
Some small capacitors are marked with codes like 1n0. For example, 472 would indicate a 4700 pF capacitor and 479 would indicate a 4.7 pF capacitor.

A third digit of 9 means to multiply the base value by 0.1.

A third digit of 8 means multiply the base value by.

Read the value directly on larger bodied capacitors. 1 picoFarad is 1 times 10 to the -12 power Farad. 1 microFarad is 1 times 10 to the -6 power Farad. Smaller denominations of capacitance are used by electronic circuits. This value is too large to be of use in a circuit. The base unit of capacitance is the Farad (F). Understand the units of measurement used for capacitors.

Use these tips to learn how to read capacitor designations and determine the value of the capacitor. Different capacitor values are needed to trap different types of noise. The most common usage of capacitors is to absorb noise, which is by definition a rapidly changing signal, and divert it away from the signal of interest. Capacitors can store the energy from strong rapidly changing signals and return that energy to the circuit as desired. Download: Electronics Manual(that we give to our customers)Ĭapacitors are elements of a circuit that react to rapidly changing signals, rather than slowly changing or static signals.
