Leyden jar

noun

Ley·​den jar ˈlī-dᵊn- 

: an electrical capacitor consisting of a glass jar coated inside and outside with metal foil and having the inner coating connected to a conducting rod passed through an insulating stopper

Illustration of Leyden jar

Examples of Leyden jar in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Hemp string was attached to the bottom of the kite to provide conductivity and attached to a Leyden jar by a thin metal wire. —Chuong Nguyen, Ars Technica, 24 May 2023

On this day in history, June 10, 1752, Benjamin Franklin is reported to have flown a kite during a thunderstorm, with a goal of collecting ambient electrical charge in a Leyden jar — a container that could store an electrical charge for later use. —Erica Lamberg, Fox News, 10 June 2023

Metal collector combs separate the charges into positive and negative and conduct them to two Leyden jar capacitors. —IEEE Spectrum, 14 May 2023

The demonstrator would place a small amount of gunpowder inside the model and then zap the house with an electric charge from an early battery called a Leyden jar. —IEEE Spectrum, 1 Apr. 2023

But there was no reliable way of studying electricity until the invention of the Leyden jar, in 1745. —The New Yorker, 29 Nov. 2021

Franklin then touched the metal key to an electrode protruding from the top of a Leyden jar (an electricity-storing glass jar recently invented by Dutch physicist Pieter van Musschenbroek). —Timothy J. Jorgensen, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Nov. 2021

Word History

Etymology

Leiden, Leyden, Netherlands

First Known Use

1825, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for Leyden jar

• abattoir
• alcazar
• autocar
• avatar
• belshazzar
• caviar
• caviare
• cinnabar
• commissar
• condylar
• deodar
• handlebar

Kids Definition

Leyden jar

noun

Ley·​den jar ˌlīd-ᵊn- 

: a device for storing electric charge consisting of a glass jar coated inside and outside with metal foil and having the inner coating connected to a conducting rod passed through an insulating stopper

Medical Definition

Leyden jar

noun

Ley·​den jar ˈlīd-ᵊn- 

: the earliest form of electrical capacitor consisting essentially of a glass jar coated part way up both inside and outside with metal foil and having the inner coating connected to a conducting rod passed through the insulating stopper