Electrolytic capacitor different types: aluminum, tantalum, and niobium capacitors. Each of these three capacitor families uses non-solid and solid manganese dioxide or solid polymer electrolytes, so a great spread of different combinations of anode material and solid or non-solid electrolytes is available. Like other conventional capacitors, electrolytic capacitors store the electric energy statically by charge separation in an electric field in the dielectric oxide layer between two electrodes. The non-solid or solid electrolyte in principle is the cathode, which thus forms the second electrode of the capacitor. This and the storage principle distinguish them from electrochemical capacitors or supercapacitors, in which the
Standard electrode potential 0.00 V and any electrode, for which the electrode potential is not yet known, can be paired with SHE—to form a galvanic cell—and the galvanic cell potential gives the unknown electrode's potential. Using this process, any electrode with an unknown potential can be paired with either the SHE or another electrode for which the potential has already been derived and that unknown value can be established. Since the electrode potentials are conventionally defined as reduction potentials, the sign of the potential for the metal electrode being oxidized must be reversed when calculating the overall cell potential. Note that the electrode