The cap will have long charged to the voltage source level by the time you put a meter on it and get a reading. However, that's plenty slow enough to see it charge up with a scope. At 50 us per division, you should see a nice exponential. A voltage can be measured between any two points. Yes, you can measure the voltage across the capacitor.
Let’s get into the practical method of capacitance measurements. You may encounter two cases in which you may measure the capacitor. The first case would be a solo capacitor. No matter what is the situation the first step is to discharge the capacitor fully. A capacitor is a charge storing device.
Following are the steps using which we can measure the capacitance of the capacitor using a digital multimeter. See the results on the display. The values may start from low and gradually increase. Take the highest value.
Capacitance is measured in farads (F), where F = farad =Coulomb/volt = C/V = Coulomb per volt. The key point is that a capacitor’s capacitance is always positive, ensuring it can only add energy to a circuit. (Don’t confuse the capacitance C with the charge unit C = coulomb.) A capacitor is a circuit element that mainly provides capacitance.
Let’s start with our first method, the visual method. This method is the easiest and most effective way to measure the capacitance value of any given capacitor. Follow the below easy steps for an electrolytic capacitor: On the body, you will find the written capacitance value for rated maximum voltage and tolerance. It is that simple.
To test a capacitor with a voltmeter, you need to follow these steps: Disconnect the capacitor from the circuit. As before, you need to make sure that the capacitor is not connected to any power source or other components in the circuit. Discharge the capacitor.