12 March 2008
Numerous research devices were used in the 17th and 18th centuries to study static electricity, including the Leyden jar and the Wimshurst machine. First, the Leyden jar was invented in 1745 by a man named Pieter van Musschenbroek. The Leyden jar was the first capacitor. A capacitor is an electronic device that can store energy in the electric field between a pair of conductors. The process of storing energy in the capacitor is known as "charging", and involves electric charges of equal magnitude, but opposite polarity, building up on each plate.
A battery of four Leyden jars:
Another invention used during this time period was Wimshurst machine. The Wimshurst machine is an electrostatic device for generating high voltages. It has a distinctive appearance with two large rotating discs mounted in a vertical plane, two cross bars with metallic brushes, and a spark gap formed by two metal spheres.
A Wimshurst machine with two Leyden jars:
Works Cited
chem.ch.huji.ac.il/instruments/archaic/leyden_jars.htm
www.wikipedia.org/
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