2024-08-20 08:43:46
The batteries of Baghdad
In 1938, beneath the dust of the ruins of the ancient city of Ctesiphon near Baghdad in Iraq, German archaeologist Wilhelm König found 14-centimetre-high, vase-shaped clay vessels containing cylinders of copper and ironing boards hierro inside, according to an article in the popular science magazine Galaxy Science Fiction.
The vessels, which date from between 250 BC and 224 AD – the time of ancient Mesopotamia – are also said to have shown signs of deterioration, possibly caused by storing an acidic liquid. These details made König suspect that he had discovered an ancient battery.
The Baghdad batteries that remained in the ruins were destroyed during the war in Iraq. Photo: Mj2 craftsmen
It is worth remembering that common batteries work through a chemical reaction that converts a substance with electrodes into electrical energy, according to Battery University. Among the most commonly used batteries today that contain liquid inside are rechargeable lithium-ion batteries and also nickel-cadmium batteries.
So what König did was to conduct tests to see if the device could function as an object capable of generating electricity.
How did the Baghdad batteries work?
Following the experiments of its discoverer, it was believed that the Baghdad batteries worked from a voltage difference generated by the vertical iron bar and the copper cylinder inside, after the bottle was filled with an electrolyte liquid such as vinegar or grape juice, according to an article from the University of Houston.
A decade after the discovery, an engineer from General Electric replicated the jars, filled them with vinegar and managed to measure that it could produce 2 volts, but its current was quite small, so it ended up generating a quarter of the electricity of a triple A battery (these batteries give off 1.5 V), the publication indicates.
The debate over whether it is the world’s oldest battery remains, but there is no doubt that it is a mysterious object. “As far as we know, no one has found anything like it. They are unique, they are one of the enigmas of life,” Paul Craddock, an expert in ancient Middle Eastern metallurgy, told the BBC about the Baghdad batteries.
What were the batteries in Baghdad used for?
One idea that circulated around the time of the discovery of the alleged batteries was that the Egyptians used them to power electric lights while building their pyramids. The idea, according to the aforementioned UH article, was widely disseminated despite the fact that these historic constructions date back two thousand years.
Drawings found in the Temple of Hathor appear to depict the Baghdad Battery. Photo: R. Habeck
Another theory suggests that the Baghdad batteries were used as devices to store energy, which was then used in metallurgy. To test this, a researcher dipped a silver figurine into a replica of the vessel filled with vinegar and it turned golden.
There are also other theories that do not include the possible generation of electricity: one is that the artifacts were used in religious rituals, specific ceremonies. Another idea is that the vessels could have been used as containers for papyrus or parchment scrolls.
Source: The Republic of Peru.com