Capacitor types

Capacitors are manufactured in many forms, styles, lengths, girths, and from many materials. They all contain at least two electrical conductors (called "plates") separated by an insulating layer (called the dielectric). Capacitors are widely used as parts of electrical circuits in many common electrical devices.

Capacitors, together with resistors, inductors, and memristors, belong to the group of "passive components" used in electronic equipment. Although, in absolute figures, the most common capacitors are integrated capacitors (e.g. in DRAMs or flash memory structures), this article is concentrated on the various styles of capacitors as discrete components.

Small capacitors are used in electronic devices to couple signals between stages of amplifiers, as components of electric filters and tuned circuits, or as parts of power supply systems to smooth rectified current. Larger capacitors are used for energy storage in such applications as strobe lights, as parts of some types of electric motors, or for power factor correction in AC power distribution systems. Standard capacitors have a fixed value of capacitance, but adjustable capacitors are frequently used in tuned circuits. Different types are used depending on required capacitance, working voltage, current handling capacity, and other properties.

In a conventional capacitor, the electric energy is stored statically by charge separation, typically electrons, in an electric field between two electrode plates. The amount of charge stored per unit voltage is essentially a function of the size of the plates, the plate material's properties, the properties of the dielectric material placed between the plates, and the separation distance (i.e. dielectric thickness). The potential between the plates is limited by the properties of the dielectric material and the separation distance.

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