In general the length of the leads contributes only a negligible amount to the capacitance of a capacitor. However at high enough frequencies excessive lead length can contribute an undesirable amount of parasitic inductive reactance, causing problems in circuit operation.
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Yes. A capacitor stores charge from any source, including AC.The difference between DC and AC, however, is that the capacitor will be constantly changing in charge, in step with the AC. Due to the nature of the capacitor, the current through the capacitor will lead the voltage by some amount, depending on capacitance and resistance. {In the ideal case of a perfect capacitor, conductors, and AC power source, the current will lead the voltage by 90 degrees phase angle.}This is called capacitive reactance.Another way for a capacitor to store charge from an AC source, of course, is to place a rectifier diode in front of the capacitor. This, then, becomes an AC to DC converter.
The distance between the leads (lead spacing) on a radial capacitor
The arrow always points to the negative lead.
Normally all electrolytic capacitors negative lead is marked on the side and if the plastic cover came off and it is new the long lead is the positive.
The physical appearance varies depending on the type of capacitor in question. The main similarity between the different types is that they have two leads.Electrolytic Aluminum Capacitors come as metal cans in appearance, and can be radial (both leads at the bottom) or axial (one lead at the top, one lead at the bottom). This type of capacitor is also polarized and typically will have a symbol indicating which lead should be connected to ground (most common) or a symbol for the lead that connects to the voltage source. Typically there will be a capacitance rating in Farads on the capacitor.Ceramic Capacitors come in many different appearances, one commonly found is a disc shape. These capacitors are not polarity sensitive and thus have no markings indicating polarity. They are smaller than Electrolytic Capacitors and usually do not have enough space to display a Farad rating but will use a numeric code (similar to color bands on resistors)There are many other types of capacitors and also "homebrew" capacitors composed of soda bottles and tin foil, which makes giving an exact answer to "What does a capacitor look like?" difficult.