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Luigi Galvani (1737-1798) was an Italian physician and professor of anatomy whom
undertook a series of investigations into the relationship between nerve action and
electricity. Galvanis experimentation was centered upon the muscular contraction of
frogs legs, stimulated by touching different metals, such as brass and iron, within the
dead muscle tissue. Galvani repeated these experiments, and concluded that animal
tissue must contain a vital force through which an electric fluid permeated; he
(incorrectly) called this animal electricity. Whilst his interpretation was wrong,
Galvani had a significant impact upon the scientific community. His experiments
facilitated an understanding of biological electrical interactions, which ultimately led
to the development of electrophysiology. Furthermore, Galvanis investigations laid
the foundations for the importance of electrolytes in redox reactions, and, although
the idea of electrons had not been suggested yet, promoted greater involvement with
the area of electron-transferring reactions, by provoking Volta to further research
electrochemistry. Naming the electrochemical Galvanic Cell in memory of him
honors the significant impact of his work. Galvani thus greatly contributed to our
understanding of redox reactions, and laid the foundations for a huge scientific
involvement in the field of electrochemistry.
Alessandro Volta (1745-1827) was an Italian physics professor who worked closely
with Galvani. However, Volta refuted the theory of animal electricity and proposed
that the touching of the two differing metals was what caused the twitch in the frogs
leg. He called this conflicting theory metallic electricity and thoroughly
investigated the action of different metals. From his work, Volta devised a primitive
electrochemical series of metals based upon their relative reactivity and divided a
group of metals into three classes. Volta successfully repudiated the idea of animal
electricity with the development of the famous Voltaic Pile. This involved a stack
of alternating zinc and silver discs separated by cardboard soaked in brine, and acted
as the first reliable and consistent source of DC electricity, forming the foundations
for modern electrochemical cells. However, Volta (also incorrectly) believed the
generation of electricity was due to the contact between the two metals. Nonetheless,
although his observational interpretation was incorrect, similarly to Galvani, Voltas
experiments facilitated the research of Humphrey Davy into electrolysis (another
electron-transferring reaction) and firmly established the relationship between
electricity, metals and electrolytes. The Voltaic Pile catalyzed the involvement of the
scientific community in the field of electrochemistry, and Voltas primitive
electrochemical series of metals laid the foundations for the modern list of reduction-
oxidation potentials, based upon the reactivity and electron-transferring ability of
metals. Furthermore, Volta aided the scientific search for truth by disproving
Galvanis incorrect theory. Alessandro Volta thus also greatly contributed to our
understanding of redox reactions, and his work is honored with naming the unit of
electromotive force, Volt, after him.
It is clear, therefore, that the developments made by these scientists led the scientific
community to gain a deeper understanding of oxidation-reduction reactions and the
role of ions and electrons in such processes. From scientist to scientist, an
accumulation of knowledge occurred, furthering theories and promoting great
involvement in the field of electrochemistry. Galvani, Volta, Davy and Faraday have
thus positively impacted our modern understanding of electron-transferring reactions.