Retrieving native DOM elements from jQuery objects?
How can I get jQuery to return the native DOM elements it encapsulates? When you find elements with jQuery, you can get them with the "get" function: var regularElement = $('#myElementId').get(0); Inside a ".each()" function, the "this" pointer refers to a "real" element: $('input.special').each(function() { var type = this.type; this.value = "exploding balloon"; // etc }) Using jQuery doesn't make Javascript "different." It is Javascript, and the DOM is still the DOM. $('myTag').get(0) returns the HTML element. jQuery uses the Sizzle Selector Engine *. You can use it on its own too. *