capacitor

[ kuh-pas-i-ter ]

noun

, Electricity.

1. a device for accumulating and holding a charge of electricity, consisting of two equally charged conducting surfaces having opposite signs and separated by a dielectric.

capacitor

/ kəˈpæsɪtə /

noun

1. a device for accumulating electric charge, usually consisting of two conducting surfaces separated by a dielectric Former namecondenser

capacitor

/ kə-păs′ĭ-tər /

1. An electrical device consisting of two conducting plates separated by an electrical insulator (the dielectric ), designed to hold an electric charge. Charge builds up when a voltage is applied across the plates, creating an electric field between them. Current can flow through a capacitor only as the voltage across it is changing, not when it is constant. Capacitors are used in power supplies, amplifiers, signal processors, oscillators, and logic gates.
2. Compare induction coil

capacitor

1. A device used in electrical circuits . The capacitor stores an electrical charge for short periods of time, and then returns it to the circuit.

Word History and Origins

Origin of capacitor¹

First recorded in 1925–30; capacit(y) + -or ²

Example Sentences

The trial was fresh in memory when the DMC-12 — equipped with the mysterious “flux capacitor”— served as a time machine in the 1985 hit “Back to the Future,” enshrining it in pop culture.

From Los Angeles Times

“The most common remark that any DeLorean owner will get is, ‘Where’s your flux capacitor?’”

From Los Angeles Times

“Align the diode with the capacitor and then move the magnetron seven degrees left.”

From Literature

"It stores electricity in what's called an electric double layer, which stores the charge in positive and negative layers of ions. This is a glorified capacitor," said lead author Tim Kowalchik, a graduate student in Warren's lab.

From Science Daily

Simpler than a battery, a capacitor stores energy in the electrical field between conductive plates.

From Science Daily