Google Doodle Celebrates Italian Physicist Alessandro Volta

— -- Happy birthday, Alessandro Volta!

A geeky Google Doodle showing an animation of a battery honors one of the forefathers of electrical science.

Volta is widely credited with having invented the modern battery -- a discovery he made around 1799 when he put strips of zinc and silver metal on a disc of damp cardboard and learned it created an electrical current. The Italian physicist's voltaic pile was instrumental in paving the way for the modern battery.

Even if you haven't heard of Volta, his impact is evident in our daily battery-powered lives. The term volt, a measure of electrical potential, is a wink to Volta's contribution to electrical science.