Leyden Jar Guilty as Charged Postcard

The Leyden Jar is an early type of electric capacitor capable of storing an electrical charge of high voltage. It consists of a glass jar with metal foil lining the inside and outside. An electrode connecting the inner foil exits the jar thorough a non-conducting stopper. You charge the Leyden Jar using an electrostatic generator, such as a Van de Graaff generator, or go fly a kite in a thunderstorm like Benjamin Franklin. On second thought, don’t do that. It’s dangerous. Better to shuffle your shoes across the carpet in winter to generate a static charge and then transfer it to the Leyden Jar to prank your friends. If someone touches it and gets a mild shock, then truly the jar is guilty as “charged”. Just a bit of tech humour for electronics and technology enthusiasts who like a play on words. Also makes great gift for a science teacher or physics student.