Funny Holidays - Battery Day

Rechargeable batteries are scientific inventions that people use every day One of the founders of the theory of the conversion of chemical energy into electrical energy is Alessandro Volta (1745-1827) The unit for measuring voltage in direct current devices is named in his honor The scientist, who studied the works of his colleague Luigi Galvani, came up with the idea of ​​​​creating a “voltaic column” in 1880 - a device in the form of zinc and copper plates connected by wire and placed in acid This galvanic cell is considered the prototype of the modern battery On February 18, A Volt's birthday, Battery Day is celebrated all over the world Battery Day does not have an official status, but it always attracts the attention of many people Without batteries and similar power sources, the car will not be able to start and the computer will not turn on; robotic vacuum cleaners, watches, flashlights, control panels, alarm clocks and smartphones will not work Paying tribute to the importance of the invention and its role in the life of modern man, conferences, exhibitions and scientific lectures are held in honor of Battery Day Event participants talk about how the first current storage devices appeared Before the invention of the battery, cars called "self-running buggies" were started manually using a crank The first electric starters, an invention of engineer Charles Kettering from General Motors, were installed on Cadillac cars in 1912 Today, batteries are used to start all brands of cars, boat engines, and pneumatic devices used in marine transport and aviation The first batteries went into mass production in 1865 thanks to the Frenchman Georges Leclanche In them, manganese-zinc batteries were placed in a salt solution; later models contained a thickened electrolyte 20 years later, the German Karl Gassner replaced manganese with carbon The composition of its power sources was as close as possible to modern batteries In the 40s of the twentieth century, a miniature version of the device was released The coin cell battery, created by Samuel Reuben, an engineer at the Duracell Corporation, was originally invented for the US Army Later, a miniature battery with a mercury-zinc filling enclosed in a metal case entered mass production The button battery worked smoothly and was not afraid of frost It is still installed today in wristwatches, hearing aids, calculators, electric flashlights and camera flashes During the celebration of Battery Day, attention is paid to both the history of the invention of the battery and its proper disposal Battery Day addresses the issue of ecology, because Components of batteries and similar devices, ending up in landfills, begin to decompose, contaminating the soil and water with heavy metals Therefore, scientists are constantly working not only to increase the capacity and charging speed of batteries, but also to improve the safety of devices for the environment