microfarads

Microfarad is a unit of electrical capacitance equal to one millionth of a farad. Its symbol is μF, using the SI prefix for micro. A farad represents the ability to store one coulomb of charge per volt, so one microfarad stores one microcoulomb per volt (C = Q/V).

In electronics, capacitors are commonly specified in microfarads for everyday circuits. Values in μF are typical for power-supply filtering, energy storage, decoupling, and signal coupling. Capacitor types include electrolytic capacitors for larger μF values and film or ceramic capacitors for smaller values; many designs combine different types to meet size, voltage, and stability requirements. Larger capacitances generally correspond to larger physical components and greater energy storage at a given voltage.

Conversions and relationships: 1 μF equals 1000 nanofarads (nF) and 1,000,000 picofarads (pF). Because the microfarad is a submultiple of the farad, it is widely used in practical circuits where capacitance values are not extremely small.

Practical considerations include the voltage rating, which limits maximum operating voltage, and tolerance, which indicates how closely the real capacitance matches the nominal value. Typical applications use voltage ratings from a few volts to hundreds or thousands of volts depending on the circuit, while tolerances vary by dielectric material and construction.

See also: capacitance, farad, capacitor.