Is there a rule of thumb about what the voltage rating on a cap should for the work voltage?
Seems like I heard the voltage rating should be twice the work voltage.
Thanks,
Kinarfi
In Most case, as long as its Voltage Exceeds the Maximum Voltage in the application, it should be OK.
However in a 12 Volt Circuit, Used in a CAR, the voltage May be up to 15 Volts with the car running, but there may also be Voltage Spikes.
So a 16 Volt Electrolytic Cap may be OK, But a 25 Volt one would be better.
It's basically related to reliability. For example, 50% is often used as a derating factor for military/space electronics for best reliability. The closer you operate to the maximum voltage rating, the worst the reliability. Now if you are just building home experimental electronics then you likely aren't worried that much about long term (years of) reliability, so can operate closer to the voltage limit.