Capacitor Types Explained: electrolytic, ceramic, tantalum, plastic film

[@hoggif]

I've never come to think of that electrolytics have negative end marked and tantalums have positive marked even though after all the years of hobby it was always clear to me.

[@StredieGabriel]

thanks a lot for this short presentation! really helps out when you have 8 chapters worth of material on dielectrics for a electrical components course

[@ElectronicsNotes]

Really glad we were able to provide what you found useful. That you for your comment.

[@marklewus5468]

Thanks for the very good quality presentation. I just wanted to add a note about aluminum electrolytic capacitors. These are available in very high voltages, up to 900V. They are also available unpolarized (known in the industry as bi-polar or non-polar) for use in AC applications like power supplies and motors.

[@ElectronicsNotes]

Thanks for your comment.

[@teldorinst4tic20]

I've also personally dealt with much higher voltage electrolytic caps as well. They can easily be found at 10k volts on mouser just as a note. Generally speaking, yes these don't go that high but 480v caps can easily be found in plasma televisions as well.

[@fabian999ification]

Fantastic video! I finally understand the reason for the different types. MASSIVE THUMBS UP!

[@ElectronicsNotes]

Really glad you found the video useful. There is more written material on our website: www.electronics-notes.com/articles/electronic_components/capacitors/capacitor-types.php Hope this all helps.

[@kipronokenneth320]

Thank you so much for this! Short and clear....can you please do a more detailed tutorial on electrolytic and ceramic capacitors?

[@markharrisllb]

Your speed of speech, your diction and your explanations are perfect for my level of knowledge of electronics. Which is slightly less than your average garden weed.

[@ElectronicsNotes]

Thanks for the feedback. It's really helpful to know.

[@bartronicsecurity]

Nice video. Would have liked to see more info on the ceramic MLCC caps in particular the temperature compensating ones.

[@ElectronicsNotes]

Glad you appreciated the video. Interesting thought on MLCC - I try to keep the videos to around 5 minutes or people drift away, but a video on MLCCs could be an idea for the future.

[@garymartin9777]

Think of caps as energy storage devices. Electrolytics typically are placed where the power comes into a circuit board. This filters the incoming supply and holds a fairly large energy reserve. Energy from the electrolytics is usually distributed to several tantalums placed strategically around the board. Lastly, energy from the tantalums is distributed to ceramics. Ceramics provide the burst of transitory energy needed for digital transistor switching. For a very brief time a transistor may show a near zero resistance and shunt a lot of energey to ground. That's why there needs to be adequate number of ceramics of a range of values to provide that instantaneous current demand. Consult semiconductor or device datasheets for proper cap values and placements.

[@ElectronicsNotes]

Thanks for the comment.

[@Dinco422]

Bro, this is top notch explanation. Kudos to you and ty for it :)

[@ElectronicsNotes]

Glad it helped! Really pleased you found the video useful. Thanks for the comment.

[@michaelpukmel9175]

Thanks, great video, lots of useful information, good overview of cap's.

[@danieldonahue3293]

What type would a point condenser ignition on a 60s car use ? just wondering thanks !

[@ElectronicsNotes]

I confess this is not an area I am particularly familiar with, but I believe they used a wax impregnated paper for the dielectric at one stage. I’m not sure what modern replacements use.

[@omerzohar3307]

Great video with a brief well explanation. Thank you!

[@ElectronicsNotes]

Glad it was helpful!

[@cac2244]

Great info and at the end we get one of best summary i ever got in any presentation.

[@ElectronicsNotes]

Glad you like the video. I really appreciate the comment.

[@Mixbag]

Just wanted to ask. Are these good quality capacitor brands? ,Murata ,KEMET ,AVX ,Vishay. im starting to do more SMD stuff and i dont know which brands are good or bad and prices go up and down all the time so that dont help

[@ElectronicsNotes]

I would not want to recommend or otherwise, but these are well established brands used by many companies.

[@BlackEpyon]

I'd go for Nichicon or Panasonic, perhaps muRata, but I don't know their track record off hand. The Japanese brands seem to get better lifespan, especially where electrolytics are concerned.

[@crazymetallian]

the poliyester non polarized caps, are also used in crossover audio, they can filter frecuencies and can be found as large as 100uf maybe more (they're expensive though they higher the capacitance)

[@classicsamusaran3817]

How to long-term store removable smartphone Li-Po batteries?

[@jvburnes]

Couldn't find your contact information. Just wanted to say thank you for your great web article about pi and T filters and cutoff frequencies.

[@ElectronicsNotes]

Glad we were able to help.

[@iain_grant]

Thanks, I had this question of what the difference was for ages. I had discovered some of the answers myself but not all the types! :D

[@abdessamed28]

what is the best of oscillators?

[@douggale5962]

Really good video, would be better if it mentioned dielectric absorption.

[@ElectronicsNotes]

Glad you liked the video. May be I can have a separate video for dielectric absorption.

[@antr7493]

wonderful channel. Subscribed.

[@ElectronicsNotes]

Brilliant - thanks

[@maw9406]

Amazing video! Thank you! 🙏

[@ElectronicsNotes]

I am glad it was useful.

