How Batteries Work - Navo

• Visualize a world where everything that used electricity had to be plugged in. Electronics like Flashlights, hearing aids, cell phones and other portable devices would be tethered to electrical outlets, rendering them awkward and cumbersome. All Cars couldn't be started with the simple turn of a key, a strenuous cranking would be required to get the pistons moving. 
• Many Wires would be strung everywhere, creating a safety hazard and an unsightly mess. Finally, batteries provide us with a mobile source of power that makes many modern conveniences possible.
• When there are many different types of batteries, the basic concept by which they function remains the same. While a device is connected to a battery, a reaction occurs that produces electrical energy. This is also known as an electrochemical reaction. This Italian physicist Count Alessandro Volta first discovered this process in 1799 when he created a simple battery from metal plates and brine-soaked cardboard or paper.
• Then, scientists have greatly improved upon Volta's original design to create batteries made from a variety of materials that come in a multitude of sizes.
•  1938, archaeologist Wilhelm Konig discovered some peculiar clay pots while digging at Khujut Rabu, just outside of present-day Baghdad, Iraq. These jars, which measure approximately 5 inches (12.7 centimeters) long, contained an iron rod encased in copper and dated from about 200 B.C. 
• The 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. After this discovery, scholars have produced replicas of the pots that are in fact capable of producing an electric charge. The "Baghdad batteries" may have been used for religious rituals, medicinal purposes, or even electroplating.