Calculating your total capacitance is straightforward once you know the Capacitors in Series formula and what each input means. This guide explains the method in plain language, walks through a manual calculation, and gives worked examples you can follow — then you can do it instantly with the Capacitors in Series Calculator.
What is Capacitors in Series?
The Capacitors in Series calculation tells you your total capacitance from a few simple inputs. The figure you are solving for here is the total capacitance.
The Capacitors in Series formula
The core formula is:
Total capacitance = 1 ÷ (1 ÷ Capacitor 1 + 1 ÷ Capacitor 2)Here is what each input means:
- Capacitor 1 — a value measured in µF. Example: 10 µF.
- Capacitor 2 — a value measured in µF. Example: 10 µF.
How to calculate it step by step
- Write down the capacitor 1 (for example, 10 µF).
- Write down the capacitor 2 (for example, 10 µF).
- Apply the formula above to get your total capacitance.
- Double-check the result with the Capacitors in Series Calculator.
Worked examples
Example 1
| Input / Output | Value |
|---|---|
| Capacitor 1 | 10 µF |
| Capacitor 2 | 10 µF |
| Total capacitance | 5.0000 |
With capacitor 1 of 10 µF and capacitor 2 of 10 µF, the total capacitance works out to 5.0000.
Example 2
With capacitor 1 of 20 µF and capacitor 2 of 10 µF, the total capacitance works out to 6.6667.
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Total capacitance | 6.6667 |
Example 3
With capacitor 1 of 5 µF and capacitor 2 of 10 µF, the total capacitance works out to 3.3333.
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Total capacitance | 3.3333 |
Tips for an accurate result
- Keep your units consistent — mixing, say, months with years or grams with kilograms is the most common source of error.
- Round only at the very end. Rounding inputs early can shift the final answer noticeably.
- Re-run the numbers whenever an input changes, rather than estimating from an old result.
Prefer not to do the maths by hand? — the Capacitors in Series Calculator does it instantly, for free, with the formula and a worked example built in.
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