Pair work by:
Science - June
Holiday Project
2012
Introduction of
a scientist
which made an
impact in the
area electricity
Alessandro Giuseppe
Antonio Anastasio Volta
In 1745
is an Italian Physicist
He was born on the 18th February
In 1774
He was appointed as professor of physics
at the Royal School in Camo
In 1775
He improved and popularized the
electrophorus
In 1779
He taught in the University of Pavia for 25
years.
In 1800
He invented the voltaic pile while teaching
in University of Pavia
In 1801
He was made a count by Napoleon in
honour of his work.
In 1819
In 1827
He retired.
He passed away on the 5th March.
He was the scientist who invented the
electric battery.
Discovered
Methane

When Volta studied the
chemistry of gases. He
•
discovered methane after
reading a paper by Benjamin
Franklin on "flammable air"
and carefully searched for it in
Italy.
Found
Methane and
studied its
properties
He found methane at
Lake Maggiore
Isolated
Methane
•
He managed to isolate
Methane and devised
experiments such as the
ignition of methane by an
electric spark in a closed
vessel.
Studied
Electrical
Capacitance
Developed a
theory
 Volta developed
 He discovered that
separate means to
for a given object,
study both electrical
both the electrical
potential (V) and
potential and charge
charge (Q)
are proportional.
Volta’s Law of
Capacitance
• He came up with the
Volta’s Law of
Capacitance AKA
Rule of Proportion
• The unit of electrical
potential, the volt, is
named after him.
Another Great Contribution of The
Century!
.
.

 His work on the voltaic pile began
with a study on the “animal
electricity” noted by Luigi
Galvani.
 due to a disagreement over the
galvanic response, he began working
on the voltaic pile
• A voltaic pile is a set of individual
Galvanic cells placed in series. The pile
uses stacked pairs of alternating copper
(or silver) and zinc discs (electrodes)
separated by cloth or cardboard soaked
in brine (electrolyte) to increase the
conductivity.
• When the top and bottom contacts are
connected, an electric current flows
through the pile and the connecting
wire.
• This provided a steady electric
current flow. 
Alessandro Volta made a significant
contribution toward the area of electricity,
which made many electrical appliances
possible to work today.
So how did such a noble
man like him inspire us? 
Galvani’s
finding
Inquisitive
nature
* Luigi Galvani discovered something he dubbed "animal
electricity" when two different metals were connected in
series with the frog's leg and to one another.
* Because of his inquisitive nature, he found that when
metals and chemicals come into contact with each other,
they can produce electricity.
* He then discovered the electrochemical series and the
Volta’s Law of the electrochemical series.
Electrochemical
series
Disagreement
with Galvani’s
response
Determination
The
Invention
of Voltaic
piles
• The professional disagreement over the galvanic response
advocated by Galvani lead to the invention of voltaic pile.
• This is because he believed in his own hypothesis, which was
that the most effective pair of dissimilar metals to produce
electricity was zinc and silver. Hence, he was determined to
prove his theory right.
• After his many experiments , he invented the voltaic pile
which produces a steady electric current.
• Because of his perseverance and effort, his theory prevailed
Galvani’s.
How did he inspire us from the
above two cases?
Because of his inquisitive nature, perseverance and determination,
it has lead him to a great invention and many great discoveries. It
also brought him many honours and respect. This inspires us as it
shows that if we possess these values like how he possessed them,
we can also be as successful as he is. We hope we can have his
positive attitude towards negative comments and learn to look
things in a different point of view from others and that might also
lead us to surprising discoveries. 
We have learnt how the invention of electric battery came about and the process that
Alessandro Volta went through to prove his theory right. Through the demonstration of
how his voltaic pile works, we also learnt that brine (salt solution) can also be used to
increase the conductivity of the electrolyte. The unit Volt was also named under his
honour. We have also understood how the way voltaic piles work through this
assignment.
Through this assignment, we have different views on how to show the information in a clearer
way and could not decide which scientist to choose for this assignment. However, we managed
to overcome them by listening to each others’ suggestions first before making the final
decision. We also communicated with each other politely and discussed what is going to be
written in this assignment. We also did things systematically to prevent confusion in the task,
which made us being efficient in our work. All we need is co-operation ,patience and be
understanding, which we did display throughout this assignment. 