I think the problem is that places that sell capacitors don’t label “ripple current” properly…
As in is this value say 280ma at 120hz
Is this a “tolerance to this much ripple current” (as in it will filter out up to 280ma of ripple at 120hz)
Or is it a “capability” to output 280ma of signal power at 120hz (meaning weaker output vs a 500ma rated one)
Or is it a “leakage of ripple current” of 280ma at 120hz (there for a 500ma leakage of ripple would make more distortion or anomalies heard)
And for this last one I will use this example to explain how I was assuming this to be what “ripple current ratings” actually meant. For example in some PC’s when you connect a sound card to a large amplifier, with some sound cards you can “hear” the shared common ground causing random noises in the amplified audio (hearing drives load, or the mouse movements etc) I assumed this would be similar to what “ripple current” might add to a signal so you want “lower rated ripple current” so you don’t hear the “ripple current” leaking out into the audio…
But what you are saying is “ripple current” is more like how much current the capacitor can store to be released when needed… which is like having a computer Power supply that is 1000w and you only need 600w of power… but you add another device and suddenly need 800w the PSU has enough amperage to handle the extra drain. Where as if you use a 650w power supply and suddenly need 800w the power supply is going to over heat and burn out as it’s not able to keep up with the demand.
I think you’ve pretty much got it. Ripple current essentially relates to how well a cap can suck in and spit out current as demanded by the circuit without over heating. Ripple voltage is what you want to avoid, and a good low ESR cap with a higher ripple current rating will help to minimize ripple voltage. (larger value capacitors will also do this)
The audible stuff you are mentioning with the sound card sounds more like ground loop issues, which is caused by of the “grounds” of different components not being at the exact same actual voltage. The voltage difference causes current to flow between the different “grounds” when connected together.
And leakage current is a totally different thing - it’s the current that flows through the parallel “virtual” resistor, “R leakage”, bypassing the capacitor in that model I showed above. It is many mega-Ohms under normal conditions, so it can generally be ignored. It’s only real effect is that if you charged up a cap and let it sit with no load connected to draw current out, the voltage would very slowly droop down over time as current trickled through “R-leakage”.
Excuse my consistent questioning here (and I do greatly appreciate the time you’ve already taken on this subject). And I will try to be much clearer here.
Because I am still confused because “to me” you’ve conflicted yourself. (please take no offence) because I learn much differently than others. The problem is you keep attempting to explain a concept in your mind “how you understand it” to me… and I don’t need all that - all I need to know is the “fact/concept” , and the rest will auto-fill in my mind.
So below just give me the letter answer, and I will understand the details without you wasting more of your time trying to explain or teach me the concept over and over in various ways.
So it’s fairly simple: is the “ripple current rating” on a capacitor it’s ability to:
A: Tolerate (ripple currents up to said rating = thus lasting longer)
B: Effect/Filter (out ripple current up to said rating = thus having cleaner audio)
C: Produce (output ripple currents up to said rating = more power to reproduce demanding sound frequencies)
(I can also “get it” if you give me a real world examples/result like you did earlier, but even then in your last reply you’ve contradicted your example… as you 1st said “you want higher ripple current for loud parts in music” but then in this reply said “you want to avoid high ripple current”.)
It’s very easy to “teach me” as I only need “key’s” that unlock the details in my mind. I get in all sorts of trouble on forums all the time as a result, because everyone gets to frustrated with me “trying over and over to provide me answers that are not key points”. So I understand you might be frustrated by now.
Problem is most people need "details details details before they can reach that “aha!” -click goes the key to unlock- followed by their “I get it!” moment. Where as all I need is the “Key” handed to me and that alone causes my “click AHA!” moment, because from there all the details in my mind connect.
Again thank you very much for your time and efforts replying (It’s hard to tell people the sort of answers I need to understand things because to them it’s not how they learn/understand)
I don’t believe I contradicted myself. I said high ripple current is good and high ripple voltage is bad. They are two different things.
If you had no ripple current, you would have no audio. The changing current (ripple current) is literally what produces the sound from an amplifier. The amplifier is essentially a variable impedance device which causes the output current to vary, controlled by the low-level input audio signal. Steady current == no sound, because the speaker diaphragm wouldn’t move.
Voltage is like pressure. The higher the voltage, the more pressure it applies to push charge (current) through an impedance. You want this to remain as steady and stable as possible so that it can provide pressure to push the charge out, but not vary that pressure (ripple voltage) because that would affect the current independent of what the amplifier is demanding, causing distortion.
Current is like flow. Current is determined by how much voltage is being applied, and by the impedance of the storage capacitor (ESR) and the downstream load (the amplifier).
You want current to change as rapidly as possible (ripple current) to feed the variable load of your amplifier. You want the supply voltage to remain as steady as possible so that it does not play a part in affecting the current. You only want the variable load of your amplifier to affect the current.