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The Riddle of Baghdad's Battery

Posted by michael on from the three-bars-on-baghdad's-cell-phone dept.

Jodrell writes "The BBC has an interesting article about a 2,200 year old battery discovered in Iraq in 1938. It is basically a clay pot containing a copper/iron core immersed in an electrolye solution (probably acidic vinegar). The article talks about how this priceless artifact as well as many others, from the same civilisation that invented writing and the wheel, could be threatened by the impending war."

1 of 943 comments (clear)

  1. Re:battery??? by gorilla · · Score: 5, Informative

    No. Electricity was first described by ThalesofMiletus around 600 BCE. He polished amber with fur, to produce static electricity, and this is where we get the word 'electricity' from, from the greek word for Amber.