Faraday cage

American  

noun

Physics.

1. an enclosure constructed of grounded wire mesh or parallel wires that shields sensitive electrical instruments from electrostatic interference.

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Faraday cage British  

noun

1. an earthed conducting cage or container used to protect electrical equipment against electric fields

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Faraday cage Scientific  

1. A container made of a conductor, such as wire mesh or metal plates, shielding what it encloses from external electric fields. Since the conductor is an equipotential, there are no potential differences inside the container. The metal hull of an aircraft acts as a faraday cage, protecting its occupants from lightning. Faraday cages are used to protect electronic equipment from such electrical interference as electromagnetic interference.

2. Also called Faraday shield

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Etymology

Origin of Faraday cage

First recorded in 1915–20; named after M. Faraday

Example Sentences

Think players sitting down alone in a windowless Faraday cage, wearing nothing but hospital gowns after their thorough strip search.

From Washington Post

The whole place was strangely scentless: a spread of neo-brutalism and Faraday Cage Folly architecture, sterile sculptures studded with hostile textures, quasi-public outbuildings like amphitheaters and gazebos that were functionally useless and inaccessible.

From Slate

At first, I feared it might be like a faraday cage for our home Wi-Fi, but thankfully it doesn’t affect it.

From The Verge

To really work, though, a Faraday cage has to completely enclose the thing it's supposed to shield — and tinfoil hats don't do that.

From Salon

The scientific reasoning behind the supposed effectiveness of tinfoil hats is that the foil acts as a Faraday cage, shielding the wearer from any electromagnetic radiation.

From Salon