Scribd
Upload
23 views

Capacitance of A Conductor

The document discusses the concept of capacitance. It defines capacitance as the ratio of the charge given to a conductor to the potential developed in the conductor. It then explains that the capacitance of a conductor depends on its size, shape, and the materials nearby. Adding a second conductor nearby can increase the capacitance by inducing opposite charges on each plate, reducing the potential of the first conductor.

Uploaded by

jots2
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
23 views

Capacitance of A Conductor

The document discusses the concept of capacitance. It defines capacitance as the ratio of the charge given to a conductor to the potential developed in the conductor. It then explains that the capacitance of a conductor depends on its size, shape, and the materials nearby. Adding a second conductor nearby can increase the capacitance by inducing opposite charges on each plate, reducing the potential of the first conductor.

Uploaded by

jots2
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 1

Capacitance of a conductor when a charge q is given to an isolated conductor, its potential will change.

The change in potential depends on the size and shape of the conductor. The potential of a conductor
changes by V, due to the charge q given to the conductor.
q V or q = CV i.e. C = q/V
Here C is called as capacitance of the conductor. The capacitance of a conductor is defined as the ratio
of the charge given to the conductor to the potential developed in the Conductor.
The unit of capacitance is farad. A conductor has a capacitance of one farad, if a charge of 1 coulomb
given to it, rises its potential by 1 volt. The practical units of capacitance are F and pF. Principle of
a capacitor Consider an insulated conductor (Plate A !ith a positive charge "#$ having potential %
(Fig 1.&&a. The capacitance of A is C ' #(%. )hen another insulated metal plate * is brought near A,
negative charges are induced on the side of * near A. An e#ual amount of positive charge is induced
on the other side of * (Fig 1.&&b. The negative charge in * decreases the potential of A. The
positive charge in * increases the potential of A. *ut the negative charge on * is nearer to A than the
positive charge on *. +o the net effect is that, the potential of A decreases. Thus the capacitance of A
is increased. ,f the plate * is earthed, positive charges get neutrali-ed (Fig 1.&&c. Then the potential
of A decreases further. Thus the capacitance of A is considerably increased.
The capacitance depends on the geometry of the conductors and nature of the medium. A capacitor is
a device for storing electric charges. Fig 1.&& Principle of capacitor

You might also like