Brown's design uses a coil not unlike an automobile. Open the circuit and the coil discharges. Brilliant!

Makes me wonder if his eureka! moment stemmed from getting a shock off an early internal combustion engine.

One of my homes had an auto garage designed to house early electric cars. It had a rotating turn table, and banks for battery storage and recharging. Just drive in, and spin around to leave.

They were popular and in competition with steam until a decent carburetor was invented.

Out there doing it best I can.