There have been many physicists and engineers that have contributed to electronics. Here is some information about one of them.

Alessandro Volta

Alessandro Volta was a renowned Italian physicist who is very well known for his work in the field of electricity. He was the first person to introduce the concept of the electric battery which was capable of producing a steady electrical stream.

Alessandro Volta was born in Como in 1745. He worked as a physics professor at the Royal School, Como. He devised an instrument that was used to produce static charge of electricity. He called the instrument electrophorus.

But his work was not restricted to the field of physics. In 1777, he made an instrument that was capable of igniting the gas in a closed container using an electrical spark.

He worked as a professor of physics for around 25 years at the University of Pavia.

In the year 1800, he revolutionized the physics arena with the invention of voltaic pile. Voltaic pile, or the basic electric battery, was capable of producing a steady stream of electric current. Voltaic pile may be considered the first battery in the history of electronics. He produced electricity with simple construction in which he used copper and zinc with cardboard pieces in between. The card board in the battery was soaked in a brine solution. This arrangement of a basic battery produced a steady stream of electricity.

Napoleon gave Alessandro Volta the title of Count in appreciation for his work. Later, in honor of Alessandro Volta, the unit of potential difference or electromotive force was named Volt. In addition, the phenomenon of conversion of light energy to electrical energy is also named 'photovoltaic' after the great Alessandro Volta.