Do capacitors dissipate energy in AC circuits?

agentas · Jun 28, 2011

Do we really have energy dissipation in capacitor for AC current?

Vyse007 · Jun 30, 2011

Well that depends on what exactly do you mean by energy dissipation. For AC current applied to a capacitor, the voltage across it rises to a certain value and stays there. After we remove the AC source, the cap acts as a voltage source, supplying voltage for some time. Obviously it will discharge eventually.
Power dissipation, as in heat in the case of resistors, does not occur in ideal caps. They store energy in an electrostatic field, unlike resistors, which pass current and thus cannot store energy.

Do capacitors dissipate energy in AC circuits?

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Do capacitors dissipate energy in AC circuits?

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