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Capacitors
Used to store electrical charge. It is composed of two sheets of metals separated by a dielectric medium.
Capacitance is measured in Farad (F) but it is a large unit. Mostly used is pF, nF, µF or mF.
Types of capacitors
Class I capacitors have better accuracy and low volumetric efficiency whereas class III capacitors have low accuracy and high volumetric efficiency.
Ceramic capacitors
Ceramic capacitors do not have any polarity. The dielectric medium is composed of a thin ceramic layer.
Electrolytic capacitors
Most of the electrolyte capacitors are polarized. Electrolytic capacitors are known to have a higher volumetric efficiency. This means a small capacitor is able to hold larger amount of charges than a ceramic capacitor of the same size.
Comparison
- Ceramic capacitor has two metal sheets at the terminals to store charges. The electrolytic capacitor has one metal sheet and an ionic liquid as the two terminals.
- Electrolytic capacitors are capable of holding more charges per volume than ceramic ones.
- Most of the electrolyte capacitors are polarized, but ceramic capacitors are never polarized.