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Values of capacitors are usually specified in terms of SI prefixes of farads (F), microfarads (μF), nanofarads (nF) and picofarads (pF). [9] The millifarad (mF) is rarely used in practice; a capacitance of 4.7 mF (0.0047 F), for example, is instead written as 4 700 μF. The nanofarad (nF) is used more often in Europe than in the United States ...
Combining the equation for capacitance with the above equation for the energy stored in a capacitor, for a flat-plate capacitor the energy stored is: = =. where is the energy, in joules; is the capacitance, in farads; and is the voltage, in volts.
Series RC circuit. The RC time constant, denoted τ (lowercase tau), the time constant (in seconds) of a resistor–capacitor circuit (RC circuit), is equal to the product of the circuit resistance (in ohms) and the circuit capacitance (in farads):
Capacitors with an exposed and porous dielectric can be used to measure humidity in air. Capacitors are used to accurately measure the fuel level in airplanes; as the fuel covers more of a pair of plates, the circuit capacitance increases.
Capacitors for AC applications are primarily film capacitors, metallized paper capacitors, ceramic capacitors and bipolar electrolytic capacitors. The rated AC load for an AC capacitor is the maximum sinusoidal effective AC current (rms) which may be applied continuously to a capacitor within the specified temperature range.
The relative permittivity is an essential piece of information when designing capacitors, and in other circumstances where a material might be expected to introduce capacitance into a circuit. If a material with a high relative permittivity is placed in an electric field , the magnitude of that field will be measurably reduced within the volume ...
For example, dielectric absorption refers to the inability of a capacitor that has been charged for a long time to completely discharge when briefly discharged. Although an ideal capacitor would remain at zero volts after being discharged, real capacitors will develop a small voltage, a phenomenon that is also called soakage or battery action ...
Similarly, in an RC circuit composed of a single resistor and capacitor, the time constant (in seconds) is: = where R is the resistance (in ohms ) and C is the capacitance (in farads ). Electrical circuits are often more complex than these examples, and may exhibit multiple time constants (See Step response and Pole splitting for some examples.)