Capacitor

V.N.Pawar

Contains
Working Construction Types Application

Capacitors
A capacitor consists of two conductors separated by a nonconductive region. The nonconductive substance is called the dielectric medium, although this may also mean a vacuum or a semiconductor depletion region chemically identical to the conductors. The conductors thus contain equal and opposite charges on their facing surfaces, and the dielectric contains an electric field.

 An ideal capacitor is wholly characterized by a constant capacitance C, defined as the ratio of charge Q on each conductor to the voltage V between them

C=Q/V

Capacitors
A capacitor is a system of two conductors The "classical" mental picture of a capacitor is two parallel conductive planes +Q -Q

If we have charge +Q on one conductor and Q on the other conductor, then there will be a potential difference V between the two The capacitance is defined as

More on capacitors
Capacitors store charge and electrical potential energy The energy stored on a capacitor is equal to the work done to charge the capacitor Units of capacitance:
[C]=[Charge]/[Potential] = Coulomb/Volt = Farad (F)

Symbol of capacitance in circuits

Capacitor construction
Capacitors have thin conducting plates (usually made of metal), separated by a layer of dielectric, then stacked or rolled to form a compact device. Many types of capacitors are available commercially, with capacitance ranging from the picofarad, microfarad range to more than a farad, and voltage ratings up to hundreds of kilovolts. In general, the higher the capacitance and voltage rating, the larger the physical size of the capacitor and the higher the cost.

Capacitor types
Practical capacitors are often classified according to the material used as the dielectric,

There are many types of capacitor but they can be split into two groups, polarized and unpolarized.

Polarised capacitors (large values, 1F +):Electrolytic Capacitors :- Electrolytic capacitors are polarized and they must be connected the correct way round, at least one of their leads will be marked + or -. Tantalum Bead Capacitors:- Tantalum bead capacitors are polarised and have low voltage ratings like electrolytic capacitors. They are expensive but very small, so they are used where a large capacitance is needed in a small size.

Unpolarised capacitors (small values, up to 1F) :Small value capacitors are unpolarised and may be connected either way round.

Variable capacitors
Variable capacitors are mostly used in radio tuning circuits and they are sometimes called 'tuning capacitors'. They have very small capacitance values, typically between 100pF and 500pF (100pF = 0.0001F).

Variable Capacitor Symbol

Capacitor Application
Capacitor is a basic storage device to store electrical charges and release it as it is required by the circuit. Capacitors are widely used in electronic circuits to perform variety of tasks, such as smoothing, filtering, bypassing etc.

DC blocking capacitor: In this application the capacitor blocks the passage of DC current (after completely charged) and yet allows the AC to pass at certain portion of a circuit.
Capacitor as a filter: Capacitors are the main elements of filters. There are several types of filters that are used in electronic circuits, such as LPF (Low Pass Filter), HPF(high Pass Filter), BPF (Band Pass Filter), etc. Coupling capacitor: The ability of capacitor to pass AC signal, allows it to couple a section of an electronic circuit to another circuit.

 Energy storage :- A capacitor can store electric energy when disconnected from its charging circuit, so it can be used like a temporary battery Power factor correction :- In electric power distribution, capacitors are used for power factor correction. Such capacitors often come as three capacitors connected as a three phase load. Motor starters

Motor Starter
In single phase squirrel cage motors, the primary winding within the motor housing is not capable of starting a rotational motion on the rotor, but is capable of sustaining one. To start the motor, a secondary winding is used in series with a non-polarized starting capacitor to introduce a lag in the sinusoidal current through the starting winding. When the secondary winding is placed at an angle with respect to the primary winding, a rotating electric field is created. The force of the rotational field is not constant, but is sufficient to start the rotor spinning. When the rotor comes close to operating speed, a centrifugal switch (or current-sensitive relay in series with the main winding) disconnects the capacitor. The start capacitor is typically mounted to the side of the motor housing. These are called capacitor-start motors, that have relatively high starting torque.