Capacitor Polarity

GA.
One sould add that an electrolytic when wired reverse polarity can explode and pop it's can off.
We had one go 15 yards, having first struck someone on the forehead, it left a big bruise and plenty of laughter. Take care!
Del

And a lot of accident probabillities

Other capacitors have a different dielectricum like paper, mica, air, or other isolators. These have no polarity and you can use these either way. I hoped this was included in the final line. Forgive me if not.

Yahlasit

<< why ceramic capacitors not having polarity and the others do not? >>

I think:

<< why ceramic capacitors not having polarity and the others do not? >>

Ceramic Caps have a diaelectric [insulator between plates] which are not prone to any chemical reaction; while all the Electolytic Caps has a chemical which is prone to chemical reactions like Batteries.

<< what will happen if we soldered a capacitor with inverse polarity? >>

A burst ! If good luck will leak and may paint the environment

Like Battery if try to charge in reverse

Some small capacitance ceramic capacitors have a "polarity" marking because they are mechanically asymetric. They will n o t blow up if inverted, but stray capacitances may degrade circuit characteristics.

brgds

Snel

I have not a chance to see such a cap, but tantalem & other are.

There are some Non-Polarized-Electrolytic Caps; but these are made of 2 caps of equal size connected back-2-Back, large value capacitors for motors are commonly used.

as to have a Zener on AC you connect 2 zener diodes back-2-Back to limit AC voltage not to exceed the zener voltage of one zener diode.

Have a fine day !

Well explained.

Thanks !

I submitted only a point to ponder!

I will second the opinion about tantalum capacitors being especially nasty when they are reversed biased. One guy here at work tried to "stomp out" one that had launched off its' PC board, and it ended up burning a hole all the way up through his shoes' sole! Luckily, he got that shoe off before it got all the way through. They burn hot, and stinky. After being in electronics for nearly 30 years, I can usually tell what type of component has "let the magic smoke out" by the smell :)

Tom D.

Ceramic capacitor is fabricated as solid state device with offset printing of conductive layer between the layer and at end the charge is stored in dielectric and are bring in and out by conductor layer. Since the charge storage is because of polarization and not ionic concentration it does not need polarity. If it is liquid or electrolyte based then one will move ions from one side to other and this movement needs polarity.

Back to rsreedhar1987's question:

some ceramic capacitors have a marking for the "earth" side, which is not a polarity (+ / -) marking. This marking is important for high frequency applications only.

some capacitors are built on a ceramic tube, with inner and outer metallisation. As this is a coaxial construction, it is obvious that the inner side should be connected to the "live" side of a ckt.

some ceramic trimmers have a marking corresponding to the external metallic mass, which acts as a shield. If you connect it electrically "upside down" (it's hard to tell which side is "earth" without the mark), a frequency adjustment may be affected by your hand's proximity. But the reversion will not have a destructive effect as with an electrolytic cap (Al, Ta, Nb).

brgds

Snel

Oh good oldi !

You refreshed old days of 60' [it is yet 2010 of this century]

A relatively small high frequency transformer converts the pulsed waveform into one or more output voltages which are then rectified and filtered using electrolytic capacitors and small inductors in a 'pi' configuration C-L-C, or for outputs that are less critical, just a capacitor.

Whu? Are you sure you're replying in the right thread?