Capacitor and Capacitance
A capacitor is a simple device that can store an electrical charge on its plates when connected to a voltage source.
The most basic construction of a capacitor consists of two parallel metal plates which are separated by a dielectric material. The insulating layer between the capacitor plates is usually called dielectric. When we connect a voltage source to the capacitor, the conductor plate connected to the positive terminal of the source is charged positively, and the capacitor plate connected to the negative terminal of the source becomes a negative charge. Due to the presence of dielectric material between the plates, no charge can go from one plate to the other.
Capacitance
Capacitance is the electrical property of a capacitor and the capacitor's ability to store an electric charge on its two plates. Capacitance is denoted by Farad, after the name of British physicist Michael Faraday. Capacitance is the charge that accumulates in the capacitor to develop the potential difference of 1 volt. Therefore, there is a direct connection between the charge and the voltage of the capacitor. The accumulated charge in the capacitor is directly proportional to the developed voltage across the capacitor.
Where
Q - Charge
V – Voltage
Where
C – Capacitance
The capacitance depends upon the active area of the capacitor plates, the distance between the plates and permittivity of the dielectric medium.
Capacitor types
- Ceramic capacitor
- Electrolytic capacitor
- Plastic film capacitor
- Tantalum capacitor
- Silver Mica capacitor
- Supercapacitor
