capacitor

[kuh-pas-i-ter] /kəˈpæs ɪ tər/

noun, Electricity

a device for accumulating and holding a charge of electricity, consisting of two equally charged conducting surfaces having opposite signs and separated by a dielectric.

Also called condenser.

Origin

1925-30; capacit(y) + -or²

Examples from the web for capacitors

Lc coupled amplifier, using a network of inductors and capacitors.
The capacitors were of a special design, small with high insulation.
These capacitors consisted of plates in oil that were movable.
The ends of the primaries not connected with the capacitors are led to a spark gap.
The combination of these printed circuit boards forms two variable capacitors.
Still others avoid the transformer effect altogether by using two capacitors.

British Dictionary definitions for capacitors

capacitor

/kəˈpæsɪtə/

noun

a device for accumulating electric charge, usually consisting of two conducting surfaces separated by a dielectric Former name condenser

Word Origin and History for capacitors

capacitor

"device which stores electricity," 1926, from capacity with Latinate agent-noun ending.

capacitors in Science

capacitor

(kə-pās'ĭ-tər)

An electrical device consisting of two conducting plates separated by an electrical insulator (the dielectric), designed to hold an electric charge. Charge builds up when a voltage is applied across the plates, creating an electric field between them. Current can flow through a capacitor only as the voltage across it is changing, not when it is constant. Capacitors are used in power supplies, amplifiers, signal processors, oscillators, and logic gates. Compare induction coil, resistor.

capacitors in Culture

capacitor [(kuh-pas-i-tuhr)]

A device used in electrical circuits. The capacitor stores an electrical charge for short periods of time, and then returns it to the circuit.