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Sunday, June 4, 2023
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Volta was born and educated in Como, Lombardy
(Italy), where he became professor of physics at the Royal School
in 1774. His passion had always been the study of electricity,
and still as a young student he had even written a poem in Latin
on this fascinating new discovery. In 1775, he devised the electrophorus,
a device that produced a static electric charge. In 1776-77,
Alessandro studied the chemistry of gases, discovered methane,
and devised experiments such as the ignition of gases by an electric
spark
in a closed vessel. In 1779, he became professor of physics at
the University of Pavia,
a chair he occupied |
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| for 25 years.
In 1800, as the result of a professional disagreement over the galvanic
response advocated by Luigi Galvani,
he developed the so-called voltaic pile, a forerunner of the electric
battery, which produced a steady electric current. Volta had determined
that the most effective pair of dissimilar metals to produce electricity
was zinc and silver. The electric pile replaced the goblets with
cardboard soaked in brine. In honor of his work in the field of electricity,
Napoleon made him a count in 1810. In 1815, the Emperor of Austria
named him a professor of philosophy at Padova. Volta died on March 5, 1827 and is buried in
the city of Como in Italy. The Tempio Voltiano near
Lake Como is a museum devoted to explaining his work. Alessandro
Volta's original instruments
and papers are on display there.
(Courtesy of www.wikipedia.org) |
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The
opinions and interpretations in this publication are those of the author
and do not necessarily reflect those of the Government of Canada. |
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