DEFINITION OF

CONDENSER
If you go to the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) in search of the term
capacitor, we will not find it. The concept, which derives from the English language,
is used to refer to an electrical capacitor.

Condenser
It is a system composed of two conductors: materials capable of conducting
electricity (the force originated by the rejection and attraction of charged particles).
In the case of capacitors, the conductors are separated from each other, used for
the storage of electrical charges.

A capacitor is a passive component that is not responsible for electrical excitation,

but serves to connect active components and conserve energy. This allows it to
sustain an electric field.

It is important to say that the conductors are separated by a dielectric material (which
has little driving capacity). Given the difference in potential, the conductors in
question have different electrical charges.

There are different types of dielectrics, depending on the capacitor and its
applications. In the case of air capacitors, which are usually parallel plates in a glass
capsule, air dielectrics are used. The capacity values allowed for this type of
capacitor are very small, and its applications are radar and radio because of not
suffering polarization or losses in the dielectric, for which it can work correctly at high
frequencies.

Mica is another of the materials used as capacitor dielectric, thanks to several of its
characteristics, such as the possibility of cutting thin sheets, a low level of losses,
high resistance to moisture, oxidation and high temperatures. In the mica capacitors,
a sheet of this material is placed and on it, aluminum; Then many of them are stacked
and they dream with their ends to the terminals. Although, its performance is
exceptional at high frequencies and can be high voltages, its price leads to users
and cheaper options.

Other capacitors use paper subjected to some treatment that increases the
insulation and reduces the hygroscopy for the dielectric, such as bakelised paper
and waxing. For its manufacture, a pair of paper tapes, one of aluminum and, finally,
two more of paper should be stacked; It is rolled up in a spiral and, ready.

Self-healing capacitors also use paper, and its application is found in industrial
environments. If an overload occurs that exceeds the rigidity of the dielectric, the
paper will crack and this will cause a short circuit between the aluminum sheets.

On the other hand there are the electrolytic capacitors, which use an electrolyte as
the first armature. If an adequate amount of tension is applied, it provides an
insulating layer, generally of aluminum oxide and of a very small thickness, on a
second reinforcement, which allows to reach very high capacities.

The capacitors, in fact, do not store the current nor the electric charge: what they
store is latent mechanical energy. When they are introduced into an electrical circuit,
they do work as a device that conserves the electrical energy obtained during the
charging period, after which said energy is transferred by the capacitor.
The capacitors, in fact, do not store the current nor the electric charge: what they
store is latent mechanical energy. When they are introduced into an electrical circuit,
they do work as a device that conserves the electrical energy obtained during the
charging period, after which said energy is transferred by the capacitor.

Capacitance is the electrical capacity; that is, the property of an element to conserve
an electric charge. In the case of capacitors, capacitance is equivalent to the level
of electrical energy that is conserved according to the difference in electric potential.