Capacitor Essay

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Selecting a dielectric material for a capacitor
Design introduction and problem

A capacitor is a device for electrical charge. A simple capacitor is two plates made of an electrically conducting material separated by a non-conducting material or dielectric. A capacitor can come in a huge variety of sizes and types for use in regulating power as well as for conditioning, smoothing and isolating signals. Almost every electrical and electronic system uses them. [1]
In a way, capacitors are like batteries. Although they work in completely different ways, capacitors and batteries both store electrical energy in the form of electrons. The difference between a capacitor and a battery is that a capacitor can use its entire charge in a fraction of …show more content…

The dielectric constant of a material, also called the permittivity of a material is the ability of a material to store electrical energy in the presence of an electric field. Unfortunately, there is a limit on the voltage an insulator can withstand before conducting electricity, that limit is defined as the dielectric strength also known as the breakdown voltage. [2]
A photoflash capacitor is normally an electrolytic capacitor used in professional flashes. The purpose is to briefly power a high-voltage flash tube, used to illuminate a photographic subject.

Function
Dialectric material for a photoflash electrolytic capacitor used in a small disposable and compact camera. The photoflash capacitor should be designed to deliver a brief pulse of very high current.
Constraints Objectives
Dielectric constant: 5 As cheap as possible
Dielectric strength: 15,5 MV/m
Must be a good insulator
Recyclable
Free variables
Choice of material
A company called PhotoGenic are developing a photoflash for a new series of cameras. The developers are looking for a dielectric material for the capacitor and have created constraints and objectives to find a material with the right

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