Capacitors

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 Capacitors
• A capacitor is a device that can store electrical energy.
• It does this on electrostatic fields that exist between
two conductors that are separated by an insulator or
“dielectric”
 Capacitors
• Capacitors do not create electrical energy, they just
store it.
• A capacitor is not a battery, it is intended to store
electrical energy for relatively short periods of time
 Capacitors
• What Is Capacitance?
– It is the ability of a circuit to store an electrical charge
– Let's start by closely examining how the flat capacitor works.
– Here we have two pieces of conductive material separated by an insulator.
 Capacitors
• The insulator between the plates is called the "dielectric".
• So a capacitor is constructed of two conductors separated by a
dielectric.
 Capacitors
• When we apply a voltage to the two plates, the positive side of the power
source draws electrons out of one plate.
• This plate then becomes positively charged.
• Electrons from the negative side of the power source are attracted to the
positively charged plate.
• But because the dielectric separates the two plates, they cannot cross
over.
• The electrons just keep collecting in that plate making it negatively charged
 Capacitors
• Although there is no flow across the insulator, the plates will
become charged
• The voltage across the capacitor will rise to the same value as the
power source & current flow into the capacitor will stop.
• The Capacitor is fully charged.
• If the switch in the circuit is opened or the capacitor is removed
from the circuit, the voltage across the plates will remain
 Capacitance
• A capacitors ability to store electrical charge is called
“capacitance”
• Units of capacitance are called “farads”
• 1 farad is the capacity required to store 1 coulomb of electricity
under a force of 1 volt.
 Capacitance
• Factors affecting capacitance
– Plate area (A)
– Plate separation (d)
– Dielectric material (K)

C=(8.85*10-12*K*A)/d
 Capacitance
• Electrons are stored on the plates of a capacitor.
• The quantity of electrons stored depends on the size of the
plates.
 Capacitance
• The distance between the plates determines the strength of
the electrostatic field between them.
• If the plates are far apart, the field is weak & fewer electrons
are pulled onto the negative plate.
• If the plates are too close together, the field may be so strong
that electrons are pulled right through the dielectric,
damaging it.
 Capacitance
• An increase in plate separation will result in a decrease in
capacitance.
• A decrease in plate separation will cause an increase in
capacitance.
 Capacitance
• The kind of dielectric material used
will determine how easily an
electrostatic field can be developed
• The higher the “K” value, the higher
the capacitance of the capacitor
 Capacitor in series
• When individual
capacitors are connected
in series, total
capacitance is reduced
• Like increasing the
distance between the
plates
• Calculate the total
capacitance in the same
way as “total resistance
of parallel resistors”
 Capacitors in parallel
• When capacitors are
connected in parallel,
total capacitance
increases
• Like increasing the
plate area of a
capacitor
• Calculate total
capacitance by simply
adding the values
together
 Types of Capacitors
• Fixed Value
Capacitors
– Come in disk or
tubular packages
– Consist of metal foil
plates separated by
dielectric material
• Mica
• Ceramic
• Paper
• Plastic
• Electrolytic
Mica Capacitors
Ceramic Capacitors
Paper capacitor
Plastic capacitor
 Electrolytic Capacitor
• Must be connected with the correct polarity.
• Voltage limitations must be observed.
Variable Capacitor
 Capacitor Video
• Capacitor Video
 Ultra Capacitor

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 Charge Time and Time Constant ()

• The time constant, , is a product of:

– the capacity (capacitance) of the capacitor
– the resistance between the capacitor & the power
source that control current flow into the capacitor
 (seconds) = R (ohms) x C (farads)
• Full charge (99.3%) is achieved after 5 time
constants
 RC Series Circuit
• Circuit containing
resistance and
capacitance
 Voltage Across a Capacitor
– We say that it takes 5 to reach “full” (99.3%) charge

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Capacitor Discharge Time Constant
• Time to discharge to 36.8% of applied
voltage
– 5 TC to fully discharge
 Voltage Across a Capacitor
– We also say that it takes 5 to reach “full” (99.3%) discharge

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 Current in RC Circuit
• Current highest
when voltage
across cap lowest
• Current lowest
when voltage
across cap highest
 Capacitor Testing
• Testing with Ohmeter
– Initially low ohms reading
• Ohmeter internal battery
– Charges capacitor
• High current flow
– Low value of reactance
– Gradually increasing to infinite ohms
• Ohmeter battery charges capacitor
– To almost value of battery potential
• Lowering current flow
– Increasing value of reactance
 Capacitor Symbol
• A - Non polarised capacitor
– Dialectric made of paper, mica, ceramic, etc
• B - Polarised (electrolytic) capacitor
– Dialectric made of chemical oxide
 Fuel Quantity Probes
• Fuel quantity probes are
capacitors using fuel as
the dielectric
• The plates are formed by
a tube within a tube
• As the fuel level rises
between the tube, the
capacitance changes
• A computer calculates
fuel quantity in the tank
based on the capacitance
of the probe