capacitance

American  

[kuh-pas-i-tuhns] / kəˈpæs ɪ təns /

noun

Electricity.

1. the ratio of an impressed charge on a conductor to the corresponding change in potential.

2. the ratio of the charge on either conductor of a capacitor to the potential difference between the conductors.

3. the property of being able to collect a charge of electricity. C

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capacitance British  

/ kəˈpæsɪtəns /

noun

1. the property of a system that enables it to store electric charge

2. a measure of this, equal to the charge that must be added to such a system to raise its electrical potential by one unit

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capacitance Scientific  

/ kə-păs′ĭ-təns /

1. A measure of the ability of a configuration of materials to store electric charge. In a capacitor, capacitance depends on the size of the plates, the type of insulator, and the amount of space between the plates. Most electrical components display capacitance to some degree; even the spaces between components of a circuit have a natural capacitance. Capacitance is measured in farads.

2. Compare inductance

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Other Word Forms

• capacitive adjective
• capacitively adverb

Etymology

Origin of capacitance

First recorded in 1905–10; capacit(y) + -ance

Example Sentences

When a conductive material, such as a fingertip or even a drop of water, interacts with that field, it changes the screen's capacitance.

From Science Daily • Mar. 26, 2026

The researchers found that capacitance generally increased linearly with length between 10 and 60 cm, after which gains in capacitance slowed significantly as length increased.

From Science Daily • Feb. 6, 2024

But in devices employing bilayer graphene, the presence of significant stray capacitance in the measurement circuit leads to rf leakage and less-than-optimal resonator properties.

From Science Daily • Oct. 20, 2023

Find the total capacitance of the combination of capacitors shown in Figure 19.41.

From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015

Likewise an oscillation circuit has a natural frequency which depends upon its inductance, capacitance and resistance.

From The Radio Amateur's Hand Book by Collins, A. Frederick (Archie Frederick)