Which circuit element stores electric energy?

The circuit element that stores electric energy is the capacitor. Capacitors are designed to hold electrical charge, creating an electric field between two conductive plates separated by an insulating material, or dielectric. When a voltage is applied across the plates, charge accumulates, storing energy in the electric field. This stored energy can be released back into the circuit when the capacitor discharges, making capacitors essential for filtering, smoothing voltages, and coupling signals in various electronic applications.

While inductors also store energy, they do so in the form of a magnetic field when current flows through them. Inductors are used primarily in applications dealing with alternating current (AC) and for energy storage in magnetic form, differing fundamentally in their energy storage mechanism from capacitors. Diodes and transistors, on the other hand, are active components used for controlling current flow and signal amplification, respectively, but they do not store energy in the same way capacitors and inductors do.