Energy · 1800
Voltaic battery
Volta stacks zinc and copper discs to produce the first steady electric current.
Alessandro Volta announced his pile in 1800. A continuous current enabled electrolysis, the discovery of new elements, electromagnetism and the telegraph, and every electrochemical cell since is its descendant.
What it built on 1
What it led to 14
- Current deflects a compass 1820
- Electromagnetic induction 1831
- Electric motor 1834
- Electric telegraph 1837
- Fuel cell 1839
- Photovoltaic effect 1839
- Lead-acid battery 1859
- Self-excited dynamo 1866
- Incandescent light bulb 1879
- Aluminum (Hall-Heroult) 1886
- La Jamais Contente 1899
- Intercalation cathodes 1976
- Vanadium flow battery 1986
- Nickel-metal hydride battery 1989
Related measurements
The dashed line marks when it first worked.
Lithium-ion battery cell price Latest: 78 $/kWh (2024 USD) (2024) Source: Our World in Data
Cost of memory and storage Latest: Memory: 1.09k $/TB (2023) Source: Our World in Data