Capacitance Converter

Omni's capacitance converter allows you to quickly convert between different units of capacitance. So whether you want the conversion between µF to nF or nF to pF, you can use our tool.

Head on to our capacitor calculator if you want to determine the capacitance and voltage ratings from the capacitor code. We also have a dedicated tool to calculate the capacitance of a parallel plate capacitor.

To learn more about the different units of capacitance, keep scrolling. You will also find:

• Dimensional formula for capacitance; and
• An example of using our calculator for capacitor conversion.

Let's start with the SI unit of capacitance.

As we know, to express any physical quantity, we also need to specify its unit. In the international system of units, i.e., SI units, we represent electrical capacitance in farad (or F).

Before going any further, let us first try to understand what a farad is?

We define the capacitance $C$ of a capacitor as the ratio:

where:

• $Q$ – Maximum charge that can be stored in the capacitor; and
• $V$ – Voltage applied across the plates of a capacitor.

If $Q = 1\ \rm C$ and $V=1\ \rm V$, we can write one farad as:

Hence, we can define 1 F as the capacitance of a capacitor that can store 1 C of charge when we apply a potential difference of 1 V across its plate.

You may not realize, but 1 coulomb is actually an enormous amount of charge. If we use Coulomb's law (visit the Coulomb's law calculator if you don't remember what it is) to calculate the force between two charges of 1 C separated by a distance of 1 m, we get:

Using our force converter, you can see that this force is about $2.0 \times 10^{9} \ \rm lbf$.

To get an idea about the magnitude of the force mentioned above, you can compare it with the maximum thrust of $2.8 \times 10^{6} \ \rm lbf$ exerted by a space shuttle solid rocket booster during liftoff! Don't believe us, check it out yourself using our rocket thrust calculator.

Therefore, one farad is also a massive value for capacitance and is not very commonly used. The capacitance values that we use typically range from picofarads (pF) to millifarads (mF).

The different units of capacitance are related as:

• $1\ \rm pF\ (picofarad) = 10^{-12}\ F$;
• $1\ \rm nF\ (nanofarad) = 10^{-9}\ F$;
• $1\ \rm \mu F\ (microfarad) = 10^{-6}\ F$; and
• $1\ \rm mF\ (millifarad)= 10^{-3}\ F$.

Hence, if we want to convert between different units, say, from F to nF, we must multiply the capacitance in farads by $10^9$. So, a capacitance of $10\ \rm F$ is equivalent to a capacitance of $10 \times 10^9\ \rm nF$.

In the next section, we will see how to use the capacitance unit conversion calculator to change between different units.

To use the capacitor conversion calculator to perform the same calculations, follow these instructions:

1. Enter the value of capacitance against the given unit field. Say we want to convert $10\ \rm F$, enter the value 10 in the first row.

2. The calculator will convert the capacitance to different units and display it in the respective rows.

3. So, now you know that a capacitance of $10\ \rm F$ can be converted to $10,000\ \rm mF$, $10^7\ \rm \mu F$, $10^{10}\ \rm nF$, and $10^{13}\ \rm pF$.