Capacitance

Capacitance is the ratio of stored electric charge to the potential difference across a system of conductors. It depends on conductor geometry and the material between them.

Capacitor: A device that stores separated electric charge and energy using two conductors and an electric field. A capacitor is the practical device whose charge-to-voltage ratio is its capacitance.
Electric charge: A fundamental property of matter that produces and responds to electromagnetic forces. Capacitance measures how much charge separation accompanies a voltage difference.
RC circuit: An electrical circuit containing resistance and capacitance, often used to produce time-dependent charging or discharging. Its time constant depends on the product of resistance and capacitance.
Inductance: A measure of how strongly a current-carrying circuit links magnetic flux to current. Capacitance stores energy in an electric field, whereas inductance stores it in a magnetic field.
Electric field: A vector field that describes the electric force per unit charge at each point in space. The field between conductors links their voltage difference to stored charge.
Voltage: The electric potential difference between two points, measured as energy per unit charge. Voltage is the denominator in the definition of capacitance.
Capacitive coupling: Transfer of an electrical signal between circuit elements through their mutual capacitance. Unintended or deliberate capacitance can pass changing signals between conductors.
Resistance: A measure of how strongly a component opposes electric current for a given voltage. Resistance dissipates electrical energy; capacitance stores it temporarily in a field.
Dielectric: An electrical insulator that polarizes in response to an applied electric field. Polarization changes the field and raises capacitance for a fixed geometry.
Coulomb's law: A law giving the electrostatic force between two point charges in terms of their charges and separation. It underlies the fields and potentials that determine a conductor system's capacitance.

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