Capacitor Color Coding
Capacitors may be marked with 3 or more colored bands or dots. 3-color coding encodes most significant digit, second most significant digit, and multiplier. Additional bands have meanings which may vary from one type to another. Low-tolerance capacitors may begin with the first 3 (rather than 2) digits of the value. It is usually, but not always, possible to work out what scheme is used by the particular colors used. Cylindrical capacitors marked with bands may look like resistors.
| Color | Significant digits | Multiplier | Capacitance tolerance | Characteristic | DC working voltage | Operating temperature | EIA/vibration | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black | 0 | 1 | ±20% | — | — | −55 °C to +70 °C | 10 to 55 Hz | |
| Brown | 1 | 10 | ±1% | B | 100 | — | — | |
| Red | 2 | 100 | ±2% | C | — | −55 °C to +85 °C | — | |
| Orange | 3 | 1000 | — | D | 300 | — | — | |
| Yellow | 4 | 10000 | — | E | — | −55 °C to +125 °C | 10 to 2000 Hz | |
| Green | 5 | — | ±0.5% | F | 500 | — | — | |
| Blue | 6 | — | — | — | — | −55 °C to +150 °C | — | |
| Violet | 7 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Grey | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| White | 9 | — | — | — | — | — | EIA | |
| Gold | — | — | ±5%* | — | 1000 | — | — | |
| Silver | — | — | ±10% | — | — | — | — | |
*or ±0.5 pF, whichever is greater.
Read more about this topic: Electronic Color Code
Famous quotes containing the word color:
“Painting seems to be to the eye what dancing is to the limbs. When that has educated the frame to self-possession, to nimbleness, to grace, the steps of the dancing-master are better forgotten; so painting teaches me the splendor of color and the expression of form, and as I see many pictures and higher genius in the art, I see the boundless opulence of the pencil, the indifferency in which the artist stands free to choose out of the possible forms.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)