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Step 1
Look for technical information on the electric battery. A battery is actually comprised of more than one cell connected together. Each cell consists of a positive and negative electrode, an electrolyte and a separator. Electrons flow into the negative electrode to create the electrical current.
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Step 2
Read about how Volta constructed the first battery. He used zinc discs as the negative electrodes, copper discs as the positive electrodes, pieces of cardboard as the separators and a brine solution as the electrolyte. This battery, also called a voltaic pile, was the first battery that produced a reliable electrical current.
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Step 3
Search websites on history to learn that the electric battery was rapidly improved upon from 1836 to 1866. The first battery to have commercial applications was the carbon-zinc battery, invented in 1866 by French engineer Georges Leclanche. There were 20,000 of these cells being used to power telegraph equipment by 1868.
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Step 4
Study modern history to know that the alkaline battery was introduced in 1949, the solar cell was invented in 1954, the hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell was first made in 1956 and the lead-acid battery was developed in the 1960s. Today's lithium-ion batteries were introduced in the 1990s and are used to power cell phones, portable computers and space probes.
