Previous set of Capacitor Terms
Electrode A conductor, through which a current enters or leaves a capacitor.
Electrolyte Current-conducting solution (liquid or solid) between two electrodes or plates of a capacitor at least one of which is covered by a dielectric film.
Electrolytic Capacitor use two metal foils separated by an insulating paper. The metal foil is normally Aluminum. The paper and foils are rolled and impregnated with a liquid electrolyte. Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitors are polarized, and may be used DC circuits. Electrolytic Capacitors are used a 'bulk' de-coupling or board capacitors to supply a large discharge; however they react slow to change and are not well suited in high-speed circuits.
Typical values range form 0.1uF to 68000uF.
Standard Aluminum Electrolytic values change in multiples of 10, 22, 33, 47. Normal Temperature Coefficient [TC] for Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitors is
+20%. [
Electrolytic Capacitor Manufacturers]
Equivalent series resistance (ESR): The square root of the difference between the impedance squared and the reactance squared. All the internal resistance [losses] of a component [both series and parallel] treated as a single resistance at one point, at a given frequency. ESR allow the device to be described as a simple series R-C circuit. When possible always use low ESR capacitors. Normally a capacitor below .01uF are by definition low ESR.
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