CAPACITORS:

DETAIL, TYPES & USES

Capacitors

Introduction
A capacitor is a device used to store electric charge.
Capacitors have applications ranging from filtering static
out of radio reception to energy storage in heart
defibrillators. Typically, commercial capacitors have two
conducting parts close to one another, but not touching.
When battery terminals are connected to an initially
uncharged capacitors, equal amount of positive and
negative charge, +Q and –Q, are separated into its two
plates. The capacitor remains neutral overall, but we
refer to it as storing a charge Q in this circumstance.
FIG. Both capacitors
shown here were
initially
uncharged before being
connected to a battery.
They now have separated
charges of +Q and –Q on
their two halves.

A) A parallel plate
capacitor
B) A rolled capacitor
with an insulating
material
between the
charged plates

04

Amount of Charge Q A Capacitor

Can Store

The amount of charge Q a capacitor can store depends on

two major factors- the voltage applied and the capacitor’s
physical characteristics, such as its size. In Figure given
below each electric field line starts on an individual
positive and ends on a negative one, so that there will be
 more field lines if there is more charge. The electric field
strength is, thus, directly proportional to Q.
nal to the charge: Eα
Q We know that,

V = Ed

So, VαE

Hence, VαQ

Removing sign of
proportionality
FIG. Electric field
lines in the
we get,
parallel
plate capacitor, Q = CV
as always, start on
positive and end on

negative charges.
Where C = capacitance of the
The field parallel plate capacitor.
FIG. Some common capacitors. Capacitors are
is
primarily made of ceramic, glass, or plastic,

proportio depending upon purpose and size

The unit of
capacitance coulomb per volt.
is the farad
(F), named 1𝐶
for Michael
= 1f
1𝑉
Faraday
(1791-
A 1-farad capacitor would be able
1867), an
to store 1 coulomb with the
English
application of only 1 volt. One
scientist who
farad is, thus a very large
contributed
capacitance. Typical
to the fields
capacitors range from
of
fractions of a picofarad to
electromagn
millifarads.
etism and
electrochemi
stry. Since
capacitance
is charge per
unit voltage,
we see that
a farad is a

Self-Capacitance
Self-capacitance property is related to the capacitors
especially to the isolated conductor to raise its potential
difference to one volt. Generally normal conductors will have
mutual capacitance. This is also measured in the S.I units
i.e. Farads.
The Self-capacitance of a conducting sphere which has the
radius ‘R’ is given by.

C=4πεoR

Self-capacitance values of some standard devices are given

below.

• For the top plate of a van de Graff generator which is

having radius of 20 cm self-capacitance is 22.24pF.
• For the planet EARTH self-capacitance is 710 µF.
Charging & Discharging of a
Capacitor
Let us assume that the capacitor, which is shown in the
Figure below in the circuit, is completely discharged. In this
circuit the capacitor value is 100 µF and the supply voltage
applied to this circuit is 12V.
Now the switch which is connected to the capacitor in the
circuit is moved to the
point A. Then
A B the capacitor starts
charging with the
charging current I. The
charging voltage across
the capacitor is equal to
the supply voltage
when the
capacitor is fully
charged i.e. VS = VC = 12V.
In the case of ideal capacitors the charge remains constant
on the capacitor but in the case of general capacitors the
fully charged capacitors is slowly discharged because of its
leakage current.
When the switch is moved to the position B, then the
capacitor slowly discharges by switching on the lamp which
is connected in the circuit.

Energy in a Capacitor
Energy is the amount of some work against the electro-static
field to charge the capacitor fully. In the capacitor at initial
stage of charging, the charge Q transferred between the
plates from one plate to another plate. This charge either +Q
or –Q is interchanged between two plates of a capacitor.
After transformation of some charge an electric field is
formed between the plates, in that case we need some extra
work to charge the capacitor fully. This extra work is called
as the energy stored in a capacitor, the energy is measured
in the units of Joules (J). Now we see the equations for this
energy and work.
dW = V dQ
dW = (Q/C) dQ After integration of the
above equation is
W = Q2 / 2C
W = (CV)2 / 2C
 W = CV2 / 2 Joules
Finally we get the energy stored in a capacitor is
Energy (W) = CV2 / 2 Joules
Now we calculate the energy stored in a capacitor of
capacitance 200 µF which operate with voltage of 12V
W = (200 x 10-6 x 122) / 2 = 14.4 mJ

