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Lecture

Capacitance and Capacitors: Applications and Energy Storage

In course

PHYS-201(d): General physics: electromagnetism

The topics covered by the course are concepts of electromagnetism, properties of waves, and fluid mechanics. ...

Description

This lecture covers the concept of capacitance and capacitors, including their applications and energy storage mechanisms. It explains the formation of dipole moments in insulators, the modified Gauss's law with the displacement vector D, and technical applications like capacitive pressure sensors.

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Instructor

Dirk Grundler

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Related concepts (26)

Capacitor types

Capacitors are manufactured in many styles, forms, dimensions, and from a large variety of materials. They all contain at least two electrical conductors, called plates, separated by an insulating layer (dielectric). Capacitors are widely used as parts of electrical circuits in many common electrical devices. Capacitors, together with resistors and inductors, belong to the group of passive components in electronic equipment.

Film capacitor

Film capacitors, plastic film capacitors, film dielectric capacitors, or polymer film capacitors, generically called film caps as well as power film capacitors, are electrical capacitors with an insulating plastic film as the dielectric, sometimes combined with paper as carrier of the electrodes. The dielectric films, depending on the desired dielectric strength, are drawn in a special process to an extremely thin thickness, and are then provided with electrodes.

Electrolytic capacitor

An electrolytic capacitor is a polarized capacitor whose anode or positive plate is made of a metal that forms an insulating oxide layer through anodization. This oxide layer acts as the dielectric of the capacitor. A solid, liquid, or gel electrolyte covers the surface of this oxide layer, serving as the cathode or negative plate of the capacitor. Because of their very thin dielectric oxide layer and enlarged anode surface, electrolytic capacitors have a much higher capacitance-voltage (CV) product per unit volume than ceramic capacitors or film capacitors, and so can have large capacitance values.

Motor capacitor

A motor capacitor is an electrical capacitor that alters the current to one or more windings of a single-phase alternating-current induction motor to create a rotating magnetic field. There are two common types of motor capacitors, start capacitor and run capacitor (including a dual run capacitor). Motor capacitors are used with single-phase electric motors that are in turn used to drive air conditioners, hot tub/jacuzzi spa pumps, powered gates, large fans or forced-air heat furnaces for example.

Tantalum capacitor

A tantalum electrolytic capacitor is an electrolytic capacitor, a passive component of electronic circuits. It consists of a pellet of porous tantalum metal as an anode, covered by an insulating oxide layer that forms the dielectric, surrounded by liquid or solid electrolyte as a cathode. Because of its very thin and relatively high permittivity dielectric layer, the tantalum capacitor distinguishes itself from other conventional and electrolytic capacitors in having high capacitance per volume (high volumetric efficiency) and lower weight.

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