Gaston Planté
| Gaston Planté | |
|---|---|
Gaston Planté
|
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| Born | 22 April 1834 Orthez, Kingdom of France |
| Died |
21 May 1889 (aged 55) Meudon, French Third Republic |
| Nationality | French |
| Fields | physics |
| Known for | lead–acid battery |
Gaston Planté (22 April 1834 – 21 May 1889) was the French physicist who invented the lead–acid battery in 1859. The lead-acid battery eventually became the first rechargeable electric battery marketed for commercial use.
Planté was born on 22 April 1834 in Orthez, France. In 1854 he began work as an assistant lecturer in physics at the Conservatory of Arts and Crafts in Paris, and in 1860, rose to the post of Professor of Physics at the Polytechnic Association for the Development of Popular Instruction. An amphitheatre at that institute is named after him.
In 1855, he discovered the first fossils of the prehistoric flightless bird Gastornis parisiensis (named after him) near Paris. This gigantic animal was a very close relative of the famous diatrymas of North America. At that time, Planté was at the start of his academic career, being just a teaching assistant to A. E. Becquerel (father of the Nobel laureate Henri Becquerel). Thus, this early discovery—despite causing considerable furor in 1855—was soon to be overshadowed by Planté's subsequent discoveries.
In 1859, he invented the lead-acid cell, the first rechargeable battery. His early model consisted of a spiral roll of two sheets of pure lead separated by a linen cloth, immersed in a glass jar of sulfuric acid solution. The following year, he presented a nine-cell lead-acid battery to the Academy of Sciences. In 1881, Camille Alphonse Faure would develop a more efficient and reliable model that saw great success in early electric cars.
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