Voltaic Pile Research Articles

Burned by a battery–coin short circuit: Old concept for a new burn

The first known artefacts that may have served as batteries are the Baghdad Batteries (250 BC and 640 AD) and may have been used for electroplating gold [1]. The modern story of the battery started with the discovery of ‘‘animal electricity’’ by Luigi Galvani [2] and the Voltaic pile, invented by the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta in 1800. Since then, batteries have become a common power source for many household and industrial applications. Disposable batteries are most commonly used in portable devices with either low current drain, only used intermittently, or used well away from an alternative power source. Lithium batteries are primary batteries that have lithium metal/compounds as an anode and can produce voltages from 1.5 to 3 V. They are expensive, but provide much longer life, and are therefore used for clocks and smoke alarms (Fig. 1). They can provide very high currents, but can also discharge very rapidly when short-circuited. This can potentially be dangerous as too rapid discharge can result in overheating of the battery, rupture or even explosion. This concept is illustrated in a case report. The hazards of transporting a disposable battery inappropriately are stressed.

First approximation to the analysis of Ru and Se in carbon nanoparticles as a new voltaic pile system by TXRF

This work presents the first analytical study carried out by total-reflection X-ray fluorescence (TXRF) in the special system constituted by carbon nanoparticles impregnated with Ru and Se, which is currently being investigated as an alternative voltaic system. This study shows that conventional analytical techniques, such as atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) or inductively coupled plasma spectroscopy (ICPS), can produce large deviations in the metallic contents of this material, as high as 50%, due to recovery problems, mainly of Ru, in the acid leaching process. This fact can have important consequences in related research, industrial fabrication and for their environmental impact. An alternative methodology based on the quantitative direct solid analysis of metallic impregnated carbon nanoparticles by means of the TXRF technique has been developed. The suspension conditions have been optimized by the use of different programs of ultrasonic pulses, and it has been characterized by dynamic light scattering (DLS) with the aim of checking the final size distribution of the particles. This methodology has been checked for different sample size distributions of the suspension. A microscopical image and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of the solid depositions over the TXRF sample carrier have also been performed to evaluate homogeneity from a macroscopic and microscopic point of view and, additionally, to evaluate the possible presence of matrix effects. Finally, the TXRF results were validated by means of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), in a direct solid way, and by elemental analysis (CHNS), which confirmed the validity of the TXRF quantitative direct solid measurements. From an analytical point of view, the more important result was the strong correlation found between the particle size distributions and the homogeneity of the depositions with respect to the uncertainty of the Ru and Se TXRF measurements, but not with respect to their nominal values. The optimum uncertainties obtained with the developed methodology were 5.9% and 2.9% for Ru and Se, respectively, for a coberture factor k = 2 (95%). Finally, the application of ICP-MS to the analysis of solid samples by suspension method has proven to be a non trivial task, at least for this nanoparticle system. The results obtained in this work indicate that the adequate modification of the fundamental ICP-MS parameters, i.e. dilution factor, RF power and nebulizer gas flow, could be the initial way to optimize the analytical results by ICP-MS.

