Illustration of an eighteenth century electrostatic machine which appeared in Essai sur l'electricitie des corps, by Jean Antoine Nollet, Paris 1746. This illustration is from the second edition of 1750. The operator od the machine is turning the large capstan (right), which causes the alembic (glass globe, left) to rotate rapidly and build up a static charge. The charge could be drawn off by means of a conductor (not shown here). The machine was invented by G.M. Bose, born in Leipzig, 1710.