Giuseppe Domenico Botto (4 April 1791 – 20 March 1865) was an Italian

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

. Born at Moneglia, he studied at the

University of Genoa The University of Genoa, known also with the acronym UniGe ( it, Università di Genova), is one of the largest universities in Italy. It is located in the city of Genoa and regional Metropolitan City of Genoa, on the Italian Riviera in the Liguri ...

and the

École Polytechnique École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

in Paris. The chair of General and Experimental Physics was assigned to G.D Botto in 1828. Experimental work was dedicated to magnetic,

thermal A thermal column (or thermal) is a rising mass of buoyant air, a convective current in the atmosphere, that transfers heat energy vertically. Thermals are created by the uneven heating of Earth's surface from solar radiation, and are an example ...

, and chemical effects of electrical currents and

induction Induction, Inducible or Inductive may refer to: Biology and medicine * Labor induction (birth/pregnancy) * Induction chemotherapy, in medicine * Induced stem cells, stem cells derived from somatic, reproductive, pluripotent or other cell t ...

of currents. In 1830 Botto described in a note a prototype

electric motor An electric motor is an electrical machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a wire winding to generate for ...

on which he was working and published a description of it in a Memoria titled "Machine Loco-motive mise en mouvement par l'électro-magnétisme" to the Academy of Turin around 1836. A device built on the basis of his description was part of the collection of scientific instruments of the

Grand Duke of Tuscany The rulers of Tuscany varied over time, sometimes being margraves, the rulers of handfuls of border counties and sometimes the heads of the most important family of the region. Margraves of Tuscany, 812–1197 House of Boniface :These were origin ...

, which is now kept at the Institute and Museum of History of Science in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

. In the following years he published more work on improving efficiency of electric motors. Botto experimented with

electrolysis of water Electrolysis of water, also known as electrochemical water splitting, is the process of using electricity to decompose water into oxygen and hydrogen gas by electrolysis. Hydrogen gas released in this way can be used as hydrogen fuel, or remi ...

using a manual generator of electric sparks, the electric magnet designed by

Leopoldo Nobili Leopoldo Nobili, born on 5 July 1784 in Trassilico (Toscana) and died on 22 August 1835 in Florence, was an Italian physicist who invented a number of instruments critical to investigating thermodynamics and electrochemistry. Born Trassilico, Gar ...

and Vincenzo Antinori on the basis of the discovery of' electromagnetic induction made by

Michael Faraday Michael Faraday (; 22 September 1791 – 25 August 1867) was an English scientist who contributed to the study of electromagnetism and electrochemistry. His main discoveries include the principles underlying electromagnetic inducti ...

in 1831. In 1833 he tested an iron-platinum

thermocouple A thermocouple, also known as a "thermoelectrical thermometer", is an electrical device consisting of two dissimilar electrical conductors forming an electrical junction. A thermocouple produces a temperature-dependent voltage as a result of th ...

wrapped as a chain around a wooden stick which generated a current when heat from a flame was applied,. The heat from the flame created a temperature difference, and the thermocouple converted the temperature difference into an electric voltage.Scientists revisit 1833 hydrogen production experiment
/ref> He also worked on other subjects and published in 1846 a note for the improvement of agriculture in Piedmont. In 1849 he proposed a new system for transmission and encoding for the electrical telegraph system (notes on this subject were recently discovered in the archives of the Museo Sanguineti Leonardini of

Chiavari Chiavari (; lij, Ciävai ) is a comune (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Genoa, in Italy. It has about 28,000 inhabitants. It is situated near the river Entella. History Pre-Roman and Roman Era A pre-Roman necropolis, which dates ...

). He died at

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...

in 1865.

References

External links

XIV.130 Electric motor after Botto
{{DEFAULTSORT:Botto, Giuseppe Domenico 1791 births 1865 deaths People from Moneglia 19th-century Italian physicists University of Geneva alumni École Polytechnique alumni