>=20
> Oh I wish someone who knew the ins and outs of electronics could sit with=
 you
> when you are doing your experiments.  It really, really helps to visualiz=
e
> electrons as though they are flowing through wires the same way water
> particles flow through a pipe.  Increase the voltage/pressure and you inc=
rease
> the number of electrons/water particles that flow through the pipe each
> second.  That rate of flow for electrons is amperage.
>=20

This is how I mentally picture a capacitor (from a PICLIST post some time a=
go):

When current goes into one leg it goes out of the other. When it does the
voltage over the dielectric (the capacitor) also rises more and more until =
it
prohibits any more current flowing (causing the capacitor charge/discharge
curve). No electrons are actually moved from one side to the other though
(electrostatic repelling forces of charges of equal polarity).

You can compare a capacitor in an electric circuit to a barrel with a flexi=
ble
water tight membrane in the center (dividing the barrel in two parts) in a
water flowing circuit. When water pushes in on one side, the membrane flexe=
s at
the same time as water is pushed out on the other side. The membrane flexes=
 as
much as the water pressure allows. Too high pressure and the membrane break=
es
causing a short. It is also the membrane that holds the energy in the barre=
l,
allowing it to push back water when the pressure is lowered. Also, the more
flexed the membrane is, the more work is needed to flex it even more.
=20
This model also makes it easier to understand why a high frequency can pass
easier through the capacitor than a low frequency (where the extreme is DC)=
...
=20
And for water in pipes compared to current in wires, remember that water ca=
n
not flow out in open air (unless you picture open air as a very large pipe)=
..=20
Cut a pipe and you stop the water flow. This way the water filled barrel wi=
th a
a membrane can be picked out of its circuit without releasing the energy in=
 the
flexed membrane until it is put back into a pipe circuit again.

/Ruben


=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
Ruben J=F6nsson
AB Liros Electronic
Box 9124
200 39 Malm=F6 Sweden
www.liros.se
Tel +46 40142078
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D

--=20
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