Alessandro Volta was a pioneer in the field of energy research. He did extensive work on electrical capacitance and developed a type of battery which generated electricity. In response to the work of Luigi Galvani (see our previous Word of the Day). Volta demonstrated how different objects (even a frog’s leg) could conduct electricity, leading to the development of the Voltaic pile, effectively the first battery. Almost by accident he also discovered methane, capturing a sample of marsh gas from a lake near his home. His work with electricity brought him his greatest renown, though, and when the unit of electricity was given a name in 1881, it was named the volt.
6 May /13