[@kwastek]

Is this the guy from Explaining Computers? Huge fan!

[@ElectronicsNotes]

Sorry, we don't have any connections with Explaining Computers. Glad you liked the video.

[@kwastek]

@@ElectronicsNotes Oh, but you have similar voice and similarly great way of clearly explaining things :) Thanks!

[@prabuddhbharat2934]

Your wonderful voice made me mugging up few things quickly from my copy😂

[@ElectronicsNotes]

Glad we encouraged you on to more investigations. Keep up the good work.

[@whiterottenrabbit]

Yes, but those mouth noises, though... **facepalm**

[@fernando47180]

yup, mouth noises are a big issue in this one

[@trankhiemha]

Subscribed, this is really clear and helpful. Thanks a lot. Will you do one for inductors also :)

[@Korystuwatch42]

can I use a plastic film capacitors for a high frequency?

[@Korystuwatch42]

Oh wait, it depends from the plastic type?

[@FilipeReishandmade]

Thanks for the awesome class !

[@ElectronicsNotes]

Glad you liked it!

[@METALPLUSGAMING]

can i replace 120uf 450v 105c electrolytic capacitor but different packaging sizes?

[@Geopholus]

Yes, but make sure the working voltage is the same or higher, and make sure the polarity is right. there is usually a minus sign ,.. It must be oriented the same way.

[@JV-nt9bp]

Well explained.👍🏻

[@ElectronicsNotes]

Thank you, I'm glad it was helpful.

[@rockyrodriguez2351]

Thanks, very informative.

[@ElectronicsNotes]

Really glad you found the video useful.

[@cimmik]

Should I avoid AC on a polarized capacitor?

[@ElectronicsNotes]

Generally the answer is yes. You should avoid the voltage going positive and negative on a polarised capacitor. If an AC voltage is superimposed in a DC voltage and the polarity of the voltage does not change then that would be OK.

[@BlackEpyon]

Smoothing capacitors are placed behind the rectifier in power supplies. There shouldn't be any application where the current reverses on a polarized capacitor. They are NOT diodes.

[@friedmule5403]

Wow I want you to read stories for me:-) Great info, great pace and over all just really great!!

[@ElectronicsNotes]

Really glad you liked the video. Thanks for the comment about my narration. I am glad as I now have to read stories to my grandchildren!

[@cet_learning]

Appreciate the quality of your video presentation and its content. Keep up the good work. :-)

[@ElectronicsNotes]

Glad you like the video - we have a number more videos in the making at the moment and we hope to release some over the next few weeks. Thanks again.

[@saidfarid6382]

Hello bro Thanks a lot for this interesting information

[@ElectronicsNotes]

Thanks for your comment. Glad we have been able provide you with interesting information.

[@CharlietoKind]

nice video. keep posting and the subs will follow

[@ElectronicsNotes]

Thanks for your encouragement. We have a number of other videos in various stages of completion, so we hope to launch a number of them in the coming weeks and months.

[@savnoorsamra3597]

👍wonderful video

[@ElectronicsNotes]

Really glad you found the video useful.

[@KTFG]

Good video

[@ElectronicsNotes]

I am glad you liked the video - thanks for the comment.

[@Andrei-ds8qv]

very very nice vidoe man! thanks!

[@ElectronicsNotes]

Glad you like it. Hopefully you will also find some of or other videos useful as well.

[@jagdishjsk]

Film Capacitor Polarized or non Polarized? AC or DC?

[@ElectronicsNotes]

They are normally non-polarised.

[@MaidenLoaf]

Note about ceramic capacitors; saw another video where a guy connected a larger one to his oscilloscope and showed that not only did the signal shown on the scope vary if he so much as had his hand close to it, but it also showed significant spikes if he tapped it due to the piezoelectric effect. Suggests they're not great in audio applications, for example.

[@abhirajp4046]

Plzz add on with mica and paper capacitors ... till now it is good

[@ElectronicsNotes]

Paper and mica capacitors are less widely used, so they were not included. Sorry.

[@Jay-fp8iy]

Thankyou white man. Very helpful.

[@mikechaves2868]

Your intro animation is amazing, Subba dub dub!

[@ElectronicsNotes]

Really glad you like it. It was created for me by my son-in-law.

[@jeffbecker8716]

4:19 - you somehow know that this is in picofarads, but at 6:02, another 3-digit number and letter and now it's in nanofarads. How are we to know this?

[@ElectronicsNotes]

It is often assumed that capacitance figures are in pF unless there is some reason to assume otherwise (e.g. electrolytic capacitors). The capacitor you mention is has figures of 104 to indicate its value. This is 10 x 10^4 pF, i.e. 10 x 10000pF = 100000pF, = 100 nF. I hope this explains.

[@jeffbecker8716]

Thanks for the prompt reply. Just wondering what the convention is between nano and micro. Would 0.1uF be preferred over 100nF? Which do folks in the industry use the most? From what I see, at least from videos, it's mostly pico and microFarad notations.

