Capacitors are electronic components that store and release electric charge. They consist of two conductive plates separated by an insulator called a dielectric. The amount of charge that a capacitor can store depends on the size and shape of the plates, the type and thickness of the dielectric, and the voltage applied across the plates.
Capacitors have many applications in electronics, such as filtering, smoothing, timing, coupling, decoupling, and energy storage. They are often used in circuits that require a steady voltage or current, or that need to switch between different frequencies or signals. Capacitors can also be combined in series or parallel to create different configurations with different properties.
