What property of conductors enables them to store electrical charge when potential differences exist?

The property of conductors that enables them to store electrical charge when potential differences exist is capacitance. Capacitance is defined as the ability of a system to accumulate an electrical charge, which occurs in a capacitor, a device specifically designed to store electrical energy. When a potential difference is applied across the conductors in a system, charge builds up on the surfaces of the conductors, and this storage of charge is a direct result of the capacitance of that system.

Capacitance is measured in farads and is determined by the physical characteristics of the conductors, such as their size, shape, and the dielectric material separating them. When there is a potential difference, electrons are able to move and accumulate, and this ability is what capacitance quantifies. This concept is fundamental in many electrical and electronic applications, making it crucial for understanding how charge storage works in circuits.

While conductance, resistance, and inductance are important properties of electrical circuits, they do not pertain to the capability of storing electrical charge in the way capacitance does. Conductance pertains to how easily electricity can flow through a material, resistance measures how much a material opposes that flow, and inductance concerns the ability of a conductor to induce electromotive force in