[@ElectronicsNotes]

Microfarads, picofarads and nanofarad are all used. It depends upon the value and people's preferences. On our Electronics Notes website (www.electronics-notes.com) we have a page on capacitance conversions: www.electronics-notes.com/articles/basic_concepts/capacitance/capacitor-conversion-chart-uf-nf-pf.php It has a calculator as well. I hope this helps.

[@lawrencedoliveiro9104]

@@ElectronicsNotes Seems like “47mF” would be less ungainly than “47000µF”.

[@Geopholus]

Nowadays manuf use Nano a lot, which is 1/1000th of a microFarad. they used to use microfarads, and picofarads (or micro-microfarads). So .001 uf would be referred to as one nanofarad, oftentimes currently.

[@khomo12]

Nice!👍👍👍

[@ElectronicsNotes]

Glad you found the video useful.

[@Muna1640531]

Plastic film capacitors can run today's till 47Mf 630v .

[@gilabas491]

i am confused between tantalum and ceramic seems like they are the same in appearance.

[@ElectronicsNotes]

Tantalum capacitors are polarised capacitors and tend to be much larger than ceramics. Ceramics are non-polar and come in a variety of different packages, etc. If you need, there is more explanation here: www.electronics-notes.com/articles/electronic_components/capacitors/capacitor-types.php

[@classicsamusaran3817]

Ceramic smd capacitors, polyester smd capacitors mounted on a PCB electronic circuit and stored for long periods of time without being energized without use, suffer from the same problem as aluminum electrolytic capacitors, losing capacitance, high leakage current…?

[@ElectronicsNotes]

The problem tends to be seen in electrolytic capacitors. Other types are a lot better and do not suffer froth same issue.

[@classicsamusaran3817]

@@ElectronicsNotes why do ceramic, tantalum and polyester smd capacitors not have the same long-term storage problems as electrolytic capacitors?

[@alkakashyap817]

thanks a lot sir

[@camy.levsky]

I love this!

[@ElectronicsNotes]

Great - glad it was useful.

[@strssko]

Ceramic capasitors cannot be used with high frequencies because these capacitors are very sensitive to tempeture. It can be used only when u don't need a constant capacitance.

[@ElectronicsNotes]

Thanks very much for your comment regarding ceramic capacitors. You are right that some types of ceramic capacitor are sensitive to temperature, but on the whole ceramic types are used for RF because of their superior performance at these frequencies. You have to be careful with the leaded versions because in general they are sensitive to temperature. Accordingly they are typically only used for coupling and decoupling. Surface mount varieties are used almost exclusively where RF is concerned for a variety of applications. These days a number of very good ceramic dielectrics have been developed that have performance levels that are very good in terms of temperature sensitivity and they are being used in areas that would previously have needed other forms of high tolerance capacitor. I hope this helps.

[@99hari55]

Ceramic capacitor used in crt tv circuits ....so its high fequency capacitor

[@drtidrow]

ElectronicsNotes They're good for rf bypass caps or coupling caps between stages, but not anywhere that temperature stability is important like oscillator and filter circuits.

[@Geopholus]

Ceramic caps have been used in many applications. They have been used in radio, and audio for years and the stable versions NP0's can be used in exactly applications, where temperature drift is pretty critical.

[@99hari55]

400 volt electolytic using in tv power supply

[@ElectronicsNotes]

Yes there are a few very high voltage electrolytic, but many at all these days.

[@shrikumar8665]

Thank you

[@JMNTN]

I got a 30 uf film capacitor

[@ElectronicsNotes]

Yes, there are always exceptions to the general rule. By and large, aluminium electrolytic and tantalums are used for values above 1uF although not always.

[@robotasb8551]

this dude sounds like he's from national geographic lmao

[@tombouie]

Thks

[@ElectronicsNotes]

Glad you found the video helpful.

[@brianwoodard233]

mic to sensitive I hear spit .

[@hbcxinhuaxiong]

our company of the capacitors,our shop link:xinhuaxiong.en.alibaba.com/productlist.html?spm=a2700.shop_index.88.29

[@adamsonpilotos6644]

Wow...

[@ElectronicsNotes]

Thanks

[@fishin11]

Just because a capacitor has markings that ‘say/show’ the negative side, DONT believe it. It MUST be tested to find negative side FOR SURE, or, using a surround sound receiver for example, you will get hum/noise!

[@xavierayayaell546]

Talk more shit

[@marktayao7050]

3:55

[@HemangJoshi]

Mica capacitor is missing. I just came here to watch that... Dislike...

[@ElectronicsNotes]

Indeed, but I tried to focus on the main types of capacitor in use today. Silver mica capacitors are mentioned into e accompanying page: www.electronics-notes.com/articles/electronic_components/capacitors/capacitor-types.php - I hope this helps.

[@lilyrose8945]

I have so so many capacitors, if anyone knows where to sell them please leave me a comment. Thank you

[@marktayao7050]

I think the language he's using is American-Chinese😂 LoL

[@ElectronicsNotes]

No English English

[@reginacarroll8149]

Thank you

[@ElectronicsNotes]

I’m glad you found the video useful. Thanks for your comment.