capacitors for dummies

[Puggie]

I know what a capacitor does, and how eletrolytics / film and foil types work in theory, But I would really appreciate it if someone could do a brief description of each capacitor type, its pro and cons, typical values, what they are generally used for and why.

I need to replace some Tantalums in an amp and I'm wondering if electrolytics or the Sanyo OsCon solid aluminium ones may be more suitable, the Tantalums seem to have failed due to mechanical shock (they worked before the amp myteriously developed a large gouge in the top and a bent heatsink fin ) and I wondered if there was a more suitable modern replacement (Quad 405 so its been around the block a few times) but I would really like a more general guide to different caps and their uses and potential misuses.

thanks

[AndrewT]

Hi,
find the report done by Walt Jung on choosing capacitors.