Thomas Edison: Thank you for your rechargeable battery

I'm sitting here on our sofa with my laptop on my knee. I've logged on to various websites using 2FA requiring authentication using my mobile phone. There's nothing unusual about this. In today's world, we rely on being to move around whilst using our electronic devices without the need for connecting leads to the mains socket.

This requires us to have a rechargeable battery and we've been using them for years, but how long exactly? 20 years? 50 maybe? You may be surprised to read that the rechargeable battery was invented over 120 years ago. What's more, it was seen as a precursor for electric vehicles.

Yes back in the 1890s one Thomas Edison, the one also responsible for electricity generation, sound recording, motion pictures, and more, found time in his extraordinary life to invent an alkaline battery to replace the unreliable lead acid battery used to date.

So as you go about your day hovering, drilling, or just tweeting, let's be thankful for one of the most visionary inventors of the Victorian era. His impact on our lives should not be underestimated.