capacitive electrometer

capacitive electrometer

[kə¦pas·əd·iv ‚i‚lek′träm·əd·ər] (engineering) An instrument for measuring small voltages; the voltage is applied to the plates of a capacitor when they are close together, then the voltage source is removed and the plates are separated, increasing the potential difference between them to a measurable value. Also known as condensing electrometer.