified the functionality of Volta's invention and recognized that it was indeed an outstanding invention, for which they nominated him to obtain a gold medal for scientific merit, the highest distinction in the world. science area at that time.

For his part, Bonaparte continued to show admiration for Alessandro Volta, to such an extent that he made him a Knight of the Legion of Honor and awarded him an annual pension.

Volta also obtained other appointments from different personalities: he held the title of Knight of the Royal Italian Order of the Iron Crown and was Count of Italy, a year after acting as Italian senator.

The recognitions continued, and in 1815, 15 years after creating the first electric battery, the University of Padua - one of the most important in Italy - appointed him director of its Faculty of Philosophy.

Death

In general, Alessandro Volta was characterized as a man of placid character, centered, resourceful and believing. After discovering the electric battery, his subsequent studies dealt with conductivity and intensity.

During the last years of his life, Volta lived on a farm located very close to Como, his hometown; their settlement was in Camnago. He died on March 5, 1827, when he was 82 years old.

Main contributions

The electric battery or voltaic battery

In March 1800, Volta made his greatest contribution by inventing the electric battery. This invention revolutionized the concept of power sources forever, making a portable direct current source available for the first time.

The electric battery made it possible to generate the current from a column of discs of different metals interspersed with cardboard moistened in a salt solution.

This contribution from Volta led to the development of applications such as the electrolysis of water or the production of an electric arc between two carbon poles. Furthermore, this invention made it possible to demonstrate the relationship between magnetism and electricity.

Electrochemistry

Alessandro Volta, is considered one of the fathers of electrochemistry as a discipline. Volta shares this title with Luigi Galvani, who made important developments in animal electricity.

Volta's main contributions to this discipline were made through experiments with frogs, which he carried out to evaluate electrical phenomena described by Galvani.

The different interpretations given by Volta and Galvani to these phenomena allowed the true development of electrochemistry.

Some authors consider Volta the true founder of electrochemistry due to the experimental character that he gave to this branch of science.

Contact electrification laws

Volta raised the famous laws of electrification by contact, a theory that developed to explain the sources of electrical charges. Volta's theory of contact electricity was later shown to be incomplete and wrong in several respects.

Despite the mistakes, Volta's theory lasted for many years and served as the basis for advancing the experimental study of electricity and for important theoretical discussions on the subject.

Invention of equipment

Among Volta's lesser-known contributions to the world of science are a host of equipment, some of which is still in use today.

Volta invented equipment such as the electric capacitor, which is used to store energy. He also invented the condenser electroscope, a device that combines the functions of an electroscope and a condenser.

In addition, he perfected the electrophore, a device invented by Johan Wilcke and that serves as a generator of static electricity.

Discoveries and experimental processes

Alessandro Volta made very important experimental contributions in his time. Among them, he is recognized for having discovered the organic nature of biogas.

On the other hand, Volta also carried out important experiments in atmospheric electricity such as the ignition of gases by electrical sparks in closed containers.

Volta's contributions to the scientific world lasted until 1803. After this year and until the date of his death in 1827, he produced no new contributions.

References

1. Beretta M. From Nollet to Volta: Lavoisier and electricity. Revue D'hisoire Des Sciences. 2001; 54 (1): 29–52.
2. Fara P. Alessandro Volta and the politics of pictures. Endeavor. 2009; 33 (4): 127–128.
3. Piccolino M. Sparking off the Enlightenment. Endeavor. 2004; 28 (1): 6.
4. Science AA Alessandro Volta. The Scientific Monthly. 1927; 25 (2): 189–191.
5. Science AA The Volta Memorial Fellowship. Science, New Series. 1927; 66 (1710).
6. Trasatti S. 1799-1999: Alessandro Volta's `` Electric Pile ': Two hundred years, but it doesn't seem like it. Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry. 1999; 460 (1): 1–4.