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Capacitors

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About Capacitors

Capacitors are passive electronic components that store energy in the form of an electrostatic field. In their simplest form, capacitors consist of two conducting plates separated by an insulating material called the dielectric. The capacitance is directly proportional to the surface areas of the plates, and is inversely proportional to the separation between the plates. Capacitance also depends on the dielectric constant of the substance separating the plates.  The standard unit of capacitance is the farad, abbreviated F. This is a large unit; more common units are the microfarad, abbreviated µF (1 µF = 10-6 F) and the Pico farad, abbreviated pF (1 pF = 10-12 F).


Products & Services Related to Capacitors

Ceramic Capacitors
Ceramic capacitors have a dielectric made of ceramic materials.
Chip Capacitors
Chip capacitors or surface mount capacitors do not have leads.
Film Capacitors
Film capacitors are insulated with polyester, polycarbonate, polypropylene, polystyrene, or other dielectric materials.
High Voltage Capacitors
High voltage capacitors are used for storing charge and energy in high voltage applications. 
Power Capacitors
Power capacitors are used in electrical distribution systems to provide a static source of leading reactive power.
Tantalum Capacitors
Tantalum capacitors are used in smaller electronic devices including portable telephones, pagers, personal computers, and automotive electronics. 
Ultracapacitors
Ultracapacitors store charges (energy) by physically separating positive and negative charges (unlike batteries which do so chemically).  Very high power densities can be achieved by this method.

Engineering Web: Capacitors - Machine Design

Pages: 1 - 3 of 408

Delayed-contact | Machine Design
contacts make initial connections to the PFC capacitor bank through current-limiting resistors, precharging the capacitors to limit inrush current.
Power Capacitors | Machine Design
Power Capacitors May 17, 2000 Printer-friendly version
Power-factor-improvement | Machine Design
Capacitors act as reactive power generators to supply inductive current demands in a motor to improve the PF and reduce supply current.
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