The correct answer is: A. Charged
A capacitor is a passive two-terminal electrical component used to store energy in an electric field. The capacitance of a capacitor is directly proportional to the area of the plates, inversely proportional to the distance between the plates, and inversely proportional to the permittivity of the dielectric material between the plates.
When an ohmmeter is connected to a charged capacitor, the ohmmeter will initially read infinity because there is no current flowing through the capacitor. However, as the capacitor discharges, the ohmmeter reading will decrease. When the capacitor is fully discharged, the ohmmeter reading will be zero.
If an ohmmeter reading immediately goes practically to zero and stays there, it indicates that the capacitor is charged. This is because there is no resistance to current flow when the capacitor is fully discharged.
The other options are incorrect because:
- A short-circuited capacitor will have a very low ohmmeter reading.
- A lossy capacitor will have an ohmmeter reading that decreases over time.
- A satisfactory capacitor will have an ohmmeter reading that is within the specified range.