The capacity of a container is linked to the amount of something it can hold inside.
From the Latin capa , capacity is the ability of something to accommodate certain things within a limited framework in some way.
For example: “The capacity of the stadium was filled in just over an hour,” “We still have to carry two bags, but the trunk no longer has any capacity,” “This jug has a capacity of two liters,” “I think “We are about to exhaust the capacity of the tank.”
Ability in science
In the field of science we talk about different types of abilities. Electrical capacity is defined as the property of capacitors (or condensers) that establishes the link between the voltage difference (potential difference) of the capacitor plates and the electric charge stored in it.
Heat capacity , on the other hand, is the division between the amount of energy that is transferred to a system or body in a procedure and the temperature change it registers.
A person's ability can be linked to their aptitudes or skills.
The skill or ability
Capacity, on the other hand, is the skill , ability , and suitability that allows a person to successfully complete a task: “He is a man of great ability who deserves an opportunity to run the company,” “The man does not have the sufficient capacity to solve such a problem” , “No one questioned your capacity, but the truth is that you do not have the experience to solve this” .
Although this term is often confused with talent , it is necessary to clarify the differences between the two, as well as the particularities of the latter, which is also often misunderstood. Capacity is understood as the conditions that a person meets to learn and cultivate different fields of knowledge, understood as a series of natural tools , whether they have been used by them or not. Just as in its meaning referring to a container or a pool, it speaks of the space available to accumulate and develop concepts and skills.
It is very common to talk about capacity in a general sense, even when the topic of the conversation is a particular discipline. And in reality, although it is not incorrect to say that "someone has a lot of ability to play the piano", this concept is broader, and should be used to describe the mental flexibility of a person, how much ease they show when it comes to coping with to a new intellectual challenge , whatever it may be. This is where it is confused with talent.
Talent is associated with a particular activity or area of knowledge, although there are different ways of understanding it. The most common is to use it as a synonym for aptitude , referring to that portion of a person's ability that specifically serves to internalize a concept or discipline (for example: playing the piano). On the other hand, there are those who consider that talent is the set formed by natural abilities, the dedication to learn and improve, and the result obtained after a time of intense work.
Use of mental capacity
Certainly, human beings waste most of our mental capacity, settling for a small percentage, enough to emulate the lives of our elders, while we make ourselves believe that we build our own path. Outside of scientific studies that strive to translate these issues into numbers, it often happens that we discover abilities in ourselves that we had never explored before, and by embarking on the adventure that is learning and specializing, we get to know ourselves better, understanding that our limits They are much further away than we thought.
For law , legal capacity is the ability of a subject to exercise ownership of obligations and rights personally. The capacity to act , on the other hand, is the legal power that establishes the effectiveness of the actions carried out according to the individual's marital status.