60. Leyden Jars

A Leyden jar is a capacitor consisting of a glass can with aluminum foil inside and outside, which can be charged up to several tens of thousands of volts with an electrostatic generator. The jar will retain the charge for many minutes, showing charge storage by a capacitor. The jar can be discharged by bridging the inner and outer conductors with an insulated discharging wand and drawing a spark.

The Wimshurst generator has Leyden jars that can be connected in or out of the circuit, illustrating several aspects of capacitors.

See also the Dissectible Leyden Jar.