Electricity and life. Volta's path to the battery

This paper offers a reconstruction of Alessandro Volta's investigations that culminated in his groundbreaking discovery of the electric battery in late 1799. Utilizing laboratory notebooks and previously unpublished writings, including drafts of Volta's significant letter to the President of the Royal Society, the research highlights that prior to spring 1799, Volta was not actively seeking a device like the battery. Instead, a pivotal influence came from a paper by William Nicholson, which Volta likely read in autumn 1799, suggesting the construction of a battery-like device by imitating the anatomy and shocks of the electric fish. This interaction underscores the intense and creative linkage between physics and life sciences during the late 18th century, contrasting with earlier views that depicted their relationship as merely rhetorical. The findings conclude with reflections on the nature of scientific discovery within the instrumentalist framework prevalent in that era, emphasizing Volta's innovative approach in transforming models into working apparatuses.