Capacitance

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)	\(V\)	\(kg-m^2\;/\;s^{3}-A\)