The starter batteries in our autos are so commonplace and maintenance free, we scarcely concern ourselves with them. Yet they have come on a long journey since 1799. In fact, their batteries are probably the oldest electrical device in history. But perhaps not. Read on while we share some iinteresting facts about lead starter batteries you may not know.
Who Made the First Electrical Storage Battery?
Alessandro Volta made the first electric storage battery in 1799. To tell you the truth, he was a wealthy young man with the luxury of being able to dabble in electrical science. He separated alienating discs of zinc and copper with cloth or pasteboard that he soaked in vinegar.
However it is possible that priests in Baghdad pipped him at the post almost 2,000 years earlier. They may have wanted to impress worshipers during religious ceremonies, although of course we may never know.
Volta’s voltaic pile (think volts) had positive and negative terminals. And so therefore he richly deserves the title of parent of all batteries.
The History of Rechargeable Lead-Acid Batteries
Volta’s battery went flat when it ran out of ions naturally present in the electrodes. Gaston Planté took his ideas further in France in 1859, when he invented the first rechargable lead-acid cell. We can say with confidence that his was the first rechargeable battery ever.
However, electrical engineers regarded them as accumulators only useful for powering first radio transmissions. So then Frenchman Camille Faure invented rechargable lead-sulfur plates he separated with sulfuric acid. And these powered the first secondary, reusable batteries.
Our story is almost over, but we have one more fact to share. Americans Henry M Leland and Charles Kettering invented the first auto starter motor. This was after an engineer in their company died when a car’s crank handle kicked back, and hit him on the head. In this way, his memory lives on forever and his life was not in vain.
Related
Experiment: Make Your Own Voltaic Pile
Gaston Planté’s Lead-Acid Cell Battery
Preview Image: Opened Lead Battery
