1.

INTRODUCTION

A capacitor is a two-terminal electrical device that can store energy in the form of an electric
charge. What is considered to be the very first capacitor was called the Leyden jar, which was
invented by Pieter van Musschenbroek in 1746 at the University of Leyden (or Leiden) in
Holland. It was a glass jar wrapped inside and out by a thin metal foil. The outer foil was
connected to the ground, and the inner foil was connected to a source of electricity such as an
electrostatic generator. Although how it works was not understood at the time, experimenters
discovered that the Leyden jar seemed to store an electric charge even after it was
disconnected from the generator. Like many early electrical devices, there was no particular
use for the Leyden jar at first, other than to allow scientists to do a greater variety of electrical
experiments. Benjamin Franklin, for example, used a Leyden jar to store electricity from
lightning in his famous kite flying experiment in 1752. By doing so he proved that lightning
was really electricity.

Capacitors such as a Leyden jar consist of layers made of an electrically conducting material
(such as metal foil) separated by layers of a nonconducting material (glass in the case of the
Leyden jar, but it can also be wax, mica, oil, paper, tantalum, plastic, ceramic material, or
even air). If an electrical voltage is applied to the layers of a capacitor, the plates will become

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charged, one positively and one negatively. If the externally applied voltage is then removed,
the plates of the capacitor remain charged, and the presence of the electric charge induces an
electrical potential between the plates. Today’s capacitors are used for a wide variety of
purposes in electric power systems, radio receivers, computers, and nearly every other
electrical device. They range in size from the size of a refrigerator to the microscopic
capacitors built into integrated circuits. The capacity of the device for storing electric charge
(called its capacitance) can be changed by changing the area of the plates, by increasing or
decreasing their separation, or by using different kinds of materials for the non-conducting
layers.

2.How a Capacitor Is Made ?

The schematic symbol for a capacitor actually closely resembles how it's made. A capacitor is
created out of two metal plates and an insulating material called a dielectric. The metal plates
are placed very close to each other, in parallel, but the dielectric sits between them to make
sure they don't touch.

The dielectric can be made out of all sorts of insulating materials: paper, glass, rubber,
ceramic, plastic, or anything that will impede the flow of current.The plates are made of a

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conductive material: aluminum, tantalum, silver, or other metals. They're each connected to a
terminal wire, which is what eventually connects to the rest of the circuit.

The capacitance of a capacitor -- how many farads it has -- depends on how it's constructed.
More capacitance requires a larger capacitor. Plates with more overlapping surface area
provide more capacitance, while more distance between the plates means less capacitance.
The material of the dielectric even has an effect on how many farads a cap has. The total
capacitance of a capacitor can be calculated with the equation:

Where εr is the dielectric's relative permittivity (a constant value determined by the dielectric
material), A is the amount of area the plates overlap each other, and d is the distance between
the plates.

3. How a Capacitor Works?

Electric current is the flow of electric charge, which is what electrical components harness to
light up, or spin, or do whatever they do. When current flows into a capacitor, the charges get
"stuck" on the plates because they can't get past the insulating dielectric. Electrons --
negatively charged particles -- are sucked into one of the plates, and it becomes overall
negatively charged. The large mass of negative charges on one plate pushes away like
charges on the other plate, making it positively charged.

The positive and negative charges on each of these plates attract each other, because that's
what opposite charges do. But, with the dielectric sitting between them, as much as they want
to come together, the charges will forever be stuck on the plate (until they have somewhere
else to go). The stationary charges on these plates create an electric field, which
influence electric potential energy and voltage. When charges group together on a capacitor
like this, the cap is storing electric energy just as a battery might store chemical energy.

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4. Charging and Discharging
When positive and negative charges coalesce on the capacitor plates, the capacitor
becomes charged. A capacitor can retain its electric field -- hold its charge -- because the
positive and negative charges on each of the plates attract each other but never reach each
other.

At some point the capacitor plates will be so full of charges that they just can't accept any
more. There are enough negative charges on one plate that they can repel any others that try
to join. This is where the capacitance (farads) of a capacitor comes into play, which tells you
the maximum amount of charge the cap can store.

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If a path in the circuit is created, which allows the charges to find another path to each other,
they'll leave the capacitor, and it will discharge.

