Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
picofarad

picofarad

7.9
A very small unit for storing electric charge equal to one trillionth of a farad
  • noun
  • /ˈpɪkoʊˌfæræd/
  • Specialized
translation icon : picofarad
  • Most ceramic capacitors are rated in picofarads or nanofarads due to their small size.

Examples

  • The circuit requires a capacitor with a value of at least 100 picofarads.

  • A picofarad is commonly abbreviated as 'pF' in electrical schematics.

  • The picofarad is a small unit.

  • One picofarad is a very small unit of capacitance.

  • A picofarad is commonly abbreviated as 'pF' in electrical schematics.

  • Most ceramic capacitors are rated in picofarads or nanofarads due to their small size.

  • The circuit requires a capacitor with a value of at least 100 picofarads.

How Much

farad
  • Specialized
1 7.5
millifarad
  • Specialized
7.5
microfarad
  • Specialized
7.7
picofarad
  • Specialized
7.9

Surface Forms

picofarad singular
picofarads plural

Morphology

picofarad = farad (semi-transparent) = pico + farad

Formed by the productive SI prefix 'pico-' plus the unit 'farad'; the structure is regular but the precise numeric meaning of 'pico' (10^-12) may be unfamiliar to many learners.

Etymology

Picofarad comes from the metric prefix pico- meaning 'very small' and the unit farad, which is named after the scientist Michael Faraday. So a picofarad is a 'very small' farad — 'one trillionth' of a farad — and that is why the word is used for very small capacitors.