Capacitance Formula:
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Capacitance is the ability of a capacitor to store electrical charge. It is defined as the ratio of the electric charge stored on each conductor to the potential difference between them.
The calculator uses the fundamental capacitance formula:
Where:
Explanation: This formula represents the fundamental definition of capacitance, showing how much charge a capacitor can store per unit voltage.
Details: Calculating capacitance is essential for designing electronic circuits, selecting appropriate capacitors for filtering, timing, energy storage, and power supply applications.
Tips: Enter the charge in Coulombs and voltage in Volts. Both values must be positive numbers greater than zero for accurate calculation.
Q1: What is a Farad?
A: A Farad is the SI unit of capacitance, defined as one coulomb of charge stored per volt of potential difference.
Q2: What are common capacitor values?
A: Practical capacitors range from picofarads (pF) to millifarads (mF), with supercapacitors reaching several farads.
Q3: How does capacitance affect circuit behavior?
A: Capacitance determines how quickly a capacitor charges/discharges, affects time constants in RC circuits, and influences frequency response in AC circuits.
Q4: What factors affect actual capacitance?
A: Physical factors include plate area, distance between plates, dielectric material, temperature, and operating frequency.
Q5: Can capacitance be negative?
A: No, capacitance is always a positive quantity as it represents the ability to store charge.