Capacitance
After the resistor, the most frequently used electronic component is the capacitor. Its basic structure is very simple. It is like a cheese sandwich, consisting of two metal plates (the bread of the sandwich) with a layer of non-conductor (the cheese) between them. The plates have two wires connected to them so that they can be joined to other components. The material between the plates is called the dielectric. Some types of capacitor have air as the dielectric but more often the dielectric is a layer of plastic.
Imagine a capacitor connected across the terminals of a cell (overleaf). Electrons flow from the negative terminal of the ...
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