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Document Details : Title: Three Letters on the Discovery of the Leyden Jar Author(s): PENCE, David Evan Journal: Lias Volume: 49 Issue: 2 Date: 2022 Pages: 141-175 DOI: 10.2143/LIAS.49.2.3292259 Abstract : The present article transcribes, translates, and discusses three recently uncovered letters from Ewald von Kleist (c. 1700-1748) on his discovery of the Leyden jar, an early device for accumulating and storing electric charge. It begins with a brief review of the historical literature and the questions that surround the event, highlighting two areas of particular interest: the role of ‘fluid’ theories of electricity in the vessel’s construction and the presence or absence of experimenter error in the main discovery. It then turns to the letters themselves, reviewing their contents and relating them to the questions at hand. Though Kleist never published a work of theory himself, it is argued that his correspondence shows that he was knowledgeable on the subject, that elements of the vessel’s construction can be traced to specific claims by Jacob Waitz (1698-1776), and that his results were most likely achieved without error. Finally, the letters are reproduced in full, accompanied by an English translation and annotations connecting Kleist’s remarks to contemporary experimental practice. |
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