A capacitor is an electrical component that stores and releases electrical energy. It consists of two conductive plates separated by an insulating material, known as a dielectric.
When a capacitor is connected to a power source, one plate becomes positively charged and the other plate becomes negatively charged. This creates an electric field between the plates, which stores energy in the form of charge.
The unit of capacitance is farad (F), named after the English physicist Michael Faraday. It is represented by the symbol "F" and is defined as one coulomb of charge per volt of potential difference.
No, a capacitor has a maximum capacitance value and can only hold a certain amount of charge. If the voltage across the capacitor exceeds its maximum rating, it can lead to damage or failure.
The larger the surface area of the plates and the closer they are together, the higher the capacitance of the capacitor. This is because a larger surface area and smaller distance between plates allow for more electric field lines and therefore more charge to be stored.