Elekiter

The nihongo|Elekiter|エレキテル|Erekiteru is the Japanese name for a type of generator of static electricity used for electric experiments in the 18th century. In Japan, Hiraga Gennai presented his own "elekiter" in 1776, derived from an "elekiter" from Holland. The "elekiter" consists of a small box that uses the power of friction to generate electricity and store it.

The "Elekiter" relied on the various western experiments with static electricity during the 18th century, which depended on the discovery that electricity could be generated through friction, and on the invention of the Leyden jar in the 1740s, as a convenient means to store static electricity in rather large quantities. ["電気の実験が盛んになったのは、１８世紀になりガラス版の円盤を摩擦する強力な起電機と、１７４０年代なかばのライデン瓶の発明によります”: "The development of experiments with electricity, relied on the creation of powerful static electricity through the friction of a glass cylinder, and the invention of the Leyden jar in the 1740s" Suzuki, p.68] Hiraga Gennai acquired an "elekiter" from Holland during his second trip to Nagasaki in 1770, and made a formal demonstration of his "elekiter" in 1776.

ee also

* Rangaku

Notes

References

Suzuki, Kazuyoshi (2006) "Edo Technology" (Japanese: 見て楽しむ江戸のテクノロジー), Suuken Publishing, ISBN 4410138863