Type of Capacitors
Film Capacitors
▪ Film Capacitors comprising of a generally expansive
group of capacitors with the distinction being in their
dielectric properties. ▪ Film Capacitors are available in
almost any value and voltages as high as 1500 volts.
▪ They come in tolerance from 10% to 0.01%.
 ▪ There are two types of film
capacitors i.e. Radial lead type &
Axial lead type.
▪ The electrodes of film
capacitors may be metalized
aluminum or zinc. ▪ It use
polystyrene, polycarbonate or Teflon
as their dielectrics.
▪ It can be used in AC voltage
applications, and they have much more stable
electrical parameters.
Ceramic Capacitors
▪ Ceramic capacitors are used in high frequency
circuits such as audio to RF.
▪ Ceramic Capacitors are the vest choice for high
frequency compensation in audio circuits. ▪
These capacitors are also called as disc
capacitors.
▪ Ceramic capacitors are
made by coating two sides of a
small porcelain or ceramic disc
with silver and are then stacked
together to make a capacitor.
▪ One can make both
capacitance in ceramic
capacitors.

▪ They come in values from a few Pico farads to 1

microfarad.
▪ The voltage range is from a few volts up to many
thousands of volts.
 ▪ Ceramics are inexpensive to manufacture and
they come with several dielectrics types.

Electrolytic Capacitors
▪ It is most prevalently used capacitors which have
a wide tolerance capacity.
▪ Electrolytic capacitors are available with working
voltages up to about 500V.
▪ There are two types of
electrolytic capacitor, Tantalum
and Aluminum.
▪ Tantalums capacitors have
ordinarily better exhibition, higher
value.
▪ The dielectric properties of
tantalum oxide is much superior to
those of aluminum oxide.
▪ It has an easier leakage current and better
capacitance strength which makes them suitable
for obstructing, decoupling, filtering applications.
▪ The thickness of the aluminum oxide film and
heightened breakdown voltage gives the
 capacitor exceptionally elevated capacitance
values for their size.

Uses of Capacitors
Capacitors are devices which store electrical charge. They
are a basic component of electronics and have a host of
various applications. The most common use for capacitors
is energy storage. Additional uses include power
conditioning, signal coupling or decoupling, electronic noise
filtering, and remote sensing. Because of its varied
applications, capacitors are used in a wide range of
industries and have become a vital part of everyday life.

▪ Capacitors for
Energy Storage
Capacitors have been
used to store electrical
energy since the late 18th
century. Benjamin
Franklin was the first to coin the phrase “battery” for a
series of capacitors in an energy store application.
Individual capacitors generally do not hold a great deal
 of energy, providing only enough power for electronic
devices to use during temporary power outages or
when they need additional power. For example, large
capacitors are included in car audio systems to provide
extra power to amplifiers when needed.
▪ Capacitors for Power Conditioning
One important application of capacitors is the
conditioning of power supplies. Capacitors allow AC
signals to pass but block DC signals when they are
charged. They can effectively split these two signal
types, cleaning the supply of power. This effect has
been exploited to separate or decouple different parts
of electrical circuits to reduce noise which could lead to
reduction of efficiency. Capacitors are also used
inutility substations to counteract inductive loading
introduced by transmission lines.

▪ Capacitors as Sensors
Capacitors are used as sensors to measure a variety
of things, including air humidity, fuel levels and
mechanical strain. The capacitance of a device is
dependent on its structure. Changes in the structure
can be measured as a loss or gain of capacitance. Two
aspects of a capacitor are used in sensing applications:
 the distance between parallel plates and the
material between them. The former is used to detect
mechanical changes such as acceleration and
pressure. Even minute changes in the material
between the plates can be enough to alter the
capacitance of the device, an effect exploited when
sensing air humidity.

▪ Capacitors for Signal Processing

Capacitors have found increasingly
advanced applications in information technology.
Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) devices
use capacitors to represent
binary information as bits. The
device reads one value when
the capacitor is charged and
another when
discharged. Charge
Coupled Devices (CCDs)
use capacitors in an analogue
form. Capacitors are also used
in conjunction with inductors to tune circuits to
particular frequencies, an effect
exploited by radio receivers, speakers and analog
equalizers.