Capacitance is the ability of a component or circuit to collect and store energy in the form of an electrical charge.

Steady state is when the capacitor is fully charged and no current flows through it, acting like an open switch.

The time constant ($\tau$ = RC) is the time it takes for a capacitor to charge to about 63% of its maximum voltage or discharge to about 37% of its initial voltage.

The equivalent capacitance is the total capacitance of a circuit with multiple capacitors, simplified into a single value.

An RC circuit is a circuit containing both a resistor (R) and a capacitor (C).

Increasing resistance increases the time constant, slowing down the charging/discharging process.

Increasing capacitance increases the time constant, slowing down the charging/discharging process and allowing it to store more charge.

The capacitor blocks DC current, acting like an open circuit.

Current flows freely through the circuit.

The total capacitance increases, allowing the circuit to store more charge at a given voltage.

Series: Charge is the same on each capacitor ($Q_{total} = Q_1 = Q_2 = Q_3 = ...$) | Parallel: Total charge is the sum of charges on each capacitor ($Q_{total} = Q_1 + Q_2 + Q_3 + ...$)

Series: $\frac{1}{C_{total}} = \frac{1}{C_1} + \frac{1}{C_2} + \frac{1}{C_3} + ...$ | Parallel: $C_{total} = C_1 + C_2 + C_3 + ...$

Initial State: Current flows freely, capacitor is uncharged | Steady State: No current flows, capacitor is fully charged and acts as an open circuit.

Series: Voltage is split across each capacitor. | Parallel: Voltage is the same across each capacitor.

Series: Current is the same through each capacitor. | Parallel: Current divides through each capacitor.