Nice video, well done... but... you present this as if it is something uncanny, that the "ancient sages" knew but we moderns have forgotten.  I doubt if you believe that.  So the style leaves me feeling somewhat mislead.  I'll guarantee that if you connect a modest electric motor to  this battery it will be flat within a few hours or days.  Sorry to be so grumpy, but a simple capacitor can supply an extremely low load for ages too.,(reply>), we don't know why it has such a long shelf life. nobody can know what exactly its components are because we havent seen inside it. if you want to know how batteries in general work, just look it up on google. the video isnt very informative because we have next to no information about the battery,(reply>), +YouJustCantBeatMeGuy (Lyrite)   Fair point, I agree.  But maybe you'll agree with me saying that this video doesn't make any attempt to explain the battery chemistry and why it has such a long shelf-life.  It's presented as a mystery, which is my gripe.  My guess is that long-lived battery chemistries have been thoroughly studied.   Oh, sorry for being so grumpy...  ok, it's a surprising historic object...  I was hoping for a tad of explanation.,(reply>), the battery is an extremely low ampage, however, the fact that it has run for almost two centuries in itself is amazing, as by that time any acid in the battery shouldve eroded away stuff inside and broken it. its more interesting than practical