• From the Scientific Revolution to Volta and Galvani

Scientific thought dating back to Aristotle was heavily focused on reasoning and thought experiments; hence the name “natural philosophy.” The scientific method as we know it today did not exist until thinkers like Immanuel Kant, David Hume, Sir Francis Bacon and Roger Bacon outlined its steps. Natural philosophy advanced to the scientific method known today with the advent of empiricism; the process of observing a problem, hypothesizing an answer and conducting experiments to test the hypothesis finally allowed science to move beyond its medieval stagnation.
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The history of the battery and the history of electricity are inextricably linked. Because of the close link between magneticism and electricity, the history of magneticism gets dragged in as well. Both electricity and magneticism result from the movement of subatomic particles; electricity has the power to create magneticism and vice versa.

It wasn’t one scientist laboring in isolation who perfected the process of “storing electricity” in an electrochemical cell. American readers may think of Ben Franklin and his kite, while will Italians may think of Alessandro Volta, who built the first battery (laying aside the question of Baghdad batteries for the moment). Each scentist contributed, but none could have done it without the foundation laid by other thinkers. As Sir Isaac Newton said, “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” That could be the motto for every scientist in history.
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