[peterhuang913]

In the drawing for this, is there a specific direction in which the capacitors are placed. I just bought a capacitor and it had an arrow on it.

[zmatt]

the electrolytic capacitors (the ones that are little cylinders) have polarity and the side with the stripe is + and the other side is - . the other kind of capacitor is ceramic and they look like little discs on end, they dont have polarity and can be hooked up either way. electrolytic cpacitors have much more farads of capacitance. there aren't many ceramic ones that have more than .1uf o you have to have the electrolytic kind. i know thats a little long winded but i hope it helps.

[peterhuang913]

which is the direction with the stripe? or do you mean the crimped area?

[peterhuang913]

bump...

[killians45]

Well, look at the diagram... where is the positive flow coming from, that will tell you what side is positive and what side is negative. Not meaning to come off as an ***, but not sure what kind of capacitor you are speaking of.

[peterhuang913]

Its a 100µF 35V 20% Axial-Lead Electrolytic Capacitor as listed in the link. I think I know what to do now.

[killians45]

k, just remember to follow the flow of the charge and quickest route to ground

[peterhuang913]

would it work to buy a high farad high volatge capacitor and use it to shock someone?

[Elbatrop1]

Just to clarify, you will be connecting the positive side of the cap to the positive pole of the battery. The negative side of the cap will be connected to negative pole of the battery. Generally, an electrolytic cap will have it's positive pin longer than the negative.

And yes, a high voltage, high capacitance capacitor can potentially shock someone.

[zmatt]

the stripe side is the - what else do you want to know? i said that the first time. maybe before you go crazy with a soldering iron you should learn basic electrical theory. Not to be mean but if you are doing stuff like that things like which end of a capacitor is which and how to read a resistor is required material.