Von Kleist's jar

Von Kleist, who had an electrical machine of his own, probably wondered whether the electricity could not be stored in the liquid itself. On 15 October 1745 he filled a small medicine bottle with alcohol or water and stoppered it, having hammered a nail through the cork to allow the electricity to reach the liquid. He then touched the nail to his machine. In the dim evening light he noticed a ‘pencil of fire’ around the nail, which lasted while he walked 60 paces around the room holding the bottle. When he touched it with his finger he received a massive electrical shock that stunned his arm and shoulder – enough to make von Kleist extremely wary of his bottle.