Capacitance is the ability of a component, called a capacitor, to store electrical energy in an electric field. It is defined as the amount of electric charge stored per unit voltage across the capacitor. The unit of capacitance is the farad, which indicates how much charge a capacitor can hold at a specific voltage. Capacitance depends on the physical characteristics of the capacitor, including the surface area of its plates, the distance between them, and the type of insulating material, known as the dielectric, used between the plates. Higher capacitance values allow for more charge storage, making capacitors essential in various electronic applications.