spark-condenser

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. In electricity, an instrument having a glass cage in which a spark may be passed between the battery connections. It is used for burning metals or obtaining the spectra of gases, and is designed, to isolate the atmosphere in which the experiment is conducted, so as to eliminate accidental disturbing causes, and also to enable the experiment to take place in an atmosphere of any required condensation or tenuity.