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Capacitor
What is capacitor and capacitor calculations.
What is capacitor
Capacitor pictures
Capacitance
Capacitance of plates capacitor
Capacitors in series
Capacitors in parallel
Capacitor's current
Capacitor's voltage
Energy of capacitor
AC circuit of capacitor
Capacitor types
How capacitor works
Capacitor symbols
What is capacitor
Capacitor is an electronic component that stores electric charge. The capacitor is made of 2
close conductors (usually plates) that are separated by a dielectric material. The plates
accumulate electric charge when connected to power source. One plate accumulates positive
charge and the other plate accumulates negative charge.
The capacitance is the amount of electric charge that is stored in the capacitor at voltage of 1
Volt.
The capacitance is measured in units of Farad (F).
The capacitor disconnects current in direct current (DC) circuits and short circuit in alternating
current (AC) circuits.
Capacitor pictures

Capacitor symbols
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Capacitor
Polarized capacitor
Variable capacitor
Capacitance
The capacitance (C) of the capacitor is equal to the electric charge (Q) divided by the voltage
(V):
C is the capacitance in farad (F)
Q is the electric charge in coulombs (C), that is stored on the capacitor
V is the voltage between the capacitor's plates in volts (V)
Capacitance of plates capacitor
The capacitance (C) of the plates capacitor is equal to the permittivity () times the plate area
(A) divided by the gap or distance between the plates (d):

C is the capacitance of the capacitor, in farad (F).
is the permittivity of the capacitor's dialectic material, in farad per meter (F/m).
A is the area of the capacitor's plate in square meters (m
2
].
d is the distance between the capacitor's plates, in meters (m).
Capacitors in series

The total capacitance of capacitors in series, C1,C2,C3,.. :
Capacitors in parallel
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The total capacitance of capacitors in parallel, C1,C2,C3,.. :
C
Total
= C
1
+C
2
+C
3
+...
Capacitor's current
The capacitor's momentary current i
c
(t) is equal to the capacitance of the capacitor,
times the derivative of the momentary capacitor's voltage v
c
(t):
Capacitor's voltage
The capacitor's momentary voltage v
c
(t) is equal to the initial voltage of the capacitor,
plus 1/C times the integral of the momentary capacitor's current i
c
(t) over time t:
Energy of capacitor
The capacitor's stored energy E
C
in joules (J) is equal to the capacitance C in farad (F)
times the square capacitor's voltage V
C
in volts (V) divided by 2:
E
C
= C V
C
2
/ 2
AC circuits
Angular frequency
= 2 f
- angular velocity measured in radians per second (rad/s)
f - frequency measured in hertz (Hz).
Capacitor's reactance
Capacitor's impedance
Cartesian form:
Polar form:
Z
C
= X
C
-90
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Capacitor types
Variable
capacitor
Variable capacitor has changeable capacitance
Electrolytic
capacitor
Electrolytic capacitors are used when high capacitance is needed. Most of
the electrolytic capacitors are polarized
Spherical
capacitor
Spherical capacitor has a sphere shape
Power capacitor Power capacitors are used in high voltage power systems.
Ceramic
capacitor
Ceramic capacitor has ceramic dielectric material. Has high voltage
functionality.
Tantalum
capacitor
Tantalum oxide dielectric material. Has high capacitance
Mica capacitor High accuracy capacitors
Paper capacitor Paper dielectric material
How a capacitor works
Video from: fizzics.org

See also:
Capacitor symbols
Electrical & electronic symbols
Farad
Resistor
Inductor
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ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS
Resistor
Capacitor
Inductor
DIP switch
Solder bridge
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