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Re: flat caps
Jeremy,
You wrote....
> I have been taking apart small Capatictors just to get an idea of how
> they are arranged, I was amazed to open some of the rolled ones, they
> are awsome! After realizing it, all my caps I have ever used were rolled
> (About a year ago, I opened one for the first time to discover metal
> plates and tons of oil, now I can't find that one again!). I think
> rolled caps would be better for me. Let me ask you though, some small
> ones I opened (200V-at-220uf) had a sort of paper and metal materials
> soaked in oil, was this 'paper' like material a plastic? It was so
> soaked, I can't tell what it was, and how come to two windings of metal
> are different materials, one is shinnier than another.
The small one is an electrolytic capacitor. The paper is used to hold
the electrolyte. The capacitor is polarized (unsuitable for AC use)
which is why the plates look different (they are both aluminium, but
one (both?) is electrolytically oxidised. The electrolyte is quite
corrosive.
Malcolm