Leyden jar
The crank wheel is turned by an operator using the knob handle and then the glass cylinder would rotate by an attached belt. The glass jar then rubs against a layered silk cloth pad or a textile cloth pad, developing a high-voltage positive electrical charge. This static electricity charge is then taken off the glass cylinder through a small metal rake and transferred by wire to the Leyden jar storage battery for later use (see close-up illustration). The high voltage stored electrostatic charge kept in the Leyden jar was then on the metal ball on top of the glass storage battery. It would produce a spark visible to the eye when the set of small metal globes attached to the battery were brought close enough to each other as a test experiment in a discharge. The electrical principles of Corbett's electrostatic machine were later used by Edison.