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The name “battery” was coined by Benjamin Franklin for an arrangement of multiple Leyden jars (an early type of capacitor) after a battery of cannon. Common usage includes a single electrical cell in the definition.
In 1780 the Italian anatomist and physiologist Luigi Galvani noticed that dissected frog’s legs would twitch when struck by a spark from a Leyden jar, an external source of electricity. He created an electric circuit consisting of the frog’s leg (FL) and two different metals A and B, each metal touching the frog’s leg and each other, thus producing the circuit A-FL-B-A-FL-B…etc. In modern terms, the frog’s leg served as both the electrolyte and the sensor, and the metals served as electrodes. In 1800, Volta invented the battery by placing many voltaic cells in series, literally piling them one above the other. This Voltaic pile gave a greatly enhanced net EMF for the combination, with voltages of about 50 volts for a 32-cell pile.
Although early batteries were of great value for experimental purposes, practically their voltages fluctuated and they could not provide a large current for sustained periods. Later, starting with the Daniell cell in 1836, batteries provided reliable currents and were adopted by the industry for use in stationary devices.
Near the end of the nineteenth century, the invention of dry cell batteries, replaced the liquid electrolyte with a paste, made portable electrical devices practical.
Since then, batteries have gained popularity as they became portable and useful for a variety of purposes. According to a 2005 estimate, the worldwide battery industry generates US$48 billion in sales, with 6% annual growth.
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