A Brief Look at The Electronic Capacitor
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A capacitor is an electronic component, of which the primary purpose is to store an electrical charge electrostatically between two plates. Since a charged capacitor will block the passage of DC, (Direct Current.) capacitors are sometimes used as decoupling components where only the flow of AC (Alternating Current.) electricity is desired. The many different types of capacitor are named by the type of insulation, known as the dielectric, used between their plates. This insulating material has a large bearing upon the electrical characteristics of the individual type of capacitor.
Electrolytic and tantalum capacitors are types of capacitor known as ‘polarised capacitors’. This means that they have to be connected into a circuit observing the correct polarity. Failure to do so may result in anything from the component’s eventual failure to its explosion. A capacitor’s capacitance is measured in Farads, named after the discoverer of electrical capacitance; Michael Faraday: Microfarad (uF, MFD) = 0.000001 of a Farad or 1 x 10 to the minus six of a Farad. Nanofarad (nF) = 0.000000001 of a Farad or 1 x 10 to the minus nine of a Farad. Picofarad (pF) = 0.000000000001 of a Farad or 1 x 10 to the minus twelve of a Farad. - For example: 1000 pF = 1 nF = 0.001 uF.
If an individual capacitor has a voltage-rating printed on it then this is the maximum in-circuit voltage that it can operate at. Anything greater than that and the capacitor’s dielectric could rupture and become breached by an arc, causing the capacitor to explode in a worst-case scenario.
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I would like to hear your thoughts on orgone energy. I am working on an orgone accumulator that acts as a big capacitor with water as the dielectric. The water is charged with DC current and draws aetheric orgone energy through it, enough to run a combustion engine (among other things).
It is known as a “Joe Cell”
OK: First; for those who have absolutely no idea what Phil is on about, read this article.
Quite an extraordinary apparatus you describe there Phil! Whilst it would be something absolutely amazing to power a combustion engine this way, (Stopping every 100 miles to have a shag.) I really have no ideas about this concept. You’ll have to provide a lot more details and design data + explanations of concepts for me to comment further.
Great article, when shopping for a motherboard I always try and get one with 100% solid core capacitors or at least the good quality Jap Caps as the geeks put it. Most motherboards on today’s market are a mix of both solid and conventional capacitors with the solid core caps being used for the cpu. Solid core capacitors are less sensitive to voltage spikes, leakage, bursts, and can last as long as 50,000 hours or more under ideal conditions. Of course this goes for just about every electronic device out there including surface mount technology or SMT. Solid core cap’s are easy to identify because of their solid aluminum silver enclosures and any electronic device that has them commands slightly higher prices, they also enhance the appearance of a motherboard to make it almost look like a Mil-Spec design. To me it’s worth the extra loot.
Thanks for the comment Jose.
The capacitors on a motherboard are particularly important as they play, in the main, a large part in power stabilisation and in nullifying any bleedover waveforms induced in the power rails by the high frequencies of the data buses. Previously when manufacturers used low-quality electrolytics only there was a significant problem caused by gas bubbles building up in the electrolyte dielectric and causing a problem known as “capacitor plague“.
The solid-core capacitors used in place of electrolytics are normally tantalum dielectric capacitors; which are less prone to current-leakage through the dielectric, in addition to being less prone to internal chemical reactions.
As you say it’s definitely worth the extra for the increased stability and longevity of the motherboard.