Batteries have been around longer than you may think. In 1938,
archaeologist Wilhelm Konig discovered some peculiar clay pots
while digging at Khujut Rabu, just outside of present-day
Baghdad, Iraq. The jars, which measure approximately 5 inches
(12.7 centimeters) long, contained an iron rod encased in copper
and dated from about 200 B.C. Tests suggested that the vessels
had once been filled with an acidic substance like vinegar or
wine, leading Konig to believe that these vessels were ancient
batteries. Since this discovery, scholars have produced replicas
of the pots that are in fact capable of producing an electric
charge. These "Baghdad batteries" may have been used for
religious rituals, medicinal purposes, or even electroplating.
In 1799, Italian physicist Alessandro Volta created the first
battery by stacking alternating layers of zinc, brine-soaked
pasteboard or cloth, and silver. This arrangement, called a
voltaic pile, was not the first device to create electricity,
but it was the first to emit a st