Fiat Lux — et facta est lux

The virtuous are early to bed and early to rise not wishing to waste the daylight. The less virtuous party on under the glow of artificial light. A poor light, though, compared to the sun but better than nothing. First there was firelight then candles and lamps and then in historically recent times the gas lamp until this in its turn gave way to devices powered by electricity. Maybe that’s the end of an energy road, changing from one type to another – maybe not, crystal ball gazing is notoriously inaccurate. It’s probably safe to say that electricity is here to stay, or at least for a very long time. Even the most way out futurologists surmise only that the future will be lit by electric light. Where the electricity comes from will change and how it is used will change but the one will still beget the other. It started a while ago but nothing useful could happen until a stable source of electricity was available and in 1800 Alessandro Volta, invented the voltaic pile which would produce a steady electric current from two dissimilar metals immersed in a conducting solution. Within 10 years the English chemist, Sir Humphry Davy connected a charcoal strip across such a device and demonstrated ‘‘electric luminosity.’’ This was the first glowing lamp, albeit probably very short lived. The first experiments to produce commercially viable ‘‘electric light’’ were in 1820 when Warren De la Rue, son of Thomas De la Rue, the founder of the firm of stationers, enclosed a platinum coil in an evacuated tube and passed an electric current through it. This worked, but then as now, platinum was too expensive to develop the idea. Many others tried using cheaper materials, often based on a carbonized natural material, but the pumps available could not produce a ‘‘hard’’ enough vacuum to stop the filaments burning up. It was not until 1875 when Herman Sprengel invented the mercury vacuum pump that it became possible to develop a practical electric light bulb. In the same year a patent for such a device was granted and shortly after this was sold to Thomas Edison and the rest is history. By 1879, using lower current electricity, a small carbonized filament, and an improved vacuum inside the bulb Edison was able to produce a reliable, long-lasting source of light. Another 20 or 30 years later tungsten filaments were introduced instead of carbon and, further development followed further development until we reach where we are today. Of course that is not the whole story; even in the early days there were arc lamps and vapour lamps these in time became fluorescent lamps. All these ways of producing light had their particular uses and any improvements were driven by need. But now things are changing, the lights are fine but there is fear that the electricity to run them is running out. The incandescent bulbs which have served us well for over a century may have run their course. They use too much electricity. Australia was the first country to announce an outright ban on these bulbs by 2010. Now Europe and the US have jumped in with their proposals and bans. We have to wait and see what will happen since the manufacturers are not giving in easily. There may still be life in the old incandescent bulb. The General Electric Co. (think back to 1890 and its origins as the Edison General Electric Company and realize the wheel has turned full circle) has said that by 2010 it would make an incandescent bulb twice as efficient as today’s – and by 2012 produce one that

Concerning the origins of charge transfer in the micro-structure of matter: The contribution of Theodor von Grotthuss

The first theory of electrolysis was written in Rome (1805) and was published as a pamphlet—a study that was quickly translated from French into English and German. According to Theodor Grotthuss, author of theory, the electrolyte in between Volta's pile electrodes aligns chains of polarized water particles (molecules). Electric current and matter transfer occurs when these particles instantly switch their polarized water particle fragments. These jumps in the chain of polarized electrolyte held between different electrodes results in oxygen build up next to one electrode and hydrogen build up next to the other electrode. This theory offered several insights for further development. One was the model leap transfers. The other, more fruitful insight was the self-action chain or the force field of force model. That was picked up by Michael Faraday who transformed and developed it further into the concept of electric and magnetic fields and lines of force. In Grotthuss’ theory he finds the idea of the concept of ion as an individual charged fragment of molecule. This article is based on the earlier studies of author [J.A. Krikstopaitis, In the wake of Volta's challenge: the electrolysis theory of Theodor Grotthuss, 1805. in: Volta and the history of electricity, Collana di Storia della Scienza, Universita degli studi di Pavia, Hoepli, Milano, 2003, p. 61–68; J.A. Krikstopaitis, Pralenkes laika: Theodor Grotthuss (Theodor Grotthuss: A Step Ahead of His Time), Pradai, Vilnius, 2001].

Tracking down the origin of arc plasma science-II. early continuous discharges

Continuous discharges could only be obtained after enduring energy sources became available, namely in the form of a battery of electrochemical cells, invented by Volta in late 1799. Humphry Davy is often credited with the discovery of the arc discharge, which later led to the development of the carbon arc lamp. Indeed, as early as 1800, he obtained short pulsed arcs with his Voltaic pile. Independently, and earlier than Davy in the sense of continuous discharges, the Russian Vasilii Petrov of St. Petersburg made carbon arcs in 1802. Petrov used a pile of 4200 electrochemical cells to drive what was the most powerful discharge at that time. Petrov's publication of 1803 appeared only in Russian, and his work was ignored and forgotten for over a century. Davy pursued highly successful electrochemical experiments and was unaware of Petrov's work. He increased the size of his battery in several steps, which led to increasingly powerful discharges, most likely an undesired side effect. After 1808, using the new battery of the Royal Institution, Davy demonstrated continuous arc discharges. The exact dates and circumstances of early arc demonstrations around 1810 are still the subject of research, but later arc experiments such as those at the London Institution of 1821 are well documented. While Petrov could claim priority for continuous carbon arcs, it was Davy who made a lasting impact on further development.

