Connecting Capacitor Leads

[TurbOSquiD77]

Hypothetical setup:
10 capacitors.
each of different value, but has the voltage needed or higher (.1uF, 1uF, 8uF, 10uF, 50uF....etc.).
connecting them in parallel.


What order do you connect them in? Least to greatest value starting close to the terminals they are all leading to? What if you connect them opposite (greatest to least)? Does the charge act differently?


Say, for caps of equal value... What is "better", to connect the leads of one cap to the leads of the next like the above question, or connect all cap leads to one connection? I understand that logically they will form one large value cap, but physically is one way more effective or will perform differently than another in regards to sonics....etc?

Just curious 


Alligator clips....
Do they provide enough surface area contact to create a good quality connection and audio reproduction from one end (copper wire soldered to terminal, and the other end crimped in the copper alligator clip, and clamped to capacitor leads? Even custom 6N copper flat clips for more surface area and higher conductivity.


Again, always thinking of how things work. Looking at signing up for a class soon as well.


Thanks!

-T

[Paul Birkeland]

What order do you connect them in? [...] but physically is one way more effective or will perform differently than another in regards to sonics....etc?

I would suggest asking such a question on Audio Asylum.  You should be able to get at least 20 posts on this topic, most of which will disagree with each other. 

Alligator clips....
Do they provide enough surface area to create a good quality connection and audio reproduction? Copper clips that is, or even custom 6N copper flat clips for more surface area and higher conductivity. Also, clips would have copper litz or solid wire crimped in, and connected to the terminals on the other end.

No, alligator clips kind of suck.  Copper clips will oxidize and make worse contact than the shiny mystery metal ones.  Litz wire has to be tinned whether you solder it or crimp it, so most will opt to just use solder.

[TurbOSquiD77]

Thanks for the input.

How about solder connections vs a pure copper binding post, and overlapping the wires tightened(not using the bottom eye hole of the post)? Could be accomplished with a small bolt 2 washers and nut a too. A direct pressure connection of two or more wires crimped would allow higher conductivity than a solder connection or does it depend.... Etc?

Physics in this manner is quite amazing how one implementation could be different than another as far as the flow of electrons goes.

[2wo]

There are certain connectors that are crimped under great pressure, the metals are crushed through the oxide layer and form a metal to metal airtight joint. Takes a lot of pressure though...John

[Paul Birkeland]

How about solder connections vs a pure copper binding post

It's very unusual to see a copper binding post that isn't plated.  Copper oxidizes, copper oxide isn't a great conductor, so copper needs to be plated. (Note that if you ever see a tube amp with bare copper wire like Romex used in it, this is generally a really bad sign).

and overlapping the wires tightened(not using the bottom eye hole of the post)? Could be accomplished with a small bolt 2 washers and nut a too. A direct pressure connection of two or more wires crimped would allow higher conductivity than a solder connection or does it depend.

I don't get very excited about crimp connections since I own a soldering iron or two.  I can tell you that the electrical building code in the US prohibits putting more than one wire in the screw down crimp terminal of an electrical breaker (called out as a "double tap", but you can put in a 3" piece of wire and use a wire nut to connect that piece of wire to others without breaking any rules.

[khingila]

Perhaps you can clear up my confusion about about another type of connection as it relates to electric code. An inspector recently required me to reconfigure the neutral and ground wires of an outlet circuit I'd added to an existing panel. I landed both on the same lug; I was told that it's a code violation, and that they needed to be on separate lugs. It didn't matter whether they were both on one buss bar, it didn't matter that the neutral and ground buss bars are tied together and both to ground, multiple wires on one lug are ok as long as they are all neutral or ground...but neutral and ground on one lug are not ok. The reason why? 'It's not code'. Not a very satisfactory explanation!

[Paul Joppa]

Just a short note here. The code and other safety specifications are based on experience. Sometimes the reasoning is not obvious, but there is always a reason, and the reason is usually that somebody died. I'm not an expert on safety rules, and I don't know the reason for this one. But I have faith that there is a reason, and that it's a good one.

[Paul Birkeland]

Perhaps you can clear up my confusion about about another type of connection as it relates to electric code. An inspector recently required me to reconfigure the neutral and ground wires of an outlet circuit I'd added to an existing panel. I landed both on the same lug; I was told that it's a code violation, and that they needed to be on separate lugs.

If the connector on that lug backs out, you will be very thankful that the other connection is present and independent!

[Jamier]

I hope someone will correct me if this is wrong, but connecting a neutral lead and a ground is technically creating a ground fault, isn't it? In this case, the connection at the service panel probably does not create a large hazard but city building codes probably prohibit any situation that does that (?). Also, do GFCI receptacles detect ground faults on the line and load sides or only on the load side?

Jamie

[Paul Birkeland]

I hope someone will correct me if this is wrong, but connecting a neutral lead and a ground is technically creating a ground fault, isn't it? In this case, the connection at the service panel probably does not create a large hazard but city building codes probably prohibit any situation that does that (?). Also, do GFCI receptacles detect ground faults on the line and load sides or only on the load side?

A GFCI circuit breaker (newer type of breaker) may or may not detect that fault and trip.  Old school breakers (or fuse panels if your panel is ancient) do not pick up on that kind of fault.