Capacitor is a device that stores energy or an electrical charge on its plates. These plates consist of two magnetic powers, a positive plate and a negative plate. There is an insulator between these plates which protects them from touching each other. Capacitors are also called condensers. These are available in variety of materials such as, Aluminum foil, Polypropylene, Polyester, polystyrene, Polycarbonate and many more…Car audio capacitors are basically power storages in the car. These capacitors have that power which is essential for the amplifiers to produce great sound. Car audio capacitor is not exactly like your car battery, it stores electrical energy but it does not produce its own power like the battery. If your car headlights are getting dim and the audio system is not working properly, then your car amplifier needs constant volts with high powered car audio capacitor. A car audio capacitor helps your amplifier to produce the best of it to play a loud music especially when music needs a heavy bass. These capacitors are more or less like batteries but a slight difference is that the battery releases its energy slowly whereas capacitors loose its energy in a very rapid manner. Wiring of audio capacitor is a bit confusing job. So you need proper knowledge to wire an audio capacitor because there are two terminals on a car capacitor, a positive and a negative. The negative terminal is always connected to the ground while the positive is connected “in-line” with the audio amplifier +12watts terminals. The capacitor should be placed as near as possible to the amplifier.
While installing car stereo capacitors, you have to make sure that it is placed near your amplifier. For 500 RMS of power output, it is essential to have a stereo capacitor of 0.5 farads. In order to give the best results for smooth functioning of the amplifier, provide the necessary power supply to your capacitor of the car. Car audio capacitor usually ranges from 0.5 farads to 3 farads. Car stereo capacitors can also be defined as car audio capacitors. These stereo capacitors store power to uplift the need of your amplifier for big bass notes. They store power at the time when it is not needed and release it when the moment of the bass demands excessive power from the car’s power system.A few points can make your insatllation safe by using the right tools for its installation. Before starting installation, always protect your car from getting damaged by covering it with dropcloth. Keep your tools at a place where they cannot get lost in the car.
Power capacitors normally get charged instantly and save a huge amount of energy. Always make sure before charging your capacitor that it is connected directly to the +12 volts terminal. Do not touch the resister with bare hands because it heats up very quickly at the time of charging and can cause damage to your hands. It slowly charges the capacitors from 12 volts to 0 volts.
2 comments:
Capacitance has nothing to do with magnetism. The plates are simply metal to conduct electric charge. Aluminum plates work just as well as any other metal, and aluminum is non-magnetic. The energy is stored by an electric field between the plates, not by magnetism. They are two different types of fields. Different insulators (such as the plastics mentioned) can be used to fill the gap between the plates. These materials are called "dielectrics", and some insulators will give a higher capacitance than others.
A thinner layer between the plates is MORE capacitance. However, if the material is too thin, it may break down if the voltage is too high:
Max voltage = ("dielectric strength" x thickness)
For example (using metric units "volts per meter" for strength and meter for thickness): The strength of wax paper may be about 40000000 V/m; but its thickness is only about 0.00004 m. Multiply and you get 1600 volts, which sounds great for a 12V system. The problem with it is that it would be very difficult to press it together to this thinness, and it takes an impossibly huge plate area size (area of the foil sheets) to make a 1 Farad capacitor. Yes, 1 Farad is a buttload of capacitance! Also any air still trapped in the space would reduce the benefits of the wax paper. I have heard of people using regular paper soaked in a certain oils that are good dielectrics, but I have never heard of anyone getting near as high as 1 Farad for a homemade one.
If you also put the same insulating layer on the outside (on one side only), then roll it up into a tight cylinder (start with the insulator on the top layer and roll inward towards the middle); it effectively doubles what you get for a sheet layed out flat.
Comment: I am guessing it is almost impossible to build your own capacitor with as high a capacitance as 1 Farad, given the limitations of the common materials you would have available. If any one has done it, I would be interested in hearing about it. But I mention the possibiltiy of building a capacitor because it may be fun to just go ahead and make one and see how much you can get. You can easily measure it if you have a decent "techie" style multimeter that measures C. Just connect the meter leads to the 2 metal sheets. Try Googling "build your own capacitor" and have fun!
Also (sorry!) I have to nit pick since I teach physics (people should have and use accurate knowledge). The capacitor charges up from 0 V to 12 V, not from 12 V to 0 V. The 12 V potential is related to the stored energy in the capacitor when it is fully charged. It naturally charges to the same potential as the battery that it is connected to.
I got inspired to write all this because I just covered capacitance in 2 different classes this week!
Keep in mind two important factors when thinking of purchasing new car audio speakers. You will need to know a bit about your car stereo in terms of its power output. This is because the car stereo power can directly affect speaker sensitivity and power handling.Car Stereo Online
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