sähkökapasitanssi

Sähkökapasitanssi, often shortened to kapasitanssi, is a fundamental property of an electrical system that describes its ability to store electrical charge. It is a measure of how much electric charge an object can hold for a given electric potential difference. The SI unit for capacitance is the farad (F), named after the English physicist Michael Faraday. One farad is equivalent to one coulomb per volt.

Capacitance is typically associated with capacitors, which are electronic components designed to store electrical energy in an electric field. A basic capacitor consists of two conductive plates separated by an insulating material called a dielectric. When a voltage is applied across the plates, positive charge accumulates on one plate and negative charge on the other, creating an electric field in the dielectric. The amount of charge stored is directly proportional to the applied voltage and the capacitance of the device.

The capacitance depends on the physical characteristics of the capacitor, specifically the area of the conductive plates, the distance between them, and the dielectric constant of the insulating material. Larger plate areas and smaller separation distances generally lead to higher capacitance. The dielectric material also plays a crucial role; materials with higher dielectric constants can store more charge for the same applied voltage.

Capacitance is a critical parameter in many electronic circuits, influencing the behavior of filters, oscillators, and energy storage systems. Understanding capacitance is essential for designing and analyzing electrical and electronic devices.