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

Words nearby Leyden jar

lex non scripta, lex scripta, lex talionis, ley, Leyden, Leyden jar, Leydig cell, ley farming, Leyland, Leyland cypress, leylandii

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use Leyden jar in a sentence

The discharge of a Leyden jar or of another condenser sets up ether waves that have the speed of light.
Physics|Willis Eugene Tower
The Leyden-jar should be charged when the instrument is used.
A Treatise on Meteorological Instruments|Henry Negretti
These plates are in connection with the inner coating of a Leyden-jar, and are termed the attracting plates.
A Treatise on Meteorological Instruments|Henry Negretti
The whole instrument is enclosed in a metal cage, to protect the glass Leyden-jar and the delicate needle.
A Treatise on Meteorological Instruments|Henry Negretti

He believed that the electricity in the bottle, or Leyden Jar, was the same thing as the lightning we see in a thunder-storm.
The Beginner's American History|D. H. Montgomery

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.