For example, in the circuit below, a battery can be used to induce an electric potential across
the capacitor. This will cause equal but opposite charges to build up on each of the plates,
until they're so full they repel any more current from flowing. An LED placed in series with
the cap could provide a path for the current, and the energy stored in the capacitor could be
used to briefly illuminate the LED.

5.Calculating Charge, Voltage, and Current

A capacitor's capacitance -- how many farads it has -- tells you how much charge it can store.
How much charge a capacitor is currently storing depends on the potential difference
(voltage) between its plates. This relationship between charge, capacitance, and voltage can
be modeled with this equation:

Charge (Q) stored in a capacitor is the product of its capacitance (C) and the voltage (V)
applied to it.

The capacitance of a capacitor should always be a constant, known value. So we can adjust
voltage to increase or decrease the cap's charge. More voltage means more charge, less
voltage...less charge.

That equation also gives us a good way to define the value of one farad. One farad (F) is the
capacity to store one unit of energy (coulombs) per every one volt.

5.1Calculating Current
We can take the charge/voltage/capacitance equation a step further to find out how
capacitance and voltage affect current, because current is the rate of flow of charge. The gist
of a capacitor's relationship to voltage and current is this: the amount of current through a
capacitor depends on both the capacitance and how quickly the voltage is rising or falling. If
the voltage across a capacitor swiftly rises, a large positive current will be induced through

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the capacitor. A slower rise in voltage across a capacitor equates to a smaller current through
it. If the voltage across a capacitor is steady and unchanging, no current will go through it.

(This is ugly, and gets into calculus. It's not all that necessary until you get into time-domain
analysis, filter-design, and other gnarly stuff, so skip ahead to the next page if you're not
comfortable with this equation.) The equation for calculating current through a capacitor is

The dV/dt part of that equation is a derivative (a fancy way of saying instantaneous rate) of
voltage over time, it's equivalent to saying "how fast is voltage going up or down at this very
moment". The big takeaway from this equation is that if voltage is steady, the derivative is
zero, which means current is also zero. This is why current cannot flow through a capacitor
holding a steady, DC voltage.

6.Types of Capacitors
There are all sorts of capacitor types out there, each with certain features and drawbacks
which make it better for some applications than others.

1. When deciding on capacitor types there are a handful of factors to consider:

2. Size - Size both in terms of physical volume and capacitance. It's not uncommon for a
capacitor to be the largest component in a circuit. They can also be very tiny. More
capacitance typically requires a larger capacitor.
3. Maximum voltage - Each capacitor is rated for a maximum voltage that can be
dropped across it. Some capacitors might be rated for 1.5V, others might be rated for
100V. Exceeding the maximum voltage will usually result in destroying the capacitor.
4. Leakage current - Capacitors aren't perfect. Every cap is prone to leaking some tiny
amount of current through the dielectric, from one terminal to the other. This tiny

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 current loss (usually nanoamps or less) is called leakage. Leakage causes energy
stored in the capacitor to slowly, but surely drain away.
5. Equivalent series resistance (ESR) - The terminals of a capacitor aren't 100%
conductive, they'll always have a tiny amount of resistance (usually less than 0.01Ω)
to them. This resistance becomes a problem when a lot of current runs through the
cap, producing heat and power loss.
6. Tolerance - Capacitors also can't be made to have an exact, precise capacitance. Each
cap will be rated for their nominal capacitance, but, depending on the type, the exact
value might vary anywhere from ±1% to ±20% of the desired value.

6.1 Types of Capacitance based on material used

6.1.1 Ceramic Capacitors

The most commonly used and produced capacitor out there is the ceramic capacitor. The
name comes from the material from which their dielectric is made.

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 Ceramic capacitors are usually both physically and capacitance-wise small. It's hard to
find a ceramic capacitor much larger than 10µF. A surface-mount ceramic cap is
commonly found in a tiny 0402 (0.4mm x 0.2mm), 0603 (0.6mm x 0.3mm) or 0805
package. Through-hole ceramic caps usually look like small (commonly yellow or red)
bulbs, with two protruding terminals.

Two caps in a through-hole, radial package; a 22pF cap on the left, and a 0.1µF on the
right. In the middle, a tiny 0.1µF 0603 surface-mount cap.
Compared to the equally popular electrolytic caps, ceramics are a more near-ideal
capacitor (much lower ESR and leakage currents), but their small capacitance can be
limiting. They are usually the least expensive option too. These caps are well-suited for
high-frequency coupling and decoupling applications.

