Re: Capacitor or condenser ?

[PHRP@FHSUVM.FHSU.EDU (Roger A. Pruitt)]

> I was happy to see the "Capacitor or condenser" thread revived but was
> disappointed to find a message with a mislabeled subject. Then it occured
> to me that my previous posting (about bringing closer two separately
> charged parallel plates when |Q1|=|Q2|) shows another reason for keeping
> the term "condenser". Four non-uniform distributions (two for each plate)
> are turned into two uniform deistributions when the distance between the
> plates becomes very short. And the electric field, which was initially
> expanding toward the infinity is now confined to a very small volume. What
> is wrong with the term condenser? It is used in other languages.

Just because it is used in other languages doesn't make it the best term to
use. According to my dictornary condense means to produce a liquid from a
gas or vapor--a reduction to a denser form. While the charges on the plates
of a capacitor can be brought closer together to increase the charge
density, they are not reduced to a denser form from a gas or vapor.

I think "capacitor" is a better term. A capacitor has capacity for storing
charge or for storing energy. How do you justify the storage of energy and
the term "condenser"?

This is just my view. Every once and a while we get involved in terminology
and what we should call something. If we can use descriptive words and terms
that somewhat closely describe the phenomena, then why don't we use these
terms? I find capacitor a better term, therefore, than condenser. Also in
the case of "condenser" and "capacitor", one is an old expression while the
other is newer. Pulling books off my office self and looking in each index
shows that "condenser" is not used in the following electronics books:

Diefenderfer & Holton, Principles of Electronic Instrumentation

Ralph Smith, Circuits, Devices and Systems

Sedra & Smith, Microelectronic Circuits

Neamen, Electronic Circuit Analysis and Design

Horowitz and Hill, The Art of Electronic, has in the index Condenser (see
Capacitor) 

Deciding to pull a couple of standard calculus based beginning university
texts from my selves I find that my copies of Serway and Halliday, Resnick
and Walker fail to use "condenser." Chabay and Sherwood don't list
"condenser" in their index either.

I also pulled my copy of Introduction to Electrodynamics by Griffiths from
my self to see if he used "condenser" in the index, and was pleased to find
that he did not.

Roger

--
Roger A. Pruitt, PhD
Professor of Physics
Fort Hays State University
Hays, KS  67601
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