Capacitor A device used to store charge in an electrical circuit. A capacitor functions much like a battery, but charges and discharges much more efficiently (batteries, though, can store much more charge). A basic capacitor is made up of two conductors separated by an insulator, or dielectric. The dielectric can be made of paper, plastic, mica, ceramic, glass, a vacuum or nearly any other nonconductive material. Some capacitors are called electrolytics, meaning that their dielectric is made up of a thin layer of oxide formed on a aluminum or tantalum foil conductor. Capacitor electron storing ability (called capacitance) is measured in Farads. One Farad is actually a huge amount of charge (6,280,000,000,000,000,000 electrons to be exact), so we usually rate capacitors in microfarads (uF = 0.000,001F) and picofarads (pF = 0.000,000,000,001F ). Capacitors are also graded by their breakdown (i.e., smoke) voltage. Capacitors rated for lower voltages are generally smaller in size and weight; you don't want to use too low a voltage rating, though, unless you enjoy replacing burnt-out capacitors in your creation. For BEAMbots, you'll need to know about 2 main types of capacitors: Non-polarized fixed capacitor A non-polarized ("non polar") capacitor is a type of capacitor that has no implicit polarity -- it can be connected either way in a circuit. Ceramic, mica and some electrolytic capacitors are non-polarized. You'll also sometimes hear people call them "bipolar" capacitors.   Polarized fixed capacitor A polarized ("polar") capacitor is a type of capacitor that have implicit polarity -- it can only be connected one way in a circuit. The positive lead is shown on the schematic (and often on the capacitor) with a little "+" symbol. The negative lead is generally not shown on the schematic, but may be marked on the capacitor with a bar or "-" symbol. Polarized capacitors are generally electrolytics. Note that you really need to pay attention to correctly hooking a polarized capacitor up (both with respect to polarity, as well as not pushing a capacitor past its rated voltage). If you "push" a polarized capacitor hard enough, it is possible to begin "electrolyzing" the moist electrolyte. Modern electrolytic capacitors usually have a pressure relief vent to prevent catastrophic failure of the aluminum can (but don't bet your eyesight on this).   For capacitor selection and comparison information, see the capacitor section of the BEAM Reference Library's BEAM Pieces collection.

Legalities    Page author: Eric Seale   This page was last updated on This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.