Capacitor Electric Double Layer- Supercaps

A supercapacitor has high cycle efficiency, a large number of charging cycles, and a faster discharge time and longer life. The value of a supercapacitor is usually in farads as compared to other capacitors that are in micro farads or nano farads. Capacitors are energy storage devices. An electric double layer capacitor stores more charge or energy than standard capacitors. This is because the plates used in the capacitor have a larger surface area and a shorter distance between the plates when compared to standard capacitors. Due to the high stored charge, the capacitors are also known as supercapacitors. Supercapacitors consists of two metal plates made of porous material such as activated charcoal or carbon. There is no separate dielectric used in a supercapacitor. The metal plates are soaked in an electrolyte and separated by a thin insulator made of carbon or paper. The high surface area of the electrode and a relatively thinner dielectric medium results in the storage of high charge in less space. When the plates have a full charge, an opposite charge forms on either side of the dielectric, thus creating an electric double-layer. A supercapacitor is used in applications like power conditioning, industrial lasers, medical equipment, uninterruptible power supplies, wireless communication systems and wind turbines. Supercapacitors can be connected in series to produce bigger voltages for use in more powerful equipment.