capacitors and capacitance

capacitor

An electrical component that temporarily stores electricity within a circuit

dielectric

Inside capacitors are two conducting plates facing each other separated by an insulator which delays the continuous passage of electricity until it is discharged at a later time

leakage current

Although the dielectric impedes the passage of current through the capacitor for storage, small amounts of current, referred to as ______ manages to pass through it.

Parallel-plate capacitors

capacitors are the simplest type of capacitors in terms of construction because they conform directly to the definition of a capacitor. In this type, two parallel charging plates are separated by a dielectric that contains the charges. The capacitance that can be offered by the capacitor is directly proportional to the area of the plates as well as the distance between them. The distance is also directly proportional to the distance between the plates.

Cylindrical capacitors

have a different construction compared to parallel-plate. In this type, the inner and outer cylindrical structures correspond to the plates in the parallel-plate capacitor. The dielectric is placed between these cylinders.

  The capacitance of a _____________ varies directly with its length. A longer capacitor provides higher capacitance and the opposite has a lover value. The size of the dielectric also affects the capacitance where “fatter” dielectric provides a higher capacitance than a thinner one.

spherical capacitors

are similar to cylindrical capacitors. The internal and external spherical structures are the charged bodies of the capacitor and the dielectric is placed between them.

  The capacitance of a ____________varies directly with its overall radius. Increasing the radius will enlarge the spherical surfaces, consequently widening the distance between the two charged spheres. Because of this, the area of the dielectric decreases, thus, increasing the capacitance offered by the capacitor.