Capacitance

on . Posted in Electrical Engineering

Capacitance, abbreviated as C or CAP, is the ability of a system to store electrical charge.  The capacitance of a system depends on its physical characteristics and the arrangement of its components.  In other terms, capacitance quantifies how much charge a capacitor can store per unit of voltage.  A capacitor is a two terminal electronic component that consists of two conductive plates separated by an insulating material called a dielectric.  The larger the surface area of the plates and the smaller the separation between them, the higher the capacitance.

This equation illustrates that the current flowing into or out of a capacitor is proportional to the rate of change of voltage across the capacitor.  As a result, capacitors are often used in electronic circuits for various purposes, such as energy storage, smoothing voltage fluctuations, and filtering signals.  Capacitance plays a role in the behavior of many electrical systems and is a key parameter in the design and analysis of electronic circuits.

 

Capacitance Formula

\(  C = Q \;/\; V \)     (Capacitance)

\(  Q =  C  \; V   \)

\(  V = Q \;/\; C \)

Symbol English Metric
\( C \) = capacitance \(F\) \(s^4-A^2\;/\;kg-m^2\)
\( Q \) = electrical charge that is stored on the capacitor \(C\) \(A-s\)
\( V \) = potential difference (the voltage between the capacitor's plates) \(V\) \(kg-m^2\;/\;s^{3}-A\)

 

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Tags: Electrical