corbett's electrostatic machine corbett's electrostatic machine corbett's electrostatic machine is a static electricity generating device that was made by the shaker physician thomas corbett in 1810. intended to treat rheumatism, the device built up a static charge and stored it in a leyden jar, an early type of capacitor. corbett's electrostatic machine description close-up of metal rake + glass tumbler. leyden jar is to the right. corbett was a medical physician for the shakers, a religious group of colonial america. he was a botanist and preferred herbal medicines to bloodletting. his machine was hand-operated. rotating a glass cylinder in contact with a silk pad caused a static charge to accumulate on the cylinder. a metal comb collected this charge, which was then stored in a leyden jar. from the jar, the electrical charge could then be released into the patient, producing a shock akin to "touching a doorknob after walking across carpet in dry weather".