Syntonic Leyden jars, 1880-1889

Made:
1880-1889 in United Kingdom
Two syntonic Leyden jars, possibly the actual ones used by Oliver Lodge in March 1889 at the Royal Institution to Two syntonic Leyden jars, possibly the actual ones used by Oliver Lodge in March 1889 at the Royal Institution to Two syntonic Leyden jars, possibly the actual ones used by Oliver Lodge in March 1889 at the Royal Institution to

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Creative Commons LicenseThis image is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Licence

Buy this image as a print 

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License this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library

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Creative Commons LicenseThis image is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Licence

Buy this image as a print 

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License this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library

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Two syntonic Leyden jars, possibly the actual ones used by Oliver Lodge in March 1889 at the Royal Institution to
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Two syntonic Leyden jars, possibly the actual ones used by Oliver Lodge in March 1889 at the Royal Institution to
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Two syntonic Leyden jars, possibly the actual ones used by Oliver Lodge in March 1889 at the Royal Institution to
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Two syntonic Leyden jars, unknown maker, Germany, 1880-1889. Possibly the actual ones used by Oliver Lodge in March 1889 at the Royal Institution to demonstrate resonance in adjacent circuits when at the same frequency.

At a lecture at the Royal Institution in March 1889, Oliver Lodge used two Leyden jars to demonstrate resonance, or vibration, in adjacent circuits when at the same frequency. A Leyden jar is a device that 'stores' static electricity between two electrodes on the inside and outside of the jar, which is an insulator or 'dielectric'. Lodge demonstrated that when a Leyden jar was discharged near a similar jar, sparks occurred across a small air gap when the circuits resonated at the same frequency. If the slider adjustment on the second jar was moved to a different position it failed to resonate. Lodge patented the idea in 1897 and it became the fundamental patent for tuning.

Details

Category:
Radio Communication
Materials:
glass and metal (unknown)
Measurements:
overall (all parts): 300 mm x 150 mm, 4.9 kg
Identifier:
1942-34
type:
leyden jar
credit:
Donated by E. E. and T. H. Robinson