I was listening to a podcast recently in which Chris Lesley was a keynote speaker. You may not recognize that name but that's okay, neither did I and the name isn't what's critical. He spoke about many things but the one thing that stuck out in my mind was his "Ancient India Batteries." That got my attention! I had to do more research.
His research led him to a passage in the Agastya Samhita (click the link and download it free - it's in Bengali). Agastya in essence means mountain thrower. This is the name given to the Siddhar (or sage) who wrote the book. In it is recorded what is the earliest known recorded description of a battery-like power source. The book was written in approximately 4000 BC. The technology for modern day batteries wasn't discovered until 1791. (There was talk of a 2000 year old power source discovered in Baghdad but it has not been deemed as a type of battery.)
Though on a grander scale, this excerpt from the Agastya Samhita describes how to create a source of energy that resembles how batteries are made today.
"Place a well-cleaned copper plate in an earthenware vessel. Cover it first by copper sulfate and then moist sawdust. After that put a mercury-amalgamated-zinc sheet on top of an energy known by the twin name of Mitra-Varuna (cathode-anode). Water will be split by this current into Pranavayu (oxygen) and Udanavayu (hydrogen). A chain of one hundred jars is said to give a very active and effective force."
Find a visual tutorial, for those of you who are visual learners, at The Infinity Foundation.
What are your thoughts on this? Do you believe Ancient India had knowledge we've not yet caught up with in today's society? Are there other discoveries like this you've heard of?