Early Voltaic Batteries: an Evaluation in Modern Units and Application to the Work of Davy and Faraday

Classic voltaic batteries of the silver/zinc and copper/zinc types are the ancestors of today's primary cells, and facilitated the development of many aspects of electrical technology. Nevertheless, they appear never to have been studied and evaluated in a quantitative manner, with results recorded in terms of volts, amps, ohms, and watts. Research of this nature is reported here, and has been conducted for the most part with copper/zinc cells. Log–log graphs of voltage versus load and current, and power versus load, are presented for many electrolyte systems. It has been shown that, although the textbook electrolyte of dilute sulphuric acid does work, it is an order of magnitude inferior to a solution containing some additional nitric acid. The latter diminishes the current‐limiting phenomenon of polarization, and was in fact used by Davy, Faraday, and other early investigators. A quantitative consideration of Nicholson and Carlisle's discovery of the electrolysis of water with a silver/zinc voltaic pile is followed by examination of the electrolysis of pure water, trough batteries, and Davy's isolation of potassium and sodium. Every battery gives maximum power when its resistance is adjusted (by appropriate series/parallel connections) to match the resistance of the load: the maximum output of the ‘Great Battery’ of the Royal Institution is assessed at no more than 3 kW. The paper concludes with a note on the recognized hazard of long‐term exposure to mercury vapour (produced by amalgamation of zinc electrodes in batteries) and its possible relevance to the health of Michael Faraday.

Identification and localization of flagellins FlaA and FlaB3 within flagella of Methanococcus voltae.

Methanococcus voltae possesses four flagellin genes, two of which (flaB1 and flaB2) have previously been reported to encode major components of the flagellar filament. The remaining two flagellin genes, flaA and flaB3, are transcribed at lower levels, and the corresponding proteins remained undetected prior to this work. Electron microscopy examination of flagella isolated by detergent extraction of whole cells revealed a curved, hook-like region of varying length at the end of a long filament. Enrichment of the curved region of the flagella resulted in the identification of FlaB3 by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and N-terminal sequencing, and the localization of this flagellin to the cell-proximal portion of the flagellum was confirmed through immunoblotting and immunoelectron microscopy with FlaB3-specific antibodies, indicating that FlaB3 likely composes the curved portion of the flagella. This could represent a unique case of a flagellin performing the role of the bacterial hook protein. FlaA-specific antibodies were used in immunoblotting to determine that FlaA is found throughout the flagellar filament. M. voltae cells were transformed with a modified flaA gene containing a hemagglutinin (HA) tag introduced into the variable region. Transformants that had replaced the wild-type copy of the flaA gene with the HA-tagged version incorporated the HA-tagged version of FlaA into flagella which appeared normal by electron microscopy.

Ion transport in some solid state proton conducting composites studied from volta cell e.m.f. and complex impedance spectroscopy

Proton conducting composites of heteropolyacid hydrates (phosphomolybdic acid H3PMo12O40.nH2O, PMA; phosphotungstic acid H3PW12O40.nH2O, PTA) and salt hydrate like NiCl2.6H2O were prepared with insulating Al2O3 as dispersoid. The ionic conductivity peaks at two concentrations of Al2O3 indicating two percolation thresholds for proton conduction. Two separate experiments were carried out to check the existence of such percolation thresholds viz. the volta battery experiment involving the measurement of e.m.f. of an electrochemical cell with composites of different compositions used as electrolyte and the composition vs conductivity measured by the complex impedance spectroscopy. The presence of two maxima has been attributed to two different percolation thresholds for the two possible mobile protonic species H+ (H3O+) and OH- arising from the hydrates.

