An early form of capacitor consisting of a glass jar lined inside and out with tinfoil and having a conducting rod connected to the inner foil lining and passing out of the jar through an insulated stopper.
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A condenser for static electricity, consisting of a glass jar with a coat of tinfoil outside and inside and a metal rod connecting with the inner lining and passing through the lid.
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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.
For this purpose a small Leyden jar is connected as usual.
The availability of the energy of electrical separation in a charged Leyden jar is also limited only by the resistance of conductors, in virtue of which an amount of heat is necessarily produced, which is greater the less the time occupied in discharging the jar.
Braun suggested in 1898 that the oscillatory discharge of a Leyden jar should be sent through the primary coil of a transformer and the secondary coil should be interposed between the antenna and an earth connexion.'
It had long been known that the discharges from a Leyden jar could magnetize or demagnetize steel needles.
The instrument known as a Leyden jar consists of a glass bottle coated within and without for three parts of the way up with tinfoil.