THE GREAT Italian physicist, Count Alessandro Volta, was the discoverer of constant-current electricity. Prompted by Luigi Galvani's treatise on animal electricity in 1791, Volta commenced a new series of experiments which resulted in his announcement in 1800 of his discovery of the now-famous "voltaic pile." Following this, Volta and other scientists decomposed water by electrolysis, electroplated precious metals, formed the electromagnet, and thereby ushered in the electrical age. In his own lifetime, Volta was the recipient of many honors; Napoleon ordered a gold medal struck for him. But it was doubtless the posthumous honor in 1881 that would have pleased Volta best—for in that year the volt, the unit of electromotive force, was named after him.

From the dust jacket