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New possibilities in the study of electricity emerged around 1800, largely thanks to a new device called the ‘voltaic pile’. This invention enabled the generation of an electrical current, which was a crucial step towards the development of batteries, electrical motors and new forms of long-distance communication. In this seminar, we will explore the research that followed this invention, by nineteenth-century chemists, physicists, biologists and engineers, with a particular attention to the role of experimentation and apparatus in developing an understanding of electricity. Using primary and secondary sources, we will study debates on the nature of electricity, the generation of new concepts and theories to understand electricity and its relation to magnetism, the development of ways to measure electricity and the history of telegraphy.