6.1.2 Aluminum and Tantalum Electrolytic

Electrolytics are great because they can pack a lot of capacitance into a relatively small
volume. If you need a capacitor in the range of 1µF-1mF, you're most likely to find it in an
electrolytic form. They're especially well suited to high-voltage applications because of their
relatively high maximum voltage ratings.

Aluminum electrolytic capacitors, the most popular of the electrolytic family, usually look
like little tin cans, with both leads extending from the bottom.

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Unfortunately, electrolytic caps are usually polarized. They have a positive pin -- the anode --
and a negative pin called the cathode. When voltage is applied to an electrolytic cap, the
anode must be at a higher voltage than the cathode. The cathode of an electrolytic capacitor is
usually identified with a '-' marking, and a colored strip on the case. The leg of the anode
might also be slightly longer as another indication. If voltage is applied in reverse on an
electrolytic cap, they'll fail spectacularly (making a pop and bursting open), and permanently.
After popping an electrolytic will behave like a short circuit.

These caps also notorious for leakage -- allowing small amounts of current (on the order of
nA) to run through the dielectric from one terminal to the other. This makes electrolytic caps
less-than-ideal for energy storage, which is unfortunate given their high capacity and voltage
rating

6.1.3 Supercapacitors
If you're looking for a capacitor made to store energy, look no further than supercapacitors.
These caps are uniquely designed to have very high capacitances, in the range of farads.

While they can store a huge amount of charge, supercaps can't deal with very high
voltages. This 10F supercap is only rated for 2.5V max. Any more than that will destroy it.
Super caps are commonly placed in series to achieve a higher voltage rating (while reducing
total capacitance).

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The main application for supercapacitors is in storing and releasing energy, like batteries,
which are their main competition. While supercaps can't hold as much energy as an equally
sized battery, they can release it much faster, and they usually have a much longer lifespan

6.1.4 Others Capacitor

Electrolytic and ceramic caps cover about 80% of the capacitor types out there (and
supercaps only about 2%, but they're super!). Another common capacitor type is the film
capacitor, which features very low parasitic losses (ESR), making them great for dealing with
very high currents.

There's plenty of other less common capacitors. Variable capacitors can produce a range of
capacitances, which makes them a good alternative to variable resistors in tuning circuits.
Twisted wires or PCBs can create capacitance (sometimes undesired) because each consists
of two conductors separated by an insulator. Leyden Jars -- a glass jar filled with and
surrounded by conductors -- are the O.G. of the capacitor family. Finally, of course, flux
capacitors (a strange combination of inductor and capacitor) are critical if you ever plan on
traveling back to the glory days.

6.Types of Capacitor on the basis of size and shape

6.2.1 Parallel Plate Capacitor

The parallel plate capacitor consists of two metal plates of area A, and is separated by a
distance d. The plate on the top is given a charge +Q, and that at the bottom is given the
charge –Q. A potential difference of V is developed between the plates.

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The separation is very small compared to the dimensions of the plate, so the effect of bending
outward of electric field lines at the edges and the non-uniformity of surface charge density at

kA ε 0
edges can be ignored. C=
d

6.2.2 Spherical Capacitor

Let’s consider a spherical capacitor that consists of two concentric spherical shells. Suppose
the radius of the inner sphere, Rin = a and the radius of the outer sphere, Rout = b. The inner
shell is given a positive charge +Q, and the outer shell is given –Q.

ba
C=4 π ϵ 0 k [ ]
b−a

6.2.3 Cylindrical Capacitor

Consider a solid cylinder of radius a surrounded by a cylindrical shell, b. The length of the
cylinder is l and is much larger than a-b to avoid edge effects. The capacitor is charged so
that the charge on the inner cylinder is +Q and the outer cylinder is –Q. The potential
difference of cylindrical capacitor is given by,

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 b
−λ b
Δ V =V b – V a =−∫ ❑ Er dr = ln ⁡( )
a 2 π ε0 a

Where, we have chosen the integration path to be along the direction of the electric field
lines. As expected, the outer conductor with a negative charge has a lower potential, which
gives

Q
C=
λL 2π ε0L
¿ Δ V ∨¿= =
λ ln ⁡(b /a)/2 π ε 0 ln ⁡(b/a)
¿

7. Capacitors in Series/Parallel

7.1 Capacitors in Parallel

When capacitors are placed in parallel with one another the total capacitance is simply
the sum of all capacitances. This is analogous to the way resistors add when in series.

