Farad
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This article's lead section may not adequately summarize key points of its contents. (December 2012) |
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| Unit system: | SI derived unit |
| Quantity: | Capacitance |
| Symbol: | F |
| Dimension: | M−1⋅L−2⋅T4⋅I2 |
| Named after: | Michael Faraday |
| In SI base units: | 1 F = 1 s4·A2·m−2·kg−1 |
The farad (symbol: F) is the SI derived unit of capacitance. It is named after the English physicist Michael Faraday.
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Definition [edit]
A farad is the charge in coulombs that a capacitor will accept for the potential across it to change 1 volt. A coulomb is 1 ampere second. Example: The voltage across a capacitor with capacitance of 47 nF will increase by 1 volt per second with a 47 nA input current.
For electronics, one farad is a fairly large amount of capacitance. The most commonly used SI prefixes in electrical and electronic usage are:
- 1 microfarad (μF, or MFD in industrial use) = one millionth (10−6) of a farad, or 1000000 pF, or 1000 nF
- 1 nanofarad (nF) = one billionth (10−9) of a farad, or 1000 pF
- 1 picofarad (pF) = one trillionth (10−12) of a farad
Equalities [edit]
A farad has the base SI representation of: s4 × A2 × m−2 × kg−1
It can further be expressed as:
where A=ampere, V=volt, C=coulomb, J=joule, m=metre, N=newton, s=second, W=watt, kg=kilogram, Ω=ohm.
History [edit]
The term "farad" was coined by Josiah Latimer Clark in the year of 1861, in honor of Michael Faraday, but it was for a unit of quantity of charge.
Explanation [edit]
Values of capacitors are usually specified in ranges of farads (F), millifarads (mF), microfarads (μF, or MFD in industrial use[a]), nanofarads (nF) or picofarads (pF).[1]
The size of commercially available capacitors ranges from around 100 fF (femtofarads, 10−15 F) to 5 kF (kilofarads, 103 F) ultracapacitors. Designers of high performance integrated circuits are concerned about parasitic capacitance measured in femtofarads, while makers of high performance test equipment are able to detect changes in capacitance on the order of tens of attofarads (10−18).[2]
When speaking of capacitor values a picofarad is sometimes referred to as a "puff" or "pic", as in "a ten puff capacitor".[3] If the Greek letter μ is not available, the notation uF is often used as a substitute for μF in electronics literature. A micro-microfarad (μμF), an obsolete unit sometimes found in older texts, is the equivalent of a picofarad. The millifarad is less used in practice, so that a capacitance of 4.7×10−3 F, for example, is sometimes written as 4700 µF; industrial parts at times use the abbreviation MFD instead of µF.[4] North American usage also avoids nanofarads: a capacitance of 1×10−9 F will frequently be indicated as 1000 pF; and a capacitance of 1×10−7 F as 0.1 μF.
The 'farad' should not be confused with the faraday, which is the electric charge carried by one mole of singly charged ions.
The reciprocal of capacitance is called electrical elastance, the (non-standard, non-SI) unit of which is the daraf.[5]
A capacitor consists of two conducting surfaces, frequently referred to as plates, separated by an insulating layer usually referred to as a dielectric. The original capacitor was the Leyden jar developed in the 18th century. It is the accumulation of electric charge on the plates that results in capacitance. Modern capacitors are constructed using a range of manufacturing techniques and materials to provide the extraordinarily wide range of capacitance values used in electronics applications from femtofarads to farads, with maximum-voltage ratings ranging from a few volts to several kilovolts.
One picofarad is about the smallest value of capacitor available for general use in electronic design, since smaller capacitors would be dominated by the parasitic capacitances (stray capacitance) of other components, wiring or printed circuit boards. When capacitance values of 1 pF or lower are required, engineers sometimes create their own capacitors by twisting two short lengths of insulated wire together.[6][7]
The capacitance of the Earth's ionosphere with respect to the ground is calculated to be about 1 F.[8]
CGS units [edit]
The abfarad (abbreviated abF) is an obsolete CGS unit of capacitance equal to 109 farads (1 gigafarad, GF). This very large unit is used in medical terminology only.
The statfarad (abbreviated statF) is a different and also rarely used CGS unit of capacitance that corresponds to approximately 1.1126 picofarads. It is equivalent to the capacitance of a capacitor with a charge of 1 statcoulomb across a potential difference of 1 statvolt.
See also [edit]
Notes [edit]
- ^ In texts prior to 1960, mf rather than the modern µF frequently represented microfarads. Similarly, mmf represented picofarads.
References [edit]
- ^ Braga, Newton C. (2002). Robotics, Mechatronics, and Artificial Intelligence. Newnes. p. 21. ISBN 0-7506-7389-3. Retrieved 2008-09-17. "Common measurement units are the microfarad (μF), representing 0.000,001 F; the nanofarad (nF), representing 0.000,000,001 F; and the picofarad (pF), representing 0.000,000,000,001 F."
- ^ Gregorian, Roubik (1976). Analog MOS Integrated Circuits for Signal Processing. John Wiley & Sons. p. 78.
- ^ "Puff". Wolfram Research. Retrieved 2009-06-09.
- ^ "Microfarad". The Free Dictionary. Retrieved 2012-08-13.
- ^ "Daraf". Webster's Online Dictionary. Retrieved 2009-06-19.
- ^ Pease, Bob (September 2, 1993). "What's All This Femtoampere Stuff, Anyhow?". Electronic Design. Retrieved 2013-03-09.
- ^ Pease, Bob (December 1, 2006). "What's All This Best Stuff, Anyhow?". Electronic Design. Retrieved 2013-03-09.
- ^ Williams, L. L. (January 1999). "Electrical Properties of the Fair-Weather Atmosphere and the Possibility of Observable Discharge on Moving Objects". Retrieved 2012-08-13.
External links [edit]
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