mahutavus

Mahutavus is an Estonian noun meaning capacity or the amount that something can contain or store. It is used across disciplines to describe the maximum volume, payload, or throughput of an object, system, or process. The term appears in physics, engineering, logistics, computing, and everyday language.

In physics and electrical engineering, mahutavus commonly refers to capacitance—the ability of a component to store electric charge per unit voltage. It is measured in farads, with submultiples such as microfarads and nanofarads. The voltage-charge relationship is Q = C·V, and stored energy is E = 1/2·C·V^2. Capacitors are used for energy storage, filtering, and timing in circuits.

In information technology and data management, mahutavus describes data storage capacity—the amount of data a device or system can hold. Measured in bytes and their multiples: kilobytes, megabytes, gigabytes, terabytes, and beyond. Distinctions are made between storage capacity (non-volatile data persistence) and memory capacity (random-access memory).

In physical logistics and everyday use, mahutavus also denotes the volume a container can hold, expressed in liters or cubic meters. Examples include a bottle with a one-liter mahutavus or a tank designed for several cubic meters of liquid.

Capacity concepts are central to planning and performance analysis. Capacity planning aims to match demand with resources, address bottlenecks, and optimize throughput in manufacturing, computing, and service operations.