Discuss whether the differing views of Volta and Galvani about animal and chemical electricity

contributed to an increased understanding of electricity.

Luigi Galvani was a lecturer in medicine at the University of Bologna in Italy. In the late 18th century
he was preforming experiments on a frog. The frog was stretched out and one of Galvanis assistants
touched the frogs leg with a scalpel while an electrostatic machine discharged nearby. The result of
this was the frogs leg twitching, Galvani experimented with this further. He discovered that with
electrical stimulation from a copper hook connected by an iron nail he could make the frogs leg
twitch. He theorized that there must be animal electricity coming from inside the frog, and was
not aware that the electricity was in fact coming from the copper and iron.
Alessandro Volta was professor of experimental physics at the University of Pavia in Italy. Eleven
years after Galvanis experiments Volta repeated them to find out more about his theories. He
concluded that the electricity was produced when the two metals rather than from the frog itself, he
called it the bimetallic arc
The debate between animal electricity and bimetallic arc continued until the death of Galvani in
1798. In 1799 Volta presented his work on the voltaic pile, the first electric battery, to the Royal
Society ending the debate.
Discuss how the main sources of energy have changed over time.
As the human race has become more technologically advanced so have their sources of energy.
During the mid- to late-1800s wood (a renewable source) was used to create energy in furnaces. In
the early industrial era watermills were used to harness energy. The next dominant source of
energy, coal, was soon taken over by petroleum products such as gasoline and diesel fuel in the late
19th century.
It wasnt till mid-20th century that coal was again a large source of energy due to the invention of
electric generators. Another newer type of energy called nuclear electric power was also making a
significant contribution to energy sources around this time. In the early 21st century, with new
technological advances renewable energy, solar and wind power joined the competition for main
sources of energy. It is predicted that by 2035 renewable energy use will double but the three main
fossil fuels will still make up three quarters of our energy use.
Assess some of the impacts of changes in, and increased access to, sources of energy for a
community.
Having increased access to sources of energy has a major impact on the community. Transportation
would have a high impact on smaller industries. With cheaper sources of energy raw materials can
be collected from further away, processed cheaply then sent around the world. So without this
affordable energy industries can have a further reach and higher income.
Travelling overseas is now very common as well as comfortable and fast due to access to energy.
One can compare the days of slow sailing with risks of scurvy to todays speedy planes with first class
seats. People can go further, faster allowing workers or students to commute to better jobs and
schools, boosting the economy and education. This is again due to using energy in transportation.

Electricity has also allowed people more leisure time and has completely changed the definition of
communities. With the use of computers electricity has made it possible to talk to people from
around the globe and have information at their fingertips. Computers also centralise banking and
businesses strengthening the economy.

Discuss some of the ways in which electricity can be provided in remote locations.
Electricity is provided to remote locations through long lengths of cable, although a large amount of
current is lost in this journey. To solve this problem mini-grids fuelled by gas or diesel were erected,
but with the new push on green alternatives the source of fuel has been changed. Mini-grids now
use a mixture of green energy (solar panels, wind turbines and micro hydro-electricity stations) and
fossil fuel generators which is not only more economical and eco-friendly but more energy efficient
as well.