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Using a bit of Electric Paint and a piece of paper, you can paint your own capacitor. To make a basic capacitor you just need two conductive surfaces (or Electric Paint!) very close together, separated by an insulator.
Have fun and make sure to keep your capacitor to hand. We’re soon going to show you how to test them and use them in combination with other components made from Electric Paint. Keep checking Back!
Materials: To begin you will need:
1 x Electric Paint 50ml
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Paper
Multimeter
9V Battery
Battery clip
Step 1: Painting a Capacitor
Check out the video for a quick overview.
Links
Step 2: Apply Electric Paint
Paint both sides of a piece of paper using Electric Paint to get your capacitor up and running. The thinner the paper, the more efficient the capacitor. Make sure that the two sides don’t touch anywhere, or else the capacitor will short out.
If you are familiar with screen printing you can also apply the paint that way, or using a stencil.
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Step 3: Charge your Capacitor
After painting your capacitor, charge it up by attaching a small battery. I used a 9V here, but it would work with other types as well. Make sure to remember which side of your paper is positive and which is negative.
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Step 4: Measure the Voltage
After letting my capacitor charge for a few seconds, I was able to measure a voltage as seen above. It’s not a terribly efficient capacitor, but we think its pretty exciting to hold an electrical charge in a piece of paper!
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Step 5: Further Reading
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