Capacitor || Capacitance || Factors affecting Capacitance || Parallel & Series
A capacitor is a little like a battery but works completely differently. A battery is an electronic device that converts chemical energy into electrical energy, whereas a capacitor is an electronic component that stores electrostatic energy in an electric field. In this article, let’s learn about capacitors in detail.
A capacitor is a two-terminal electrical device that can store energy in the form of an electric charge. It consists of two electrical conductors that are separated by a distance. The space between the conductors may be filled by a vacuum or with an insulating material known as a dielectric. The ability of the capacitor to store charges is known as capacitance.
Capacitors store energy by holding apart pairs of opposite charges. The simplest design for a capacitor is a parallel plate, which consists of two metal plates with a gap between them. But, different types of capacitors are manufactured in many forms, styles, lengths, girths, and materials.
An electric field appears across the capacitor. The positive plate (plate I) accumulates positive charges from the battery, and the negative plate (plate II) accumulates negative charges from the battery. After a point, the capacitor holds the maximum amount of charge as per its capacitance concerning this voltage. This period is called the charging time of the capacitor.
When the battery is removed from the capacitor, the two plates hold a negative and positive charge for a certain time. Thus, the capacitor acts as a source of electrical energy.
The basic unit of capacitance is Farad. But, Farad is a large unit for practical tasks. Hence, capacitance is usually measured in the sub-units of Farads, such as micro-farads (µF) or pico-farads (pF).
Most of the electrical and electronic applications are covered by the following standard unit (SI) prefixes for easy calculations:
1 mF (millifarad) = 10^−3 F
1 μF (microfarad) =10^−6 F
1 nF (nanofarad) = 10^−9 F
1 pF (picofarad) = 10^−12 F
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