Hippolyte Pixii

In 1832 he built an early form of alternating current electrical generator, based on the principle of electromagnetic induction discovered by Michael Faraday.

[1] Pixii's device was a spinning magnet, operated by a hand crank, where the north and south poles passed over a coil with an iron core, and thus classified as a magneto.

A current pulse was produced each time a pole passed over the coil.

Later, acting on a suggestion by André-Marie Ampère, other results were obtained by introducing a commutator which produced a pulsating direct current.

A reproduction of Pixii's electrical generator can be admired at the Ampère Museum, close to Lyon.