Which term describes a device for storing electrical energy?

Which term describes a device for storing electrical energy?

• A. Battery
• B. Coil
• C. Condenser
• D. Conductors

Answer: (C)

Storing electrical energy happens best in devices that hold charge on two conductors separated by a dielectric, creating an electric field that stores energy. That is the condenser, the old name for what we now call a capacitor. It stores energy in the electric field between its plates, with the stored energy proportional to 1/2 C V^2. A battery stores chemical energy and provides electrical energy, not primarily as an electric field. An inductor (coil) stores energy in a magnetic field around the coil. Conductors just carry current and don’t retain energy. So condenser is the correct term because it refers to a component designed to store energy in the electric field.

Storing electrical energy happens best in devices that hold charge on two conductors separated by a dielectric, creating an electric field that stores energy. That is the condenser, the old name for what we now call a capacitor. It stores energy in the electric field between its plates, with the stored energy proportional to 1/2 C V^2. A battery stores chemical energy and provides electrical energy, not primarily as an electric field. An inductor (coil) stores energy in a magnetic field around the coil. Conductors just carry current and don’t retain energy. So condenser is the correct term because it refers to a component designed to store energy in the electric field.