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a.s.elliott(at)cox.net
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 Posted: Fri Sep 08, 2006 7:45 am Post subject: 2.0 Farad Capacitor? |
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Today I saw an ad for a 2.0 farad capacitor ($40) from an auto audio company. Anyone know what something like that might be used for? It was referred to as a "stiffening" capacitor.
Turns out they make these with capacities as high as *50* farad! (Lots more $$.) Would such devices have any application to an aircraft system? Yes, I know that even a very large capacitor holds very few amp-hours compared to even a small battery, but I wondered what other uses they might have.
Andy Elliott
N481HY/AA-1(TD,160)/KFFZ
That's "One Hot Yankee"
http://members.cox.net/n481hy/
[quote][b]
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Chris In Marshfield
Joined: 26 May 2006
Posts: 87
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| Posted: Fri Sep 08, 2006 10:31 am Post subject: Re: 2.0 Farad Capacitor? |
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Finally, a question I know the answer to! 
In the competitive car audio community (to which I formerly belonged), the amplifiers in use often require an enormous amount of instantaneous current to meet the demands of peak musical transients. Generally speaking, batteries (as I understand them) don't have the response time necessary to deliver that short-burst current. Capacitors, on the other hand, were designed for this kind of storage and instantaneous current delivery. So, to pick up the slack where batteries cannot, large capacitor banks are useful. And trust me, they work
The one thing you don't want to do, though, is accidentally short the terminals on one of these charged-up capacitors. Ever blown up a perfectly good pair of wire strippers cutting through hot romex in your house? Same basic effect. BWAAAP!!! Temporary blindness and a hole in your strippers or screwdriver (or they're welded to the two terminals).
Best regards,
Chris
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Chris Owens
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nuckollsr(at)cox.net
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| Posted: Fri Sep 08, 2006 10:58 am Post subject: 2.0 Farad Capacitor? |
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At 08:44 AM 9/8/2006 -0700, you wrote:
| Quote: | Today I saw an ad for a 2.0 farad capacitor ($40) from an auto audio
company. Anyone know what something like that might be used for? It was
referred to as a "stiffening" capacitor.
Turns out they make these with capacities as high as *50* farad! (Lots
more $$.) Would such devices have any application to an aircraft
system? Yes, I know that even a very large capacitor holds very few
amp-hours compared to even a small battery, but I wondered what other uses
they might have.
|
Capacitor technology has mushroomed in the past 20 years.
I recall my dad (Navy electrician aboard wooden mine sweeper
in the Aleutian islands) telling me that a "one farad capacitor
would be the size of this room".
Nowadays, one may purchase a 1 farad capacitor good for
5.5 volts in a 1" x 1/2" case:
http://dkc3.digikey.com/PDF/T063/1184.pdf
The poor individuals who do not particularly value their
ears are fond of the devices you've cited for what they're
told is a quantum jump in performance for their killowatt
mobile sound systems. Further, if "one farad is good, many
farads is better", hence devices like . . .
http://www.sonicelectronix.com/pictures.php?id=7409
. . . are good for separating our young friends from about $150
of their lunch money.
As a practical matter, one might consider buffering
the bus in their airplane with a large capacitor if
they were carrying small, low capacity but high current
batteries needed only for engine cranking. Such batteries
are not yet available . . . but they're coming.
A number of systems propose or even use large capacitors
to replace storage batteries. See:
http://www.tavrima.com/Alternato.PDF#search=%22supercapacitor%20engine%20cranking%22
http://www.tavrima.com/home.html
http://www.maxwell.com/ultracapacitors/support/papers.html
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FZX/is_10_67/ai_92586564
I love this business, unlike horse racing and growing
tomatoes, this industry rolls out quantum jump technology
every year or so. It's a great time to be alive.
Bob . . .
---------------------------------------------------------
< What is so wonderful about scientific truth...is that >
< the authority which determines whether there can be >
< debate or not does not reside in some fraternity of >
< scientists; nor is it divine. The authority rests >
< with experiment. >
< --Lawrence M. Krauss >
---------------------------------------------------------
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