How to make a capacitor?

Question

Hi everyone!

can anybody please give me instructions (& the materials needed) in making a capacitor using easy-to-find materials?

This is for a physics project.

Thank You!

Answer 1

Two metal plates (foils), separated by air or something that won't conduct, connected to wires. It's that simple.

C = (epsilon) A / d

So to get the best capacitance:

Use big plates (big A)
Put them close together (small d)

Real capacitors wrap the plates up around each other and use a dialectric in the middle (bigger epsilon) to get the biggest C in a small package.

Answer 2

There are different types of capacitors, But the easiest one is the paper capacitor. A capacito is nothing but two conductors separated by a dielectric material. As paper is a dielectric material In the paper capacitor paper is used between the conductors. Take two long aluminium foils of width 1 inch and 2 or 3 feet length.An identical paper piece also to be inserted betwee them. When we role it the lower one will come in contact with the upper foil. So, at the bottom and top again two more paper strips are arranged. Now the whole assembly can be rolled and housed in a plastic sleeve. two conducting wires are to be soldered from each of the Aluminium foils. This constitutes a capacitor. The capacitance of a capacitor depends upon the following factors.
(a) Area of the Al. Foils
(b) Distance between the foils
(c) The dielectric material

Answer 3

CAPACITORS are of various types . But since you wanted to make a simple capacitor for your project a PARALLEL PLATE CAPACITOR would not only be ideal but also less expensive.
All that you need to make a single capacitor are TWO CONDUCTING METAL PLATES (copper or iron or aluminium....) and two conducting wires to connect them to the terminals of a battery .You can also introduce a dielectric material like a piece of wood in between the plates to enhance the energy stored.
The process of charging (not completely but more than 99.9%) takes place within less than 1second when you connect the wires attached to plates to the opposite terminals of battery.
The discharging process is also equally fast when you disconnect the wires and make attachment to the appliance which you want to connect.
Take care .!
wish you all the best

Answer 4

Aliminum foil and waxed paper do pretty well for a low-voltage capacitor. You can find lots of (science fair) sites on the web that discuss how to roll one.

Doug

Answer 5

it depends how much charge you wan it to hold. get 2 large sheets of foil seprate it with a bigger piece of paper or any sort of insulator n connect wires to the foil then charge it up. make sure the 2 pieces of foil arent touching the closer together they r the more charge and the bigger they are the more charge. it doesnt make sense but it works.

Answer 6

http://www.hanssummers.com/radio/homebrew/capacitor/index.htm