Vídeo tutorial Fun with ultracapacitor. I got hold of some 2600F capacitors that can dump hundreds of amps. Normally these are used in electric cars to handle sudden stops and starts. Instead, I use them to vaporize bits of metal, and show you the 3 most important capacitor equations along the way.
An electric double-layer capacitor (EDLC), also known as supercapacitor, supercondenser, pseudocapacitor, electrochemical double layer capacitor, or ultracapacitor, is an electrochemical capacitor with relatively high energy density. Compared to conventional electrolytic capacitors the energy density is typically on the order of hundreds of times greater . In comparison with conventional batteries or fuel cells, EDLCs also have a much higher power density.
Vídeo tutorial Fun with ultracapacitor
A typical D-cell sized electrolytic capacitor displays capacitance in the range of tens of millifarads. The same size EDLC might reach several farads, an improvement of two orders of magnitude. EDLCs usually yield a lower working voltage; as of 2010 larger double-layer capacitors have capacities up to 5,000 farads. Also in 2010, the highest available EDLC energy density is 30 Wh/kg (0.1 MJ/kg) (although 85 Wh/kg has been achieved at room temperature in the lab), lower than rapid-charging lithium-titanate batteries.
EDLCs have a variety of commercial applications, notably in “energy smoothing” and momentary-load devices. They have applications as energy-storage devices used in vehicles, and for smaller applications like home solar energy systems where extremely fast charging is a valuable feature.
