Category: 6. Capacitors

Voltage divider circuits may be constructed from reactive components just as easily as they may be constructed from fixed value resistors. But just like resistive circuits, a capacitive voltage divider network is not affected by changes in the supply frequency even though they use capacitors, which are reactive elements, as each capacitor in the series…

A capacitor consists of two metal plates separated by a dielectric. As we will see in this capacitor tutorial, Capacitors are energy storage devices which have the ability to store an electrical charge across its plates. Thus capacitors store energy as a result of their ability to store charge and an ideal capacitor would not loose its…

Capacitors that are connected to a sinusoidal supply produce reactance from the effects of supply frequency and capacitor size. Capacitance in AC Circuits results in a time-dependent current which is shifted in phase by 90o with respect to the supply voltage producing an effect known as capacitive reactance. When capacitors are connected across a direct current…

Capacitors are connected together in series when they are daisy chained together in a single line.  With capacitors in series, the charging current ( iC ) flowing through the capacitors is THE SAME for all capacitors as it only has one path to follow. Then, Capacitors in Series all have the same current flowing through them as iT = i1 = i2 = i3 etc. Therefore each capacitor will…

Capacitors are connected together in parallel when both of its terminals are connected to each terminal of another capacitor. The voltage ( Vc ) connected across all the capacitors that are connected in parallel is THE SAME. Then, Capacitors in Parallel have a “common voltage” supply across them giving: VC1 = VC2 = VC3 = VAB = 12V In the following circuit the capacitors, C1, C2 and C3 are all connected together…

Capacitor colour codes are a simple and effective visual way of identifying the capacitance value of a capacitor. There are two common ways to know the capacitive value of a capacitor, by measuring it using a digital multimeter, or by reading the capacitor colour codes printed on it. These coloured bands represent the capacitance value…

Capacitors store electrical energy on their plates in the form of an electrical charge. Capacitance is the measured value of the ability of a capacitor to store an electric charge. This capacitance value also depends on the dielectric constant of the dielectric material used to separate the two parallel plates. Capacitance is measured in units…

Capacitor Characteristics The characteristics of a capacitors define its temperature, voltage rating and capacitance range as well as its use in a particular application There are a bewildering array of capacitor characteristics and specifications associated with the humble capacitor and reading the information printed onto the body of a capacitor can sometimes be difficult to…

There is a large variety of different types of capacitor available in the market place and each one has its own set of characteristics and applications. The types of capacitor available range from very small delicate trimming capacitors using in oscillator or radio circuits, up to large power metal-can type capacitors used in high voltage…

Capacitors are simple passive device that can store an electrical charge on their plates when connected to a voltage source. In this introduction to capacitors tutorial, we will see that capacitors are passive electronic components consisting of two or more pieces of conducting material separated by an insulating material. The capacitor is a component which…