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.
Electrolytic capacitor
These first sintered tantalum capacitors used a non-solid electrolyte, which does not fit the concept of solid electronics. In 1952 a targeted search at Bell Labs by D. A. McLean and F. S. Power for a solid electrolyte led to the invention of manganese dioxide as a solid electrolyte for a sintered tantalum capacitor.