1775
Capacitance and resistance
English chemist and physicist Henry Cavendish develops the concepts of capacitance and resistance, though most of his work with electricity is not published until the late nineteenth century.
1775
Making static electricity

1777
Lichtenberg figures
German professor Georg Christoph Lichtenberg discovers that unusual patterns, which later come to be known as Lichtenberg figures, can be produced by electrifying fern spores or other fine powders and dusting them upon a surface that carries the opposite charge.
1778
Animal magnetism
Anton Mesmer, a German physician, establishes a magnetic healing practice based on his theories of animal magnetism in Paris after being accused of fraudulent activity in Vienna.
1781
State changes
Renowned chemist Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier of France demonstrates that the conversion of liquids or solids into gases results in electrification.
1785
Torsion balance

1785
Powerful electrostatic generator
Martin Van Marum of Holland constructs a much more powerful electrostatic machine than had ever been built before and carries out a variety of experiments with electricity.
1787
Detecting and amplifying charge

1791
Animal electricity proposed

1796
Animal electricity debunked
When carrying out experiments with metals placed in his mouth similar to those of Johann Sulzer, Italian physicist Alessandro Volta first believes he is experiencing the effects of animal electricity, but then finds that he can produce a current in the absence of animal tissue by utilizing a piece of cardboard moistened with brine instead of his tongue. Accordingly, he infers that the effect is incited by touching dissimilar metals to a moist object.