Capacitance: meaning, definitions and examples

Etymology

• The term comes from the Latin word 'capacitas', meaning capacity, indicating the ability to hold an electric charge.
• It was first used in the context of electricity in the early 19th century, reflecting advancements in understanding electrical phenomena.

Physics

• The unit of capacitance is the farad, named after the English scientist Michael Faraday, who made significant contributions to electromagnetism.
• Capacitance depends on the physical characteristics of the capacitor, including surface area, distance between plates, and type of insulating material.

Technology

• Capacitance plays a key role in electronic circuits. It's used in devices like smartphones and cameras to manage power usage.
• Supercapacitors, which have much higher capacitance than traditional capacitors, can deliver quick bursts of energy, useful in hybrid vehicles.

Applications

• Capacitors, which store electrical energy, are essential in filtering signals in radios and televisions.
• Capacitance is also involved in timing circuits found in everyday devices like microwaves and alarm clocks.

Education

• Understanding capacitance is fundamental in electronics courses, helping students grasp how circuits store and manage energy.
• Many experiments in physics classrooms use capacitance to illustrate the principles of charge and voltage across different materials.

Ranked #11,253, this word falls into high-advanced vocabulary. It appears less frequently but is valuable for expressing precise meanings in specific contexts.

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