Capacitance/Capacitors

Capacitance
Capacitance is the ability of a dielectric (insulator) to store an electrical charge Charge = Coulomb = Q = 6.25 X 1018 electrons

Capacitors
A capacitor is a component that stores electrical charge Non-Polarity Sensitive Polarity Sensitive Schematic +
-

Make up of a capacitor
Dielectric (Insulator) 2 Conducting Plates

The unit of measurement for capacitance is the Farad

Note to teacher: charge up a 470 F cap to 30v and then discharge

Farad
1 Farad: when 1 coulomb is stored in a dielectric with a potential of 1 volt
Farad= Coulomb 1 coulomb 1 Volt C=

Volt

Q V

1 Farad is a very large value Typical values of capacitance are in:

microfarads (F) (10-6) picofarads (pF) (10-12)

Higher farad value = more stored charge

Note: Charge up 470 F and 1000 F to show difference

How Capacitors Work

Charging

Storing a charge

Discharge

http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/electromag/java /capacitor/index.html

Factors affecting Capacitance: The ability of a capacitor to

store electrical charge (capacitance size) depends upon

1.

Size (surface area) of the plates

Larger plate area = more capacitance
100 F

200 F

2.

Distance between the plates

Capacitance increases as the width decreases
100 F 200 F

3.

Dielectric Material
Air = 1 Paper = 2-6 Ceramics = 80 1200 Mica = 3-8 Mylar = 2-3 Electrolytic = 7

http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/electromag/java/capacitance/index.html

Three Important Facts When Choosing a Capacitor

1. Capacitance Value 2. Voltage Rating 3. Polarity

Capacitance Value
Rules of thumb (as in 99% of the time) 1. MF or mF on an old capacitor = F . 2. If a capacitor has a value of 1 F or more it is usually an electrolytic (canister) capacitor. Conversely, if the capacitance value is less than 1 F it is usually a disc or chicklet variety.

Capacitance Values of Disc Capacitors

The value of the disc capacitors is usually given in one of two methods. 1. The capacitance value is sometimes printed on the face of the disc capacitor like the following. If this is
done then the value of the capacitance is given in micro farads (F).

.1 Z

.047 k

Capacitance Values of Disc Capacitors

2. The capacitance value is sometimes printed in code on the face of the disc as shown below.
If this is the case then the capacitance value is given in picofarads (pF). The code given is the same as the code used to determine resistor values. For example: 102 would represent 1= 1st digit of value, 0 = 2nd digit of value, 2= multiplier (how many zeros) Therefore 102 = 1000 picofarads (pF) or .001 micro farads (F)

Capacitors in Series and Parallel

Capacitors in Series
10 F 10 F

CT = 5 F

In series the width of the dielectric is additive Notice that they are exactly opposite of resistors!!!!!!!!

Capacitors in Parallel
10 F

10 F

CT = 20 F

In parallel the plate surface area is additive

Resistor/Capacitor Time Constants