Volta's Shocking Discovery
1800 AD
1800 1800
09.05E45.48N
SCI

COMO, ITALY
	Every time you shine a flashlight or listen to a portable radio, you can thank Count Alessandro Volta.
	Volta, born in 1745 in Como, Italy, was interested in the new discoveries being made about electricity.  From studying earlier experiments he believed that dissimilar metals in contact with each other would create electricity, so he stacked discs of copper, zinc, cardboard (soaked in salt water), copper, zinc, cardboard, etc. until he had a tall pile.
	When he touched the top and bottom discs of the stack at the same time, Volta had a shocking experience.  He had built the first battery, which was called a voltaic pile. He published his findings in 1800.
	The "volt," a measurement of electrical current, is named after the count.