condensor

Condensor, often spelled condenser, is a term used in several technical contexts to denote devices that perform condensation or, in historical electronics usage, components that store electrical charge. In thermodynamics and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, a condenser is a heat exchanger that removes heat from a working fluid as it changes from vapor to liquid. In power generation and refrigeration cycles, condensers reject latent heat to a cooling medium such as water or air, enabling the cycle to continue. Condensers also appear in outdoor units of air conditioning and refrigeration equipment as coils that reject heat to the surrounding environment.

In electronics, the term condenser was once common for a capacitor, a device that stores electric charge. Modern terminology favors capacitor, but the old usage persists in phrases such as condenser microphone, a capacitive microphone that converts sound into an electrical signal via a charged diaphragm and backplate.

In optics, a condenser (for example in microscopes, photographic projectors, and enlargers) is a lens or set of lenses that concentrates and directs light onto a target area to improve illumination.

Alternative spellings include condensor, and usage varies by field and era. The core idea across uses is to assist condensation of a substance or to store charge, depending on the context.