Definition of "capacitor" [ca•pac•i•tor]

• An electric circuit element used to store charge temporarily, consisting in general of two metallic plates separated and insulated from each other by a dielectric. Also called condenser. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Video explains what a capacitor is and how to make one - Boing Boing make video about visible sound and vibration"
• "A bubble-maker that looks like the flux capacitor from the Back to the Future films last night won a £250,000 prize from the Royal Society for its ability to transform the cost and effectiveness of growing algae for biofuel, treating sewage and cooling computers."
• "The flux capacitor is what makes time travel possible."