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| Keywords: Dissectible Leyden jar.png Drawing of a dissectible Leyden jar from 1876 physics book This experimental apparatus invented by American statesman and scientist Benjamin Franklin was used to illustrate an erroneous belief that the charge on a Leyden jar does not reside on the metal plates but on the glass jar dielectric The jar was assembled and charged with electricity If the jar was then disassembled into its parts it was found that the parts were not charged and could be handled without creating a spark However if the jar was then reassembled a spark could be obtained between the inner and outer metal plates This was supposed to show that the charge in Leyden jars and all capacitors is stored in the dielectric not the metal plates However it is now known that this was a special effect caused by the high voltage on the Leyden jar When the jar is disassembled the charge is deposited on the glass by corona discharge Handling does not remove much of the charge so when the jar is reassembled there is enough left to cause a spark In general the charge in capacitors such as Leyden jars is stored on the plates Downloaded 2010 from http //books google com/books id Yi9AAAAAYAAJ pg PA79 John Tyndall 1876 Lessons in Electricity at the Royal Institution 1875-6 Longmans Green Co London p 79 fig 43 on Google Books 1876 John Tyndall Public domain - John Tyndall died 1893 PD-old Leyden jars | ||||
