Farad - Explanation

Explanation

Values of capacitors are usually specified in ranges of farads (F), millifarads (mF), microfarads (μF), nanofarads (nF) or picofarads (pF).

The size of commercially available capacitors ranges from around 100 fF (femtofarads, 10-15 F) to 5 kF (kilofarads, 103 F) ultracapacitors. Designers of high performance integrated circuits are concerned about parasitic capacitance measured in femtofarads, while makers of high performance test equipment are able to detect changes in capacitance on the order of tens of attofarads (10-18).

When speaking of capacitor values a picofarad is sometimes referred to as a "puff" or "pic", as in "a ten puff capacitor". If the Greek letter μ is not available, the notation uF is often used as a substitute for μF in electronics literature. A micro-microfarad (μμF), an obsolete unit sometimes found in older texts, is the equivalent of a picofarad. The millifarad is less used in practice, so that a capacitance of 4.7×10−3 F, for example, is sometimes written as 4700 µF; industrial parts at times use the abbreviation MFD instead of µF. North American usage also avoids nanofarads: a capacitance of 1×10−9 F will frequently be indicated as 1000 pF; and a capacitance of 1×10−7 F as 0.1 μF.

The 'farad' should not be confused with the faraday, which is the electric charge carried by one mole of singly charged ions.

The reciprocal of capacitance is called electrical elastance, the (non-standard, non-SI) unit of which is the daraf.

A capacitor consists of two conducting surfaces, frequently referred to as plates, separated by an insulating layer usually referred to as a dielectric. The original capacitor was the Leyden jar developed in the 18th century. It is the accumulation of electric charge on the plates that results in capacitance. Modern capacitors are constructed using a range of manufacturing techniques and materials to provide the extraordinarily wide range of capacitance values used in electronics applications from femtofarads to farads, with maximum-voltage ratings ranging from a few volts to several kilovolts.

One picofarad is about the smallest value of capacitor available for general use in electronic design, since smaller capacitors would be dominated by the parasitic capacitances (stray capacitance) of other components, wiring or printed circuit boards. When capacitance values of 1 pF or lower are required, engineers sometimes create their own capacitors by twisting two short lengths of insulated wire together.

The capacitance of the Earth's ionosphere with respect to the ground is calculated to be about 1 F.