Shocks and Sparks: The Voltaic Pile as a Demonstration Device

The invention of the Voltaic pile in March 1800 is often regarded as the final blow to Galvani's theory of animal electricity. But good arguments for an alternative interpretation of the pile as a public demonstration device can be found. It was an amplifier of effects observed and described in 1797 and an essential part of the strategy of multiplying one's witnesses outlined by Shapin and Schaffer. Volta tried to win general recognition of his jurisdiction over metallic electricity. He was conscious of the difference between expert colleagues and the general public: the pile was addressed to the latter category of witnesses.

Medical electricity. II. Galvanism

In this historical review the following topics are mentioned: Galvani's frog; Aldini's auditory stimulator with clockwork interrupter; Aldini's electroshock therapy with voltaic pile; DeSanctis' reanimation chair; apparatus of the type used by Krimer for cardiac electro-puncture.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

The discovery of the electric current

The first battery, the so called voltaic pile, turns out to be the only and hidden entrance to the world of electrodynamics. It was not until 20 years after Alessandro Volta's discovery that the realisation came that the sensational novelty of the voltaic pile was not the permanent voltage source but the current source. This was not to be expected, and had, therefore, not been searched for specifically, but, rather had been found through a great deal of luck and coincidence in experimentation.

A Brief Review of the History of Electrotherapy and Its Union with Acupuncture

This is a brief review of the history of electrotherapy. Pain has been relieved by electricity since ancient times, at first by means of applying live electric fish to the tender part to cause numbness. But once frictional machines were found to produce electro-static electricity (Franklinism) in the mid 18th century the use of living organisms was discontinued. By the late 18th century Galvani had rediscovered the fact that animals developed electricity spontaneously. Volta discovered a chemical means of producing electricity from the first form of battery or voltaic pile without recourse to animal tissues or frictional machines whose efficiency varied with atmospheric conditions. This discovery led to the medical use of direct current (Galvanism). Its ability to cause necrosis by electrolytic means was employed in the destruction of tumours. Galvanism was also applied to needles, hence the first form of electroacupuncture pioneered by Berlioz and Sarlandiére. For the first time the combination of electrotherapy and oriental ideas about needling were brought together. Furthermore these early experimenters showed how stimulation of the nervous system brought profound relief from pain. In the early 19th century Faraday's work on the production of alternating currents and his understanding of electrolysis provided medicine with the escape that was required from the dangers of Galvanism. A variety of safer alternating and interrupted currents (Faradism) have been employed in electrotherapy ever since, particularly in the form of electroacupuncture, TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Stimulation) and Dorsal Column Stimulation. The popularity of electrotherapy fell during the early part of the 20th century as no one knew how its effects were obtained. However now we know how afferent nerve fibres respond to different frequencies and amplitudes, electrotherapy permits the modern practitioner to stimulate the nervous system in a number of different ways to induce the selective production of various monoamines, amino acids and peptides in the central nervous system. However more experiments are required to make electrotherapy realise its true potential in stimulating the patient's own pain relieving substances.

History of instrumental measuring of hearing acuity: the first acumeter

The necessity of measuring the acuity of hearing in a reproducible way arose for the first time when the invention of Volta's pile in 1800 seemed to present the opportunity of curing deafness. For this purpose Chr. H. Wolke in Jever, Northern Germany, in 1802 devised two instruments which he called "acumeter". Details of these instruments were hardly known, and Wolke's publication was believed to be lost. The author has now succeeded in tracing Wolke's publication and another associated paper by J. J. A. Sprenger. Hence, the circumstances of Wolke's and Sprenger's work and details of these first acumeters are now being published together with original figures and the correct dimensions of the instruments. The acumeters had a pendulum-like hammer that would strike against a plate swinging down from varying heights that could be read in degrees of angle from a scale. One of the instruments was made of wood. It was 1.50 m high, with the pendulum raised to the maximal position 2.70 m. The other instrument of similar construction was made of metal and about half the size of the first one, with a height of 0.70 m or 1.30 m respectively. For comparison Itard's acumeter is presented which was published in 1821. It worked on the same principle, and it is likely that Itard had been inspired by Wolke's paper. The development of mechanical acumeters after Wolke's and Itard's instruments is outlined briefly.

