Alessandro Volta Google Logo Celebrates 270th Birthday Of The Inventor Of World’s First Electrical Battery
The 18th century Italian scientist created the Voltaic Pile, an electric battery made of metal discs, cardboard and seawater-soaked cloth.
Today’s Google homepage pays tribute to the inventor of the first electrical battery Alessandro Volta. The doodle marks Volta’s 270th birthday with an animated image of the world’s first electric battery powering the Google letters.
After watching a dead frog’s leg twitch when they were touched by two metals, Volta got the idea for his invention — stacking alternating metal discs separated by cardboard and seawater-soaked cloth.
[pullquote]What made this battery so remarkable was that it was easy to construct out of common materials and enabled experimenters for the first time to produce steady, predictable flows of electricity. Within just weeks it inspired a wave of discoveries and inventions and ushered in a new age of electrical science.[/pullquote]
The logo illustrates Volta’s battery lighting up the Google letters, and includes typographic details like Volta’s name, the elements he used, and the year he invented the battery.
“One key idea I wanted to communicate was how the voltage of the battery increased as the stack grew,” said doodler Mark Holmes who designed the logo. Holmes said he wanted the doodle to look like it could have been the first advertisement for the world’s first electrical battery.
You can read more about Holme’s design process and see other versions of the the Alesssandro Volta logo on Google’s doodle site.
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