Electrostatic Capacitance Converter
Convert electrostatic capacitance between farad and every metric prefix from attofarad to exafarad, coulomb per volt, and the CGS units abfarad and statfarad. Pick two units, enter a value and read the result instantly. Very small and very large values appear in scientific notation.
Select two units to see the conversion factor.
This tool converts capacitance (F) only. It is not electric charge (C), and not inductance (H). Note that mF is millifarad but MF is megafarad.
Electrostatic Capacitance Formula
Every capacitance unit is a fixed multiple of the farad. Result = value × (source factor ÷ target factor). The prefixes are exact powers of ten, from 1 aF = 10⁻¹⁸ F up to 1 EF = 10¹⁸ F, so 1 µF = 1,000,000 pF and 1 nF = 1,000 pF. A coulomb per volt is exactly one farad. The CGS units are exact too: 1 abfarad = 10⁹ F, and 1 statfarad = 1 ÷ (c² × 10⁻⁵) F ≈ 1.11265 × 10⁻¹² F, derived from the exact speed of light.
What Is Electrostatic Capacitance?
Capacitance is the ability of a device to store electric charge for a given voltage. It is the ratio C = Q ÷ V: the charge on the conductors divided by the voltage between them. The SI unit is the farad (F), one coulomb of stored charge per volt. A capacitor also stores energy, E = ½ × C × V², and for two parallel plates the capacitance is C = ε × A ÷ d, growing with plate area A and falling with spacing d.
The farad is a huge unit. Ordinary capacitors are measured in microfarads (µF) for power supplies and motor starters, nanofarads (nF) for coupling and filter capacitors and picofarads (pF) for radio-frequency circuits, crystal loads and stray capacitance. Millifarads and farads belong to supercapacitors, which reach thousands of farads. Femtofarads and attofarads describe the tiny capacitances inside integrated circuits and on nanoscale devices. Larger prefixes up to the exafarad are included for completeness but have no practical use.
Case matters in the symbols: mF is a millifarad (10⁻³ F), MF a megafarad (10⁶ F). And “MFD” or “mfd” on old capacitors means microfarad. The coulomb per volt is just another name for the farad. The abfarad (the EMU of capacitance, 10⁹ F) and the statfarad (the ESU of capacitance, about 1.11 pF) are the CGS units; the statfarad is the unit that equals the capacitance of a sphere of 1 cm radius in Gaussian units.
Do not confuse capacitance with related quantities. It is not the stored charge itself (Charge Converter), and it is not inductance, the property of coils that stores energy in a magnetic field rather than an electric one (Inductance Converter).
Supported Units
This converter supports the following 22 capacitance units. The last column gives the value of each unit in the base unit, the farad. The coulomb per volt equals the farad, and the abfarad equals the EMU of capacitance, and the statfarad equals the ESU of capacitance.
| Unit | Symbol | Value in F |
|---|---|---|
| Farad | F | 1 |
| Exafarad | EF | 1e+18 |
| Petafarad | PF | 1e+15 |
| Terafarad | TF | 1e+12 |
| Gigafarad | GF | 1,000,000,000 |
| Megafarad | MF | 1,000,000 |
| Kilofarad | kF | 1,000 |
| Hectofarad | hF | 100 |
| Dekafarad | daF | 10 |
| Decifarad | dF | 0.1 |
| Centifarad | cF | 0.01 |
| Millifarad | mF | 0.001 |
| Microfarad | µF | 1e-6 |
| Nanofarad | nF | 1e-9 |
| Picofarad | pF | 1e-12 |
| Femtofarad | fF | 1e-15 |
| Attofarad | aF | 1e-18 |
| Coulomb per volt | C/V | 1 |
| Abfarad | abF | 1,000,000,000 |
| EMU of capacitance | EMU | 1,000,000,000 |
| Statfarad | statF | 1.112650056e-12 |
| ESU of capacitance | ESU | 1.112650056e-12 |
How to Use the Electrostatic Capacitance Converter
- Type the capacitance in the value box. Decimals and scientific notation such as 0.0025 or 2.5e-3 are accepted.
- Choose the From unit and the To unit.
- The result appears instantly, or press Convert Now. Very large or very small results are shown in scientific notation.
- Use Swap Units to reverse the conversion, Copy Result to copy the answer, open Show this value in all units for a full list, and Clear to start again.
Step-by-step by hand
- Find the size of each unit in the common base unit (F): 1 µF = 1e-6 F and 1 pF = 1e-12 F.
- Divide the source size by the target size to get the conversion factor: 1e-6 ÷ 1e-12 = 1,000,000, so 1 µF = 1,000,000 pF.
- Multiply by your value: 4.7 µF × 1,000,000 = 4,700,000 pF.
Capacitance of a normal capacitor cannot be negative, so only zero and positive numbers are accepted.
Common Capacitance Conversions
- Microfarads to picofarads: 4.7 µF equals 4,700,000 pF and 4,700 nF.
- Common coupling capacitor: 100 nF equals 0.1 µF.
- Crystal load: 22 pF equals 0.022 nF.
- Supercapacitor: 3,000 F equals 3 kF and 3,000,000 mF.
- On-chip value: 5 fF equals 0.005 pF.
- CGS to SI: 1 statfarad equals 1.112650056 pF, and 1 abfarad equals 1 GF.
Microfarad to Other Capacitance Units
Quick reference for frequently used values
| µF | Farad (F) | Nanofarad (nF) | Picofarad (pF) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.001 | 1e-9 | 1 | 1,000 |
| 0.01 | 1e-8 | 10 | 10,000 |
| 0.1 | 1e-7 | 100 | 100,000 |
| 1 | 1e-6 | 1,000 | 1,000,000 |
| 4.7 | 4.7e-6 | 4,700 | 4,700,000 |
| 10 | 1e-5 | 10,000 | 10,000,000 |
| 100 | 1e-4 | 100,000 | 100,000,000 |
| 1,000 | 0.001 | 1,000,000 | 1,000,000,000 |
Where and Why This Conversion Is Used
- Electronics design: reading capacitor markings and datasheets in µF, nF and pF.
- Power supplies and motors: filter and start capacitors in µF and mF.
- Radio and RF: tuning, matching and crystal-load capacitors in pF.
- Energy storage: supercapacitor banks in farads and kilofarads.
- Integrated circuits and sensors: parasitic and sensing capacitances in fF and aF.
Limitations
- The marked value is a nominal one. Real capacitors have tolerances, and the value drifts with temperature, voltage and age.
- Capacitance in farads cannot be turned into stored charge or energy without a voltage.
Important Differences Between Related Electrical Measurements
- Capacitance, F is charge per volt. Charge, C is what is stored: 100 µF at 5 V holds 500 µC. Capacitance is a property of the device and does not change with the voltage applied.
- Capacitance vs inductance: a capacitor stores energy in an electric field and passes AC more easily as frequency rises. An inductor stores energy in a magnetic field and passes AC less easily. Farads and henries are not interchangeable.
- Capacitance vs energy: the stored energy is ½ × C × V². Doubling the voltage quadruples the energy.
- mF vs MF, µF vs mfd: prefix case matters. mF is a thousandth of a farad, MF a million farads, and “mfd” on old parts means microfarads.
Each converter on this site changes units within one quantity only, and none of them mixes quantities. The related tools are: Charge, Current, Linear Charge Density, Surface Charge Density, Volume Charge Density, Linear Current Density, Surface Current Density, Electric Field Strength, Electric Potential, Electric Resistance, Electric Resistivity, Electric Conductance, Electric Conductivity, Electrostatic Capacitance and Inductance.