Study › General › G6A › G6A04

G6A04

CIRCUIT COMPONENTS · - Resistors; capacitors; inductors; rectifiers; solid-state diodes and transistors; vacuum tubes; batteries

G6A04G6A →

Which of the following is characteristic of an electrolytic capacitor?

  1. ATight tolerance
  2. BMuch less leakage than any other type
  3. CHigh capacitance for a given volume
  4. DInexpensive RF capacitor
Why An electrolytic capacitor uses a very thin oxide layer formed on the aluminum (or tantalum) foil as its dielectric, and since capacitance goes up as the dielectric gets thinner, that construction packs a very large capacitance into a small package. That is why values of tens or thousands of microfarads come in parts the size of a thumb, while a film capacitor of the same value would be huge. The tradeoffs are wide tolerance, noticeable leakage current, high internal inductance and a polarity that must be observed.
Watch out Tight tolerance and very low leakage describe good film, mica or ceramic capacitors; electrolytics are among the worst on both counts. They are also poor at RF because of their series inductance and resistance, so they are used for power supply filtering and audio bypassing, not RF tuning.
Electrolytic = big farads in a small can, but sloppy, leaky, polarized and not for RF.
HamSandwich explanation, first draft. The question and answers are the NCVEC text.
← G6A03 All of G6A G6A05 →

The rest of G6A

  1. G6A01 What is the minimum allowable discharge voltage for maximum life of a standard 12-volt lead-acid battery?
  2. G6A02 What is an advantage of batteries with low internal resistance?
  3. G6A03 What is the approximate forward threshold voltage of a germanium diode?
  4. G6A04 Which of the following is characteristic of an electrolytic capacitor?
  5. G6A05 What is the approximate forward threshold voltage of a silicon junction diode?
  6. G6A06 Why should wire-wound resistors not be used in RF circuits?
  7. G6A07 What are the operating points for a bipolar transistor used as a switch?
  8. G6A08 Which of the following is characteristic of low voltage ceramic capacitors?
  9. G6A09 Which of the following describes MOSFET construction?
  10. G6A10 Which element of a vacuum tube regulates the flow of electrons between cathode and plate?
  11. G6A11 What happens when an inductor is operated above its self-resonant frequency?
  12. G6A12 What is the primary purpose of a screen grid in a vacuum tube?
Nagoya NA-771 Dual Band Handheld AntennaSponsored · View on Amazon →Yaesu FT-991A HF/VHF/UHF All Mode TransceiverSponsored · View on Amazon →