Short circuiting a capacitor poses a danger of electrocution and fire. The greater the capacitance and voltage of the capacitor, the greater the damage caused in the event of a short circuit. Always remember to discharge the capacitor before removing it from the circuit.
The vertical wire drawn next to the vertical capacitor shorts the two terminals of the capacitor. Any current flowing through this circuit segment will flow through the vertical wire and completely bypass the vertical capacitor due to the short. This means you can ignore the shorted capacitor -- it has no effect on the circuit.
By having their shorted terminals, the voltage thereof is zero (more precisely, the potential difference between them), so that this element is not operational in the circuit, and can be removed for analysis. The other two capacitors are in series, hence that:
In "real life", a circuit diagram would not normally include a permanent wire connecting both ends of a capacitor. A short circuit here means that there is no resistance (impedance) between the two terminals of the shorted capacitor. The vertical wire drawn next to the vertical capacitor shorts the two terminals of the capacitor.
Keep in mind that it is hard, if not impossible to measure a capacitor while it is in the circuit. Typically, troubleshooters will test for a short across the capacitor while its in the circuit, which is a common failure, by measuring the resistance across it. If the short is true, then you simply replace the capacitor.
A circuit capacitor is a passive electronic component that stores electrical energy in an electric field. It consists of two conducting plates separated by an insulating material called a dielectric. The capacitance of a capacitor is measured in farads (F) and represents its ability to store charge.