Capacitor and Capacitance

A basic capacitor contains two conductors separated by an insulating region. When connected to a source: one conductor acquires `+Q`; the other acquires `−Q`. The capacitor is said to have charge magnitude `Q`. **C=QV where: `Q` = magnitude of charge on either plate `V` = potential difference between plates. SI unit: farad (F) 1 F = 1 C/V**

Capacitance describes how much charge can be stored for a given voltage. For a linear capacitor, capacitance depends on: geometry; separation; dielectric medium. It does **not** depend on instantaneous `Q` or `V` individually for a fixed ideal capacitor.

**C=QV Q=CV**