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FunctionThe Leiden jar, invented in the first half of the eighteenth century, is nothing else than a condenser. It accumulates electricity from an electrostatic machine, and then delivers it progressively or at all once, producing a great electrical shock. Scientific experiments were done with it, as well as spectacular demonstrations in salons and at the court, where hundreds of soldiers and monks holding hands, for instance, were shocked all at once. By connecting several jars this way, one has a capacitor that can hold as much charge as the sum of the capacity of each individual Leyden jar.