The Voltaic pile: A stimulating general chemistry experiment

An inexpensive, simple, and fun way to illustrate many of the principles in electrochemistry.

Construction of an integration vector for use in the archaebacterium Methanococcus voltae and expression of a eubacterial resistance gene

An integration vector for use in Methanococcus voltae was constructed, based on the Escherichia coli vector pUC18. It carries the structural gene for puromycin transacetylase from Streptomyces alboniger, which is flanked by expression signals of M. voltae structural genes and hisA gene sequences of this bacterium. Transformed M. voltae cells are puromycin resistant. Several types of integration of the vector into the chromosome were found. Only one case was due to nonhomologous recombination. The integrated sequences were stable under selective pressure but were slowly lost in some cases in the absence of the selective drug. The vector could be excised from M. voltae chromosomal DNA, recircularized and transformed back into E. coli.

Localization of the F420-reducing hydrogenase in Methanococcus voltae cells by immuno-gold technique

The F420-reducing hydrogenase of Methanococcus voltae, which takes part in the terminal reduction step of methanogenesis, was localized in situ in ultrathin sections. This result was obtained by the immuno-gold technique using a high titer antiserum raised against the purified enzyme. Its specifity for the hydrogenase was shown by Western blot analysis. The hydrogenase of M. voltae was found to be membrane-associated.

Galvani's frog: Harbinger of a new era

On 30 October 1786 Luigi Galvani gave the first account, at the Academy of Sciences of Bologna, about his experiments on animal electricity, of which he thought to have obtained evidence from the convulsions shown by a dissected frog, as soon as its hind-limbs were connected with the spinal cord by means of a metallic conductor. The publication of these experiments gave rise to Galvani's controversy with Volta, who denied the existence of animal electricity after discovering that there exists a potential difference between any couple of dissimilar conductors. This was a preliminary step that led Volta to the invention of the voltaic pile. Evidence of animal electricity was given about 1840 by Carlo Matteucci, using the astatic galvanometer invented by Leopoldo Nobili. This fundamental property of living organisms is now a well-advanced field of investigation by electrophysiology and bioelectrochemistry.

The Royal Institution Music Lectures, 1800–1831: A Preliminary Study

Studies of the Royal Institution have focused on science, as the term was defined from about the 1840s onwards, and on the institutionalization of science so defined. They exhibit a particular assumption that, until recent years, has dominated the historiography of science and that still is apparent in the latest study of the Royal Institution by Morris Berman (1978). Berman's aim is to demonstrate ‘the process by which technical reason became (as Michel Foucault would say) the prose of our world’ (p. xxv). Thus, according to Berman, what the chemist, Humphry Davy, stood for ‘ultimately made a greater difference for the history of science than what he accomplished with the voltaic pile, for he paved the way for a society in which the “social construction of reality” proceeded along scientific lines’ (p. xxv).

The Politics of Science in Early Napoleonic France: The Case of the Voltaic Pile

The Politics of Science in Early Napoleonic France: The Case of the Voltaic Pile

Electricity in the 17th and 18th Centuries: A Study of Early Modern Physics

This history of electricity covers the period from Gilbert's De Magnete (published in 1600) and his work on frictional electricity, to Volta's pile (1800), dealing with the work of over 200 physicists on the way. An opening chapter which reviews physical principles to be encountered is followed by one on the institutional backgrounds from which the physicists emerged and the circumstances in which they worked.