The question is about voltaic pile or a cell.
In 1800, Volta created the first modern day battery when he built what came to be known as his voltaic pile.
Electrically, the machine worked like a voltaic pile, but was constructed completely differently.
In 1800, Volta invented the first true battery, which came to be known as the voltaic pile.
The stack of cells is also known as a voltaic pile.
The voltaic pile was the first battery ever.
Such a "set" is called a cell: The voltaic pile in the picture has 6 cells.
Before the voltaic pile was invented, people could only make static electricity.
With the voltaic pile, one can make electricity that keeps flowing for some time.
For instance, when new kinds of metal were discovered, the electricity from a voltaic pile could "sort" chemicals.