Capacitor

A capacitor is an elementary electronic component that stores electrical charge, somewhat like a battery. Capacitors are versatile, and are used in such vital electronic circuits as radio tuners and signal generators.

A capacitor is very simple. It consists of a positive and negative terminal close together, separated by an insulator. One of the simplest capacitors is the saltwater capacitor, which is an electrolytic capacitor. The instructions for building on of these devices are enumerated below.

We need following things to make capacitor:

1)Salt water(water + salt)

2)Foil wrap

3)Non metallic container

4)Metal piece of metal

1)Wrap the outside of the vessel with aluminum foil, or tin foil.

1)Place a metal object (such as a knife, a nail, etc) in the middle of vessel. The foil is one terminal, and the metal object combination is the other. Do not allow the metal object to touch the foil over the side. This will short the capacitor and make it impossible to charge.

1)Fill a non-metallic vessel with warm saltwater. Use warm water to dissolve the salt.

1)Charge it up, by applying the voltage from an ordinary household battery, to both terminals. After a few seconds disconnect the battery and connect the voltmeter to the terminals of the capacitor. Any reading (mV-V) will indicate a charge.

Congratulations, you have a working capacitor, capable of holding an electric charge!