Capacitors

[Zolar V]

Hello, i was wondering what is the approximate size of a capacitor that would charge to 128vdc aka house power. and what is the electron dissipation rate for such a capacitor.

 

don't really know where to put this so ill try here before moving to physics

[insane_alien]

120V capacitors could be of any size really. capacitance has more of a bearing on size than voltage does.

 

a 1pF capacitor to take 120V could be absolutely tiny, on the scale of millimeters.

 

a 1000F capacitor at 120V would be on the order of meters.

[Zolar V]

hmm ok let me rephrase my question. what size would a capacitor have to be to take current from a battery and convert it to wall socket current.

[insane_alien]

current or voltage. because the current is variable. and you'd need a DC to AC converter in there. a capacitor on its lonesome won't do anything.

[SH3RL0CK]

hmm ok let me rephrase my question. what size would a capacitor have to be to take current from a battery and convert it to wall socket current.

 

I'll assume you already have 120V somehow from the batteries.

 

You will have a discharge profile from the capacitor...as a starting point to answer your question, you need to specify:

 

1) For how long (i.e. how low a voltage is acceptable...110V? 90V?), and

 

2) under what current discharge (1A, 20A, or what)?

 

After this is known, the capacitance value can be determined via standard equations. You will also need to consider the power/current rating of the capacitor. Then a particular capacitor matching these specifications can be found. Google will be your friend here...

 

Of course, the discharge is direct current (not alternating current), so you will also need to be careful with the specifics of a load. An incandescent light bulb will work without a problem, but a motor might not function.

[Externet]

... what size would a capacitor have to be to take current from a battery and convert it to wall socket current.

 

A capacitor won't take current from a battery and convert it to household electricity.

A capacitor may store some energy from a battery.

 

Conversion of battery electricity to household electricity is done by a device/circuit named inverter.

Like the devices used in some computer systems to provide electricity to power the computer during a household electricity outage. Also known as UPS Uninterruptible Power Supplies. They have the inverter circuitry plus an internal battery and provide household electricity for a limited amount of time depending on the battery capability.

 

===> http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/yago89.html

 

Miguel

Edited December 27, 2009 by Externet
Added link

[ScienceGuyOrg]

This doesn't answer the question but I did some experiments with powering model airplanes with a capacitor, I wrote this article:

http://www.maxconrad.com/aerox.htm