Jallabert's electrostatics research, 1730s. 19th-century illustration of Swiss physicist Jean Jallabert (1712-1768) carrying out his research on the effects of points and knobs on electrical discharges. He is standing on a wax insulating platform, one hand touching an electrostatic generator and the other holding a pointed piece of wood. When its point nears one end of a conducting rod mounted on a pivot, the deflection of the rod caused by the discharge shows whether there is a positive or negative charge. Benjamin Franklin knew of these experiments and went on to study the theory of the 'power of points', which formed the basis of his development of the lightning conductor. Jallabert started his electrical research from the mid-1730s onwards. Jallabert also analysed the use of electricity to stimulate muscles, and carried out electrobotanical research. Artwork published in 1867.