At 10:37 1998-09-17 -0500, you wrote:

[snip good explanation of electrolytic cap internal electrics]

>BTW, my physics professor was explaining to me about electrolytics and
their rated voltage:
>if you place across a cap voltage in excess of its rating, the cap will
leak off the excess
>voltage (generating heat) but will also build up the electrolyte

You must mean the *dielectric* (the alumina oxide layer)

> inside which will have the
>simultaneous effects of increasing the cap's breakdown voltage and
reducing its capacitance.
>If you want to try this, you need to limit the power going into the cap
(so it doesn't blow
>its top) but my physics professor said that many caps are actually
manufactured this way:
>starting with a large-value, low-voltage cap, slowly drive it with enough
voltage to produce
>more electrolyte until the cap's voltage/capacitance are within the
desired specification.
>Cute, huh?

Interesting

/Morgan

/  Morgan Olsson, MORGANS REGLERTEKNIK, SE-277 35 KIVIK, Sweden \
\  mrt@iname.com, ph: +46 (0)414 70741; fax +46 (0)414 70331    /