History of the battery his iron scalpel, the leg twitched. Galvani believed the energy that drove this contraction came from the leg itself, and called it "animal electricity". However, Alessandro Volta, a friend and fellow scientist, disagreed, believing this phenomenon was caused by two different metals joined together by a moist intermediary. He verified this hypothesis through experiment, and published the results in 1791. In 1800, Volta invented the first true battery, which came to be known as the voltaic pile. The voltaic pile consisted of pairs of copper and zinc discs piled on top of each other, separated by a layer of cloth
Battery electric multiple unit RB 46), nowadays the "Glückauf-Bahn" from Gelsenkirchen via Wanne-Eickel to Bochum. In the 1930s an experimental battery electric train ran successfully at Bray. The train's batteries were charged at each station via an overhead pickup. The train reached 60 mph. In Japan, JR East tested a "NE Train Smart Denchi-kun" battery electric railcar from 2009. This vehicle is capable of operating under 1,500 V DC overhead wires or on battery power alone for a distance of up to 50 km away from an overhead power supply. The batteries are charged via the pantograph either when running under an overhead electric