Fill in the blanks add, capacitance, charge capacity, dielectric, dissipate, electrical circuits, , passive, plates, proximity, stores A capacitor is a 1 …………. two-terminal electrical

Fill in the blanks
add, capacitance, charge capacity, dielectric, dissipate, electrical circuits, , passive, plates,
proximity, stores
A capacitor is a 1 …………. two-terminal electrical component that 2 ……… potential energy in an
electric field. The effect of a capacitor is known as 3. …………... While some capacitance exists between
any two electrical conductors in 4. …………… in a circuit, a capacitor is a component designed to 5.
…… capacitance to a circuit. The capacitor was originally known as a condenser.
The physical form and construction of practical capacitors vary widely and many capacitor types are in
common use. Most capacitors contain at least two electrical conductors often in the form of metallic 6.
………… or surfaces separated by a 7. ………medium. A conductor may be a foil, thin film, or an
electrolyte. The nonconducting dielectric acts to increase the capacitor's 8. ………… ………. Materials
commonly used as dielectrics include glass, ceramic, plastic film, paper, mica, and oxide layers.
Capacitors are widely used as parts of 9…………….. in many common electrical devices. Unlike a
resistor, an ideal capacitor does not 10. ………….. energy.
When two conductors experience a potential difference, for example, when a capacitor is attached across a
battery, an electric field develops across the dielectric, causing a net positive charge to collect on one plate
and net negative charge to collect on the other plate. No current actually flows through the dielectric,
however, there is a flow of charge through the source circuit. If the condition is maintained sufficiently
long, the current through the source circuit ceases. However, if a time-varying voltage is applied across
the leads of the capacitor, the source experiences an ongoing current due to the charging and discharging
cycles of the capacitor.
Capacitance is defined as the ratio of the electric charge on each conductor to the potential difference
between them.
The unit of capacitance in the International System of Units (SI) is the farad (F), defined as one coulomb
per volt (1 C/V).
Capacitance values of typical capacitors for use in general electronics range from about 1 picofarad (pF)
(10 −12  F) to about 1 millifarad (mF) (10 −3  F).
Capacitors are widely used in electronic circuits for blocking direct current while allowing alternating
current to pass. In analog filter networks, they smooth the output of power supplies. In resonant circuits
they tune radios to particular frequencies. In electric power transmission systems, they stabilize voltage
and power flow. The property of energy storage in capacitors was exploited as dynamic memory in early
digital computers.
An ideal capacitor is characterized by a constant capacitance C, in farads in the SI system of
units, defined as the ratio of the positive or negative charge Q on each conductor to the voltage V
between them.
A capacitance of one farad (F) means that one coulomb of charge on each conductor causes a
voltage of one volt across the device. Because the conductors (or plates) are close together, the
opposite charges on the conductors attract one another due to their electric fields, allowing the

capacitor to store more charge for a given voltage than when the conductors are separated,
yielding a larger capacitance.
In practical devices, charge build-up sometimes affects the capacitor mechanically, causing its
capacitance to vary. In this case, capacitance is defined in terms of incremental changes: