Leyden jar

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.

Leyden jar

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

Leyden jar

/ 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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Leyden jar¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of Leyden jar¹

C18: first made in Leiden

Example Sentences

I couldn’t possibly predict, any more than the 18th-century scholars fiddling with Leyden jars could have foretold ice cream cakes and social media influencers.

From Washington Post

Even as microscopes, air pumps, Leyden jars and particle accelerators enlightened the natural world, shadowy spirits continued to be conjured up in the pages of scientific journals and treatises.

From Washington Post

The invention, in 1745, of the Leyden jar—a device to store static electricity—enabled many new experiments in electrotherapy, not all of them deliberate.

From The New Yorker

When learning about circuits I asked, “Is this sort of like a Leyden jar?”

From Scientific American

This remark distinctly shows us the great superiority which Leyden jars possess for the storage of electricity as compared with common conductors.

From Project Gutenberg