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question on capacitors.

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jholder82

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I would just like to know what exactly they do, and if there is a way to know what kind to use.

In my up/down counter I planned on using a .1 uf radial capacitor. But im not sure if that is right, or why.

I am running 2 different 2.3" 7 segment led displays....each segment is running 4 LED's at 1.85v each...and 7.4v each segment. I am running 330 ohm resistors. But I have no clue if that affects which cap to use. Any tips?
 
jholder82,

There are lots and lots of resources online which help explain capacitors. I suggest reading..reading and doing some more reading on them and they will eventually make more sense. Google will help. Here is my two cents on them and I'm sure many can add to it.

Simply put capacitors resist change in voltage. Inductors resist change in current. The change is with repect to time. Resistors "resist" current but not the change in current like inductors do. So, when you add say a 22uF capacitor across power and ground of whatever circuit you have this makes things less noisy looking at the voltage of your power. This is true because whenever the circuit requires more current it doesn't need it from the power supply. For a short duration it can start to discharge the capacitor smoothing out the change in voltage. Perhaps thinking of a capacitor as a batters may help..but it is not a battery.

Now my example is a very simple application on the capacitor. There are lots of applications. You may want to look at the current and what happens as you charge up the capacitor and discharge it. Then it may make a little more sense. Sometimes just hooking one up and playing with it can give you some insight.

I'm not sure how your using the cap in your up/down counter so I'm not really sure if I can help you with that. Although I'm sure if you explain a little more on how you a trying to use it many of the geru's on this forum would be glad to help!

-mike
 
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