A capacitor is an electrical component that stores energy in the form of an electric field, created by a pair of conductors separated by an insulating material. The ability to store charge is measured in farads (F).
5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test
The capacitance (C) of a capacitor is defined as $C = \frac{Q}{V}$, where Q is the charge stored and V is the voltage across the capacitor.
Capacitors can be connected in series or parallel, with different rules for calculating equivalent capacitance: for series $\frac{1}{C_{eq}} = \frac{1}{C_1} + \frac{1}{C_2} + ...$ and for parallel $C_{eq} = C_1 + C_2 + ...$.
The energy (U) stored in a capacitor is given by $U = \frac{1}{2}CV^2$.
Dielectrics are materials placed between the plates of a capacitor to increase its capacitance by reducing the electric field strength.
In DC circuits, capacitors initially act like short circuits when charging and open circuits once fully charged.