CAPACITOR
\kəpˈasɪtə], \kəpˈasɪtə], \k_ə_p_ˈa_s_ɪ_t_ə]\
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An electronic device that can store electricalcharge. The charge stored Q in Coulombs is related to thecapacitance C in Farads and the voltage V across the capacitorin Volts by Q = CV.The basis of a dynamic RAM cell is a capacitor. They arealso used for power-supply smoothing (or "decoupling"). Thisis especially important in digital circuits where a digitaldevice switching between states causes a sudden demand forcurrent. Without sufficient local power supply decoupling,this current "spike" cannot be supplied directly from thepower supply due to the inductance of the connectors and sowill cause a sharp drop in the power supply voltage near theswitching device. This can cause other devices to malfunctionresulting in hard to trace glitches.
By Denis Howe
Word of the day
Platidiam
- An inorganic water-soluble platinum complex. After undergoing hydrolysis, it reacts DNA produce both intra interstrand crosslinks. These crosslinks appear to impair replication and transcription of DNA. The cytotoxicity cisplatin correlates with cellular arrest in G2 phase cell cycle.