Create a Capacitor

today i am going to show you how to make a capacitor.it is super simple and works great!not like real capacitors but it works well for a handmade one.it is great science projects and classes and anyone can build it. it is the new version of the leyden jar.this handmade capacitor can store good amount of energy.but less than real one.once you built it you can experiment with its science and size.

visit my profile:https://www.instructables.com/member/argha+halder/ to see some of my more such projects.if you have any question feel free to ask.i will try to ask them according to my ability.

Step 1: Things You Will Need

for this project you will need some simple things.they are:
1)an empty plastic or glass container with cap.
2)alluminium foil
3)paper clip
4)glue 
5)water
6)salt

Step 2: Making the Capacitor

first take the cap of the container and make a tiny hole in its centre

Step 3:

now  take the alluminium foil and cut it according to the size of the container.now glue the alluminium foil to the container.cut the extra  portion of aluminium foil that remains hanging off the container.

Step 4:

now take some water ,if you can boil them and pour them into the container wrapped in alluminium.boiling is optional.now put some salt in the water.
make sure the alluminium foil does not touch the water.

Step 5:

take the paper clip and straighten two of its bends.

Step 6:

now put the cap of the container back onto the container and insert the straighten part of the paper clip through the hole of the cap.use glue to parmanently seal the hole and paper clip.and your capacitor is ready

Step 7: Charging It!

lets charge it.firstly take the battery and touch one of its end on the alluminium and the other on the paper clip.

now with a voltmetre test it!you will see it works

Step 8: How Does It Work

a capacitor has two metal parts with a insulation in between them.the two metals are two terminals.when a battery is attached to the capacitor  then electrons flow to the metal parts and and when a flashlight or such thing is attached to it then it releases the electrons causing electric flow.in our capacitor the same thing is used.the container is the insulator the paper clips and aluminium foil are the terminals.in this way like the real capacitor our capacitor works.but it may not be as efficient as real one.

Step 9: What Makes It Stronger

to make it stronger use bigger container and more aluminium foil and instead of paper clip use steel bolts and nails etc.or use your own science and make it stronger.

Step 10: Troubleshooting

make sure that the alluminium and paper clip does not touch each other.that thing you are using to charge it is in good condition.

i dont know english much as it is not my mother tongue language.and so if any mistake help me find it.give some more ideas.feel free to ask questions.i will try to answer them as much as possible for me.bye!have a nice day

Comments

[Moshie_mosh]

I want to do a project proposal.... And my target was to construct a capacitor

I need your help cause I appreciate for ur effort

[dyang5]

I want to made a capacitor of which the capacitance could change with different loading on it. and draw a calibration curve that reveal the relationship between capacitance and load. could u give me some suggestions?

[AH Electronics]

That's a good idea. You can do that, but what happens is its capacitance depends not only on the foils and insulators, but also on your perfection. If you can make the foils really even and glue it nicely it can give you better results than one thats not done neatly. So you have to build different capacitors and check out the capacitance. And the relationship after checking the capacitance is really difficult to draw, because there are more than one or two factors to consider, like the foil size, evenness of the foils, thickness of the insulator, the electrolyte used inside. So it might reveal an exponential relationship, because not always the results will come linear.So you got to give it a try and find out! And sorry for being so hazy and unclear in my instructions. Have fun building and experimenting!!

[dyang5]

Yeah~ it is just a idea coming out of my minds. there are truly too many factors to control. I just guess that for those equipment that used to weigh trucks, they may be actually a kind a capacitor of which the capacity varies with different loads on it. and the may have a reasonable fitting line that reveals the relationship very well..

[AH Electronics]

Yeah pretty much, actually if you want to make a capacitor that you can count the capacitance get two pieces of aluminium foil and put a paper in the middle.This you can calculate the capacitance using the theory of capacitance, look at this video made by rimstar for better idea : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GveI9gXIsHw

[Zscienceteacher]

I have a 4th grade student who's trying to power a small light bulb using a
homemade leyden jar for his science fair project. Is this possible with a pint-sized jar? Any tips?

[AH Electronics]

yes it is, but note that it will not stay lighted for more than 10 seconds I think, as did mine. So I suggest to use a jar almost the size of a jam jar. It would would be better in that way and also easier. Also use a good highly charged battery if possible, because if the leyden jar is not charged well then it might not light for long time. and good luck to your student for the science fair

[Zscienceteacher]

Thanks for the tips, argha halder! Science fair is going well!

[Phil B]

Do you have any idea of its capacitance in microfarads?

[AH Electronics]

almost 2-5 microfarads.its capacity can be increased using bigger container and aluminium foil.my container was 2 inches tall.you can use tiffin box and a steel bolt type thing instead of paper clip to increase the capacity of the capacitor.

[Phil B]

Thank you.

[diamondmine]

What is its use? Could I use it for anything ?

[AH Electronics]

it is just for learning and understanding the principal of working of capacitors work.but if you can make a better version of it suppose make it of 200 -300 micro farad then you can combine 4 or 5 of them together and make a high voltage capacitor bank.or even use it in any circuit in instead of low farad and high voltage requiring electronics.

[nickhaik1]

Step 3 writing has some mistakes and I can't understand it.

[mr1vizio]

Yah I know. :) I have the imagination of like a 5 year old lol

[mr1vizio]

I curious like I its was going to be a big electrical explosion. Idk lol

[AH Electronics]

that is not going to happen by the way

[mr1vizio]

What happens if its charged an you take the cap off

[AH Electronics]

i dont know that much.but if you take the paper clip off too then it will not work.but if you keep the paper clip without the cap even then it would work