360What happened in 1800?
7 moments from 1800 on 360n60, each told in 60 words or fewer.
- History · 20 March 1800
Volta builds the first electric battery
In a letter dated 20 March 1800, the Italian scientist Alessandro Volta described his 'pile': a stack of zinc and copper discs separated by cloth soaked in salt water. It was the first battery, the first source of a steady electric current. It opened the age of electricity, and the unit of electric potential, the volt, is named after him.
- On this day · 20 March 1800
Volta describes the first battery
On 20 March 1800, Alessandro Volta described his 'pile' of zinc and copper discs in a letter to the Royal Society in London. It was the first battery, giving a steady electric current for the first time. The volt, the unit of electric potential, is named after him.
- c. 1800 · from The world's population reaches eight billion
One billion people
- 1800 · from The 1800s: the first battery and the first steam locomotive
Volta announces the first battery
- 20 March 1800 · from Volta builds the first electric battery
Volta describes the pile in a letter to the Royal Society
- 1800 · from Volta builds the first electric battery
Electric current is used to split water
- 1800 · from William Herschel discovers Uranus
Herschel discovers infrared radiation