4 syllables: ca, pa, ci, tance. Stress on pa.
kuh-PAS-uh-tuhns
/kəˈpæsətəns/
capacitance is pronounced kuh-PAS-uh-tuhns (/kəˈpæsətəns/). It has four syllables (ca-pa-ci-tance), with the stress on "pa". Capacitance refers to the ability of a system to store an electrical charge per unit voltage, measured in farads. It is determined by the geometry and material properties of a capacitor, including its plate area, separation, and dielectric constant. In physics and engineering, capacitance influences how energy is stored and released in circuits, affecting impedance and timing.
Capacitance refers to the ability of a system to store an electrical charge per unit voltage, measured in farads. It is determined by the geometry and material properties of a capacitor, including its plate area, separation, and dielectric constant. In physics and engineering, capacitance influences how energy is stored and released in circuits, affecting impedance and timing.
"The capacitor's capacitance was increased to smooth out the power supply fluctuations."
"We calculated the capacitance needed to achieve a 10-millisecond time constant for the RC circuit."
"Different dielectric materials change the capacitance without altering the physical size of the capacitor."
Capacitance is pronounced /ˈkæp.ə.təns/ in US and UK dictionaries, with primary stress on the first syllable. Break it into cap-a-ti-ance, but blend smoothly: 'KAP-uh-tuhns.' In IPA you can cite US /ˈkæp.ɪ.tən(t)s/ depending on speaker; general consensus keeps the second syllable a quick, unstressed 'i' or schwa and final 'ns' as a soft nasal. You’ll hear it as KAP-uh-tans, but the preferred academic form is CAP-uh-tance, stressing the first syllable.
Common errors include over-stressing the second syllable (ca-PRE-sentence-like) or turning the 'ti' into a full 'tee' sound, yielding cap-a-TEE-ance. Another mistake is mispronouncing the final '-ance' as 'ance' with a hard 'c' sound; instead, keep it as '-əns' (schwa + n + s) or a light 'nce' blend. To correct, practice KAP-uh-tən(t)s and end with a soft 'ns' to avoid a clipped or heavy ending.
In US English, you commonly hear /ˈkæpɪtæns/ with a shorter second syllable and a rhotic r-like influence is absent; UK tends toward /ˈkæpɪtəs(ə)ns/ with a very light schwa in the middle and a softer final nasal; Australian usage is similar to UK but may feature a slightly broader vowel in the first syllable and a more clipped second syllable. All variants keep the stress on the first syllable, but vowel height and the liquid-lessness in the middle can vary.
Two main challenges: the sequence cap-i-ta-nce requires a quick, light syllable rhythm, and the middle 'ti' can be pronounced with a soft 't' or a 'd' quality depending on speaker. The transition from 'cap' to 'i' to 't' must avoid a hard, heavy 't' release, which makes the word sound staccato. The final '-ance' can blur into 'ance' or 'ans' if the tongue doesn’t release the nasal properly. Focus on a smooth, almost fluid 'CAP-uh-tuhns'.
There aren’t silent letters in capacitance, but the middle consonant cluster '/pt/' is simplified in rapid speech by reducing the plosive 'p' release and blending into a light '/t/'. Emphasize the open-mid lax vowel in the second syllable and avoid an over-enunciated 't' that would disrupt the natural flow. In careful speech, say /ˈkæp.ɪ.təns/—with a soft, quick middle 't' and a final nasal.
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Capacitance derives from the noun capacitance itself, built from the Latin capax meaning 'capable of holding' or 'holding power' plus -ance, a suffix denoting a state or quality. In late 19th-century physics and electrical engineering, the term began to appear in discussions of charge storage in capacitors as scientists formalized relationships between charge, voltage, and stored energy. The root capax resonates with words like capacitor and capacitance across European languages, with early use traced to the burgeoning field of electromagnetism when engineers quantified how geometry and dielectric materials determine energy storage. The concept evolved through the 1890s to 1920s as formulas like Q = C·V (charge equals capacitance times voltage) and the energy expression E = 1/2·C·V^2 became standard, cementing capacitance as a central parameter in circuit theory and component specification.
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Words that rhyme with "capacitance"
-nce sounds
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