What is a Capacitor (Capacitance)?

A capacitor is an important electrical and electronic circuit element formed by placing an insulating material between two metal layers using the ability of electrons to store the electrical charge in the electric field. Insulators placed between the conductors are called dielectrics. Depending on the type of dielectric material used (air, mica, electrolytic, etc.), the capacitors have different names.

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The conductors that make up the capacitor are called the plates of the capacitor. A simple capacitor consists of the insulating insulation layer between the two conductive plates. Capacitor capacity unit is called Farad and is indicated by the letter C. At the same time, the electric potential of a conductor is always stable.

This constant number is denoted by C; C = Q / U.

Q is the electric charge and the unit is expressed by the coulomb. V represents the potential. In this case, we will see that Capacity C is the Coulomb / Volt.

Capacitors also have a limit to the ability to store electric charge. The capacitors can not withstand more than a certain potential, and an electric charge jumps from one plate to another. This will zero the electric charge of the plates. In this case, we define that the capacitor is pierced or broken.

If a capacitor is connected to a DC electric power source, the electrons accumulate on the plate connected to the negative terminal. The escaping electrons flow towards the positive electrode. In this way, the capacitor connected to a power supply is charged instantaneously. The voltage between the plates is equal to the source voltage. The capacitor remains charged even if it is removed from the source.

Due to the insulation layer, the current can not flow through the capacitor. The capacitor is continuously charged. For this reason, the capacitors are very suitable for storing charge. The physical size of the capacitors depends on the operating voltages and the amount of charge they can store. However, they are basically manufactured in two different types. These are polar (electrolyte) and non-polar condensers.

What is Capacitance?

We often hear capacitors. Actually, it’s like we explained above. You can think of different expressions of the same expressions. The charge storage capacity of a capacitor is called capacitance and is indicated by the letter C as described above. Farad is the unit of capacitance.

Farad is defined as the amount of charge stored per volt. In general terms;

Capacitance = Charge / Voltage

The capacitors at Farad are used to support uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) connected to computer memory. However, much smaller capacitances are needed in many electronic circuits. The units used in most capacitors are; Microfarad, nanofarad and picofarad. They are used to convert between AC / DC, electrical load storage, reactive power control, data loss prevention, and all of the integrated electronic circuits are exposed as an indispensable circuit element.