Voltaic pile

The Voltaic Pile was invented by Alessandro Volta in 1800. He demonstrated that when certain metals and chemicals come into contact with each other they can produce an electrical current. He placed together several pairs of copper and zinc discs separated by paper soaked in salt water, and an electrical current was produced. This was the first chemical battery.

For his contributions to the study of electricity, the SI unit called the volt was named after Volta.