 Thus, the general expression of capacitance is

In nanoscale devices such as quantum dots, the "capacitor" is often an isolated, or partially isolated, component within the device.The primary differences between nanoscale capacitors and macroscopic (conventional) capacitors are the number of excess electrons (charge carriers, or electrons, that contribute to the device's electronic behavior) and the shape and size of metallic electrodes.In nanoscale devices, nanowires consisting of metal atoms typically do not exhibit the same conductive properties as their macroscopic, or bulk material, counterparts.