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Leyden jar

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noun Electricity.
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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Origin of Leyden jar

First recorded in 1815–25; so called because invented in Leyden
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use Leyden jar in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for Leyden jar

Leyden jar

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

Word Origin for Leyden jar

C18: first made in Leiden
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for Leyden jar

Leyden jar
[ līd′n ]

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.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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