Cockcroft-Walton generator

noun

An electric circuit that generates a high direct current voltage from a low-voltage alternating current.

Similar
CW generatorGreinacher multiplier
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounCockcroft-Walton generator (plural Cockcroft-Walton generators)

plural Cockcroft-Walton generators

  1. An electric circuit that generates a high direct current voltage from a low-voltage alternating current.

    Synonyms: CW generator, Greinacher multiplier

Synonyms & antonyms

nounAn electric circuit that generates a high direct current voltage from a low-voltage alternating current.

Similar
CW generatorGreinacher multiplier
Also see
greinacher multiplier

Origin

Named after the British and Irish physicists John Douglas Cockcroft and Ernest Thomas Sinton Walton, who in 1932 used this circuit design to power their particle accelerator.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Cockcroft-Walton generator. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Cockcroft-Walton%20generator

MLA

“Cockcroft-Walton generator.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Cockcroft-Walton%20generator. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Cockcroft-Walton generator,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Cockcroft-Walton%20generator.

Source: Cockcroft-Walton generator on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.