capacitor: Quick Facts

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Facts

Also Known As	electric condenser • electric capacitor • condenser

Photos

Diagram showing a parallel-plate capacitor with two flat, parallel conducting plates separated by a small distance. The top plate is labeled with negative charge and the bottom with positive charge, with electric field arrows pointing from the positive to the negative plate. A side view highlights the plate area A, separation distance d, and voltage difference between plates.

A diagram showing the relationships among resistor, capacitor, inductor, and memristor, with circuit symbols, equations, and arrows connecting voltage, current, charge, and magnetic flux variables.

Diagram showing a current labeled i charging a capacitor, with side-by-side panels. Each panel displays a blue arrow representing current flowing toward two capacitor plates-one with positive and one with negative charges. Large purple surfaces labeled P and S1 or S2 illustrate different surfaces intersecting the current path, representing Maxwell's displacement current in electromagnetism.

Diagram of a multilayer capacitor with alternating thin layers of metal electrodes and ceramic dielectric inside a green plastic coating, and two wire leads extending outward.

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Topics

Leyden jar barrier-layer capacitor disk capacitor multilayer capacitor tubular capacitor parallel-plate capacitor surface barrier-layer capacitor grain boundary barrier-layer capacitor dielectric electric circuit coil memristor galvanometer voltmeter ammeter fuse ground resistor electron tube integrated circuit

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capacitance: Introduction

Key People

Henry Cavendish

Henry Cavendish

British physicist