Perpetual Motion

1st Qtr, 19th century

Shortly after the invention of the Voltaic pile by Volta, the abbot Zamboni, an Italian physicist, developed a method of making Volta Piles (Early batteries) by using very thin metal foil and paper. He used this technique to make very high voltage piles, enough to create electrostatic attraction and repulsion, and built them into "perpetual motion machines" such as the one shown here.