If a modern city is disconnected from the electricity supply for at least an hour, then a situation will inevitably arise in it, for which the mildest word would be collapse. And this is inevitable, to such an extent electricity has entered into everyday life. The question involuntarily arises - how did our ancestors manage without this type of energy for thousands of years? Were they completely devoid of her potential? Researchers do not have a clear answer to this question.
Find made on the outskirts of Baghdad
It is generally accepted that mankind got acquainted with electric current only in the second half of the 18th century, and this happened thanks to two irrepressible Italians who devoted their lives to the study of physical phenomena - Luigi Galvani and his successor Alexander Volta. It is thanks to these people that today electric trains are running along the rails, the lights are on in our houses, and the puncher starts to rumble at the neighbors at a late hour.
However, this undeniable truth was shaken by a discovery made in 1936 by the Austrian archaeologist Wilhelm Köning in the vicinity of Baghdad andcalled the Baghdad battery. History is silent about whether the researcher himself dug into the ground, or simply bought an artifact from local "black archaeologists". The latter even seems more likely, because otherwise some other curious things could have been discovered, but the world learned about only one unique find.
What is a Baghdad battery?
Thanks to Wilhelm Köning, humanity acquired an amazing artifact that looked like an ancient sand-colored ceramic vessel, the height of which did not exceed fifteen centimeters, and the age, apparently, was equal to two millennia. The neck of the find was sealed with a resin plug, above which were visible the remains of a metal rod protruding from it, almost completely destroyed by corrosion over a long time.
Removing the resin plug and looking inside, the researchers found a thin copper sheet wrapped in a tube. Its length was nine centimeters, and its diameter was twenty-five millimeters. It was through it that a metal rod was passed, the lower end not reaching the bottom, but the upper end going out. But the strangest thing was that the whole structure was held in the air, reliably insulated with resin that covered the bottom of the vessel and clogged the neck.
How could this thing work?
Now a question for all those who have attended physics classes in good faith: what does it look like? Wilhelm Köning found an answer to it, because he was not one of the truants - this is a galvanic cell for receivingelectricity, or, more simply, the Baghdad battery!
As crazy as this idea seemed, it was hard to argue. It is enough to conduct a simple experiment. It is necessary to fill the vessel with an electrolyte, which may well be grape or lemon juice, as well as vinegar, well known in antiquity.
Since the solution will completely cover the metal rod and the copper tube that are not in contact with each other, a potential difference will arise between them and an electric current will certainly appear. We refer all doubters to the physics textbook for the eighth grade.
The current is really flowing, but what next?
After that, the ancient electrician could only make sure that the Baghdad battery was connected by wires to some suitable consumer of energy - say, a floor lamp made from papyrus leaves. However, it could have been a simple street lamp.
Anticipating the objections of skeptics about the fact that any lighting device needs at least one light bulb, let's give the arguments of the supporters of this, at first glance, a fantastic idea, and find out if people who lived long before our era could create a lamp incandescent, without which the ancient Baghdad battery would lose all meaning?
What could a light bulb made in Ancient Egypt look like?
It turns out that this is not excluded, at least they should not have had problems with glass, because, according to science, it was invented five thousand years ago by the ancient Egyptians. It is also known thatlong before the appearance of the pyramids, on the banks of the Nile, by heating a mixture of sand, soda ash and lime to high temperatures, they began to obtain a vitreous mass. Despite the fact that at first its transparency left much to be desired, over time, and it was enough before our era, the process was improved, and as a result glass began to be obtained close to its modern look.
Things are more complicated with the filament, but even here the optimists do not give up. As their main argument, they cite a mysterious drawing found on the wall of an Egyptian tomb (a photo from it is given in our article). On it, the ancient artist depicted an object very similar to a modern lamp, inside which something resembling this very thread is clearly visible. The image of the cord connected to the lamp makes the picture even more convincing.
If not a lamp, then what?
To the objections of the skeptics, the optimists answer: "We agree, the picture may not depict a light bulb at all, but a certain fruit grown by the ancient Michurinians, but how then to explain why there were no traces found on the ceilings of the rooms where the masters painted the walls? soot from oil lamps or torches? After all, there were no windows in the pyramids, and sunlight did not penetrate them, and it was impossible to work in complete darkness."
So, there was some kind of light source unknown to us. However, even if the ancients did not have any light bulbs, this does not mean at all that the Baghdad battery, the description of which is given above, could not be used for some reason.other purpose.
Another curious hypothesis
In ancient Iran, on whose territory a sensational discovery was made, copper utensils covered with a thin layer of silver or gold were often used. From this, she benefited from an aesthetic point of view and became more environmentally friendly, since noble metals tend to kill microbes. But such a coating can only be applied by the electrolytic method. Only he gives the product a perfect look.
This hypothesis undertook to prove the German scientist-Egyptologist Arne Eggebrecht. Having made ten vessels, exactly the same as the Baghdad battery, and filling them with a s alt solution of gold, he managed in a few hours to cover a copper figurine of Osiris specially designed for the experiment with an even layer of precious metal.
Arguments of skeptics
However, in fairness, it is necessary to listen to the arguments of the opposite side - those who consider the electrification of the Ancient World an invention of idle dreamers. There are mainly three weighty arguments in their arsenal.
First of all, they quite reasonably notice that if the Baghdad battery was really a galvanic cell, then it would be necessary to periodically add electrolyte to it, and the design, in which the neck is filled with resin, did not allow this. Thus, the battery became a disposable device, which in itself is unlikely.
In addition, skeptics point out that ifSince the Baghdad battery is indeed a device for generating electricity, then among the finds of archaeologists, all kinds of related attributes, such as wires, conductors, and so on, must inevitably have been found. In reality, nothing of the kind was found.
And, finally, the most powerful argument can be considered an indication that until now the ancient written monuments did not mention the use of any electrical appliances, which would be inevitable in their mass use. There are also no pictures of them. The only exception is the ancient Egyptian drawing, which was described above, but it does not have an unambiguous interpretation.
So what is it?
So for what purpose was the Baghdad battery created? The purpose of this intriguing artifact is explained by opponents of the electrical theory in an extremely prosaic way. According to them, it served only as a storage place for ancient papyrus or parchment scrolls.
In their statement, they rely on the fact that in ancient times it was really customary to store the scrolls in clay or ceramic vessels similar to this one, however, without sealing the neck with resin and not winding them on metal rods. They are not at all able to explain the purpose of the copper tube. The fate of the scroll itself, allegedly kept inside, is also unclear. He couldn't have rotted so much that he didn't leave any traces behind.
An artifact that didn't want to reveal its secret
Alas, but the secrets of BaghdadBatteries remain unsolved to this day. As a result of experiments, it was possible to establish that a device of this design is indeed capable of generating a current of one and a half volts, but this does not at all prove that Wilhelm Köning's find was used in this way. There are very few supporters of the electrical theory, because it contradicts the official data of science, and anyone who encroaches on them runs the risk of being branded as an ignoramus and a charlatan.
