Capacitors are manufactured in many styles, forms, dimensions, and from a large variety of materials. They all contain at least two electrical conductors, called plates, separated by an insulating layer (dielectric). Capacitors are widely used as parts of electrical circuits in many common electrical devices.
In electrical engineering, a capacitor is a device that stores electrical energy by accumulating electric charges on two closely spaced surfaces that are insulated from each other. The capacitor was originally known as the condenser, a term still encountered in a few compound names, such as the condenser microphone.
Film and ceramic capacitors and electrolytic capacitors (Section 8.2.2) are the most common capacitors in electronic devices. There are various types of film capacitors with varying dielectric materials.
capacitor or condenser, device for the storage of electric charge. Simple capacitors consist of two plates made of an electrically conducting material (e.g., a metal) and separated by a nonconducting material or dielectric (e.g., glass, paraffin, mica, oil, paper, tantalum, or air).
Metallized paper capacitors are like film capacitors, except that insulating paper is used instead of plastic films, which is also vapor-deposited with metal. The finished capacitor is impregnated with insulating oil to achieve high dielectric strength and reduce losses.
1. Introduction Ceramic capacitors, film capacitors, and electrolytic capacitors are the three basic types of capacitors. The dielectric, structure, terminal connection technique, use, coating, and electrolyte may all be used to further classify each category (only for electrolyte capacitors) .
OverviewHistoryTheory of operationNon-ideal behaviorCapacitor typesCapacitor markingsApplicationsHazards and safety
In electrical engineering, a capacitor is a device that stores electrical energy by accumulating electric charges on two closely spaced surfaces that are insulated from each other. The capacitor was originally known as the condenser, a term still encountered in a few compound names, such as the condenser microphone. It is a passive electronic component with two terminals.