Leyden jar

American  

noun

Electricity.

1. a device for storing electric charge, consisting essentially of a glass jar lined inside and outside, for about two-thirds of its height, with tinfoil.

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Leyden jar British  

noun

1. physics an early type of capacitor consisting of a glass jar with the lower part of the inside and outside coated with tin foil

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Leyden jar Scientific  

/ līd′n /

1. An early device for storing electric charge that uses the same principle as a modern capacitor. It consists of a glass jar with conductive metal foil covering its inner and outer surfaces, with the glass insulating these surfaces from each other. The inner surface is charged (by an external source) through an electrode penetrating the top of the jar; the inner and outer foil layers can then hold an equal and opposite charge.

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Etymology

Origin of Leyden jar

First recorded in 1815–25; so called because invented in Leyden

Example Sentences

In 1783, Jan Ingenhousz, a Dutch scientist, accidentally picked up a charged Leyden jar, causing an explosion that made him temporarily lose his memory, judgment, and ability to read and write.

From The New Yorker • Mar. 30, 2015

He also applied information derived from earlier theorists and experimenters, including William Harvey, Isaac Newton, the inventors of the Leyden jar, and many wits who had noticed the similarity between electric sparks and lightning.

From New York Times • Aug. 21, 2010

He used a device called a Leyden jar to hold and discharge electricity-even using some to kill a turkey for a feast.

From Time Magazine Archive

The voltage source is an X-ray apparatus and the current is stored in a 20-unit Leyden jar condenser.

From Time Magazine Archive

At the end of the hempen string was tied a key, and in a convenient shed was a Leyden jar in which to collect some of the electricity from the clouds.

From Inventors by Hubert, Philip Gengembre