Illustration of Leyden jar
: 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
Examples of Leyden jar in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
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
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
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
The electricity was then drawn off by conductors (missing on this machine) to the Leyden jar.
—IEEE Spectrum, 30 Nov. 2018
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Erica Lamberg, Fox News, 10 June 2023
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
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
The electricity was then drawn off by conductors (missing on this machine) to the Leyden jar.
—IEEE Spectrum, 30 Nov. 2018
Cite this Entry
“Leyden jar.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Leyden%20jar. Accessed 31 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationKids 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
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