History of electrochemistry
In 1789, Franz Aepinus developed a device with the properties of a "condenser" (now known as a capacitor.) The Aepinus condenser was the first capacitor developed after the Leyden jar, and was used to demonstrate conduction and induction. The device was constructed so that the space between two plates could be adjusted, and the glass dielectric separating the two plates could be removed or replaced with other materials.
History of the battery
In 1749, Benjamin Franklin, the U.S. polymath and founding father, first used the term "battery" to describe a set of linked capacitors he used for his experiments with electricity. These capacitors were panels of glass coated with metal on each surface. These capacitors were charged with a static generator and discharged by touching metal to their electrode. Linking them together in a "battery" gave a stronger discharge. Originally having the generic meaning of "a group of two or more similar objects functioning together", as in an artillery battery, the term came to be used for voltaic piles and similar devices in which many electrochemical cells were connected together in the manner of Franklin's capacitors. Today even a single electrochemical cell, e.g. a dry cell, is commonly called a battery.