7.2 Capacitors in Series

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Much like resistors are a pain to add in parallel, capacitors get funky when placed in series.
The total capacitance of N capacitors in series is the inverse of the sum of all inverse
capacitances.

8. Application of Capacitor

8.1 Decoupling (Bypass) Capacitors

. A decoupling capacitor's job is to supress high-frequency noise in power supply signals.
They take tiny voltage ripples, which could otherwise be harmful to delicate ICs, out of the
voltage supply.

In a way, decoupling capacitors act as a very small, local power supply for ICs (almost like
an uninterruptible power supply is to computers). If the power supply very temporarily drops
its voltage (which is actually pretty common, especially when the circuit it's powering is
constantly switching its load requirements), a decoupling capacitor can briefly supply power
at the correct voltage. This is why these capacitors are also called bypass caps; they can
temporarily act as a power source, bypassing the power supply.

Decoupling capacitors connect between the power source (5V, 3.3V, etc.) and ground. It's not
uncommon to use two or more different-valued, even different types of capacitors to bypass
the power supply, because some capacitor values will be better than others at filtering out
certain frequencies of noise.

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8.2 Pulsed power and weapons

Capacitors are specially constructed with low-inductance and high-voltage functionalities to

fulfill massive electric current levels for many pulsed power devices. These devices may hold
electromagnetic gadgets, generators (especially Marx generators), pulsed lasers, and particle
accelerators.

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8.3 Power conditioning

One of the applications of Capacitors is power conditioning. It is widely used in power

supplies to ease the outcome of a complete or half-wave rectifier. Capacitors also assist in
charging pump circles as it generates higher voltages and therefore assists in storing energy
elements.

DC power circuits of electronic devices are often connected in parallel with the Capacitors as
it generates smooth current fluctuations for signal or control circuits. For instance, the
electrical audio applications implement several capacitors to put down the power line before
it gets into the electric circuit.

The capacitors work as a local store for the DC (Direct Current) power supply and bypass the
AC (Alternative Current) from the power source. Therefore the capacitors are also used in car
audio equipment when a stiffening capacitor meets the resistance of the car engine battery.

8.4 Capacitor Safety

Capacitors are designed and developed to store massive amounts of energy that could be
dangerous if not controlled or handled correctly with precautious measures. This tremendous
energy level can induce disastrous electrical shocks and even destroy the equipment if the
capacitor gets disengaged from the power source for a significant amount of time. Therefore
to prevent this, it is always advised to discharge the capacitors before operating any electrical
device.

Electrolytic capacitors are likely to break abruptly under specific conditions, significantly if
the voltage on a polarized capacitor is changed. However, Capacitors used in high-power or

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high-voltage devices may also break abruptly as the dielectric materials split down and
volatize.

8.5 Energy storage

The primary application of a capacitor is to store electric energy when it is connected to an

electric circuit. And even if it gets disconnected from the electric circuit, it can consume that
stored energy, and it can work as a temporary battery. Capacitors are usually used in electric
devices to control the power supply while batteries are being changed. Therefore it helps in
preventing the loss of data in volatile memory.

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9. CONCLUSION

A capacitor is an electric circuit element used to store electrical energy (charge) temporarily
between its two parallel conductor plates and is separated by a non-conductive region with
virtue of electric field.

They are widely used in electronic circuits, power circuits, power supply units, etc.
Capacitors are considered as one of the Big Three Passive Components, along with resistors
and inductors, which form the basic electronic circuits.

Unlike integrated circuits (ICs), they do not perform active operations where low power is
amplified to output power constantly. Capacitors are simple components that receive and
supply electricity. However, these passive components are crucial for accurately performing
active operations.

12. BIBLIOGRAPHY
 https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/capacitors/all
 https://www.javatpoint.com/applications-of-capacitors
 https://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/capacitor/cap_1.html
 https://www.scribd.com/document/392875865/Capacitors-Investigatory-Project

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