How to find a value of Capacitor

A capacitor is a two terminal passive element which stores energy.

There are two types of capacitor.

1. Ceramic Capacitor:

– These are small,non-polarised in yellow or orangish  in color.

How to identify these capacitor values:

The value is printed in three-digit code. The first two digits are the two most significant digits of the value, and the third digit is the exponent on the 10. The value is expressed in terms of pico-Farads.

For example,

104 becomes “10” followed by “0000”(four zeros) or 100000 pF, which can be written as 100 nF.

2. Electrolytic Capacitor

– larger cylindrical bodies that look like small soda cans

– higher capacitance than ceramic capacitor

– they are polarized

How to identify these capacitor values and its polarization:

The value is followed by the voltage rating(maximum DC voltage the capacitor can withstand without damage).

Polarization:

There are two polarity indicators on an electrolytic cap:

1. The stripe painted on the body usually denotes the negative lead.
2. The positive lead is longer than the negative lead.

For example,

1000uf 25V – Thousand micr farads and 25 volt.