Volta, Alessandro, Conte definition of Volta, Alessandro, Conte in the Free Online Encyclopedia.

Volta, Alessandro, Conte (älĕs-sän`drō kôn`tā vôl`tä), 1745–1827, Italian physicist. He was professor of physics at the Univ. of Pavia from 1779 and became famous for his work in electricity. Napoleon I made him a count and a senator of the kingdom of Lombardy. Volta invented the so-called Volta's pile (or voltaic pile); the electrophorus electrophorus, device used to generate static electric charges. It has two parts: a nonconducting plate (e.g., of hard rubber) that is negatively charged and a metal plate with an insulated handle.
..... Click the link for more information. ; an electric condenser; and the voltaic cell voltaic cell, a simple device with which chemical energy is converted into electrical energy. Two dissimilar metals (e.g., copper and zinc) are immersed in an electrolyte (e.g., a dissolved sulfate).
..... Click the link for more information. . The volt volt [for Alessandro Volta ], abbr. V, unit of electric potential and electromotive force . It is defined as the difference of electric potential existing across the ends of a conductor carrying a constant current of 1 ampere when the power dissipated is 1 watt.
..... Click the link for more information. , a unit of electrical measurement, is named for Volta.