/kəˈpæsɪtər/
noun … “Component that stores and releases electrical energy.”
Capacitor is a passive electronic component that stores energy in an electric field between two conductive plates separated by a dielectric material. Capacitors are widely used in electronic circuits for energy storage, filtering, signal coupling, timing, and voltage regulation. They can respond rapidly to changes in voltage, making them essential for stabilizing power supplies and shaping signals.
Key characteristics of Capacitor include:
- Capacitance: measured in farads (F), indicates how much charge the capacitor can store.
- Voltage rating: maximum voltage the capacitor can safely handle.
- Dielectric type: determines performance characteristics (ceramic, electrolytic, film, tantalum, etc.).
- Equivalent series resistance (ESR): affects efficiency and frequency response.
- Polarity: some capacitors are polarized (electrolytic), while others are non-polarized (ceramic, film).
Common applications of Capacitor include filtering ripple in power supplies, coupling AC signals between stages of amplifiers, timing circuits in oscillators, and energy storage in camera flashes or pulse circuits.
Workflow example: Smoothing a DC voltage:
dc_input = rectifier.convert(ac_input)
capacitor.connect(dc_input)
dc_smoothed = capacitor.charge_discharge(dc_input)
Here, the capacitor charges when voltage rises and discharges when it drops, reducing fluctuations and providing a more stable DC voltage.
Conceptually, a Capacitor is like a water reservoir: it stores water when supply is high and releases it when demand increases, keeping flow steady.
See Resistor, Inductor, Power Supply, Signal Processing, AC.