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Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
capacitor
noun
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ Figure 7.3 illustrates this for the same capacitor as that in Figure 7.2.
▪ Formal electronics schooling teaches you about resistors, capacitors and transistors, obviously.
▪ It is a schematic diagram of the manufacturing process at that level of detail for a simple capacitor.
▪ Meanwhile, the second capacitor passes its charge on to the third capacitor.
▪ Signal capacitors would be at earth potential.
▪ Take care to fit the diodes and electrolytic capacitors the correct way round.
▪ This process is repeated indefinitely, with a stream of input samples being taken and passed along the chain of capacitors.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
capacitor

capacitor \ca*pac"i*tor\ (k[.a]*p[a^]s"[i^]*t[~e]r), n. a device used in electronic circuits to hold electrical charge, consisting of two conducting plates separated by a nonconducting (dielectric) medium; it is characterized by its capacitance.

Syn: condenser, electrical condenser.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
capacitor

"device which stores electricity," 1926, from capacity with Latinate agent-noun ending.

Wiktionary
capacitor

n. (context electronics English) An electronic component capable of storing an electric charge; especially one consisting of two conductors separated by a dielectric.

WordNet
capacitor

n. an electrical device characterized by its capacity to store an electric charge [syn: capacitance, condenser, electrical condenser]

Wikipedia
Capacitor

A capacitor (originally known as a condenser) is a passive two-terminal electrical component used to store electrical energy temporarily in an electric field. The forms of practical capacitors vary widely, but all contain at least two electrical conductors (plates) separated by a dielectric (i.e. an insulator that can store energy by becoming polarized). The conductors can be thin films, foils or sintered beads of metal or conductive electrolyte, etc. The nonconducting dielectric acts to increase the capacitor's charge capacity. Materials commonly used as dielectrics include glass, ceramic, plastic film, air, vacuum, paper, mica, and oxide layers. Capacitors are widely used as parts of electrical circuits in many common electrical devices. Unlike a resistor, an ideal capacitor does not dissipate energy. Instead, a capacitor stores energy in the form of an electrostatic field between its plates.

When there is a potential difference across the conductors (e.g., when a capacitor is attached across a battery), an electric field develops across the dielectric, causing positive charge +Q to collect on one plate and negative charge −Q to collect on the other plate. If a battery has been attached to a capacitor for a sufficient amount of time, no current can flow through the capacitor. However, if a time-varying voltage is applied across the leads of the capacitor, a displacement current can flow.

An ideal capacitor is characterized by a single constant value, its capacitance. Capacitance is defined as the ratio of the electric charge Q on each conductor to the potential difference V between them. The SI unit of capacitance is the farad (F), which is equal to one coulomb per volt (1 C/V). Typical capacitance values range from about 1 pF (10 F) to about 1 mF (10 F).

The larger the surface area of the "plates" (conductors) and the narrower the gap between them, the greater the capacitance is. In practice, the dielectric between the plates passes a small amount of leakage current and also has an electric field strength limit, known as the breakdown voltage. The conductors and leads introduce an undesired inductance and resistance.

Capacitors are widely used in electronic circuits for blocking direct current while allowing alternating current to pass. In analog filter networks, they smooth the output of power supplies. In resonant circuits they tune radios to particular frequencies. In electric power transmission systems, they stabilize voltage and power flow.

Usage examples of "capacitor".

She moved cautiously in that direction, toward the capacitor compartments.

Hutch tied it securely around the capacitor, knotted it, and looked up.

Hutch assisted, and the line lifted the capacitor out of its compartment and hauled it clear of the spacecraft.

She tied the line around the front and rear of the capacitor and secured it.

The sun-bright glare around the power capacitor began to diffuse outward as the casehardened metal alloy vaporized into superheated plasma.

And barely two seconds into the assault, the Republic weapons burned through the armor to the high-energy capacitor behind it.

Moxie worked on the same principle as the capacitor tiles on these ships.

Rod levels, capacitor flow, compensators, thruster controls, rackers, pressure gauges, and the jeklight radiation charge.

Ferrol said, keeping the bulk of his attention on the capacitor countdown timer and the scene on the main tactical display.

LACs rely on the capacitor rings to power their offensive armament, and a lot of them rely on the capacitors even for their point-defense clusters.

They were probably in local control and feeding only from the capacitor rings, but they struck back with the defiant gallantry of despair.

And Streedy was one such producer of power, working in a Thornapple power plant as a capacitor, which suggests he had some native abilities beyond what is normal.

Like the capacitor of the spark gap transmitter, this one needs to endure high voltages.

Nonetheless, the preferred material for capacitor dielectrics is certainly sheet mica.

United States is the largest producer of bulk mica, but the greater part of the capacitor grade mica is mined in India.