What I found interesting about this article was how far back in our history the battery actually goes back. Granted the first batteries were not exactly used to power any technology, those being from areas around Iraq in 200 AD, but rather as miracle machines. What I believe that to mean is that the clerics who would perform healings on people would make those that needed the healing touch the “battery” and receive a small shock that completed the miracle. It was not for another 1500 years however that any more work would be done in the development of electricity, but it was not until the year 1800 that a huge breakthrough in battery technology was made. A man by the name of Alessandro Giuseppe Antonio Volta invented the voltaic pile, which is considered to be the first real battery, and opened up the discovery of many more scientific discoveries such as the extremely important electrolysis. However like many new inventions, the voltaic pile was not extremely practical. The pile constantly short circuited, or formed bubbles on the leads. Other than the history of the battery, what I also found very interesting was the multiple types of batteries that are available for use. Of the 4 different types of batteries that were discussed, two are used by the public on a daily basis: the wet battery and the dry battery. Wet and dry refers to the components that actually make up the battery, a liquid solution with electrodes for the wet, and a dry paste for the dry. Dry have all but replaced the wet in our daily use, but the fact that wet batteries still find use in our cars seems odd to me. Usually when something has been replaced, we do not see it very often, and it was not discussed as to why wet batteries are still seeing use in our vehicles over dry ones. The other two types of batteries are salt batteries, and reserve batteries. Reserve batteries are rather amazing, as they have extremely long shelf lives due to the fact that the components of the batteries are kept separated, which keeps the battery from self-discharging, a problem with other types of batteries. The most interesting of all these batteries to me however was the salt variety. A battery that only sees use in the industrial scene, it involves the use of molten salt (salt that has been heated until it has liquefied) to act as the electrolyte of the battery. The most interesting part of that to me is that we may actually see these salt batteries being used in our electrical cars, which have become very popular as of late in the vehicular world. -Michael Caputo
Other than the history of the battery, what I also found very interesting was the multiple types of batteries that are available for use. Of the 4 different types of batteries that were discussed, two are used by the public on a daily basis: the wet battery and the dry battery. Wet and dry refers to the components that actually make up the battery, a liquid solution with electrodes for the wet, and a dry paste for the dry. Dry have all but replaced the wet in our daily use, but the fact that wet batteries still find use in our cars seems odd to me. Usually when something has been replaced, we do not see it very often, and it was not discussed as to why wet batteries are still seeing use in our vehicles over dry ones. The other two types of batteries are salt batteries, and reserve batteries. Reserve batteries are rather amazing, as they have extremely long shelf lives due to the fact that the components of the batteries are kept separated, which keeps the battery from self-discharging, a problem with other types of batteries. The most interesting of all these batteries to me however was the salt variety. A battery that only sees use in the industrial scene, it involves the use of molten salt (salt that has been heated until it has liquefied) to act as the electrolyte of the battery. The most interesting part of that to me is that we may actually see these salt batteries being used in our electrical cars, which have become very popular as of late in the vehicular world.
-Michael Caputo