Dear John,

'Wet' vs. polymer aluminium capacitors

Aluminium electrolytic and polymer wound aluminium electrolytic capacitors may seem similar at first glance, because their construction and appearance are very similar. However, the technologies offer very different performance characteristics.

In this week's Engineers' Insight, Adam Chidley investigates the physical make up of these two types of capacitor, and how their differences affect performance depending on various envronmental factors.