On Wed, 16 Jul 2003 at 20:14 GMT, GregS wrote:
In article m,
"KaeZoo" wrote:
The cap isn't creating power. Only the alternator can do that, by
converting mechanical power to electrical power.

The alternator generates the voltage that the cap tries to
maintain. If the cap discharges to maintain voltage in the
circuit, the alternator must work to recharge it.

The only benefit of the capacitor is that it can react to changes
in voltage more quickly than the alternator can.

It can act with more authority, but not speed. The electricity
does not change speeds. It will come out of one as fast as the
other. As I mentioned before, the cap improves upon voltage
depression from lossy resistive lines, and it smooths out
transitions which the alternator can not supply, due to given RPM,
and output capability at that RPM. The alternator is also
supplying other currents, like air conditioning clutches, lights,
etc. The cap is at the amp, so it has a slight buffer of
resistance between everything else.

I think KaeZoo has it right except for the fact that it isn't speed,
but simple cash flow...

It is not that the credit card allows you to have access to money
faster, it allows you a larger buying power then you actually have
at any give point in time. In the end, you do have to pay it back.

Here is another example:

Think of a capacitor as a large bucket of electricity that is filled
from the top by the alternator and is always tilted over just a bit
to feed the amp. Under a normal load the alternator has more then
enough current to keep the bucket filled up. There are times (when
hitting loud and low bass notes), though that the amp will need to
pull significantly more current then the alternator is able to
deliver. For those times, the amp simply pulls the capacitor over
enough to get the all the current it needs for that bass note. Then
the alternator ups what it is putting into the bucket as to still
feed the amp, but to also replenish the capacitor.

Sam