Immagini

DESCRIPTION

The Leyden jar is an example of a cylindrical condenser in which the dielectric is glass. It is composed of a glass vase which has a conducting sheet on the outside and another one attached to a conducting hook on the inside. To charge the jar, one connects the hook to an electrostatic generator which forces charge onto the inner sheet. By electrical induction the outer sheet will draw charge of the opposite side to its inner surface. Now the condenser is charged and a spark can be produced when discharging it.

Another interesting experiment involves separating the three parts of the jar, inner sheet, outer sheet and glass jar all on an isolated surface. The two sheets become neutral when handled and the electrical state of the glass is not changed, glass being a non conductor. Upon reassembling the Leyden jar, a difference of potential reappears due to the relaxation of the electric dipoles in the glass dielectric. This effect varies with the time between the first discharge and the recomposition of the jar and must be kept in mind when handling condensers.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

• [1] A. Ganot, "Traité Élémentaire de physique", Paris, 1868

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