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Two Isolated Conductors - Charge To Equal and Opposite Charge - Each Is An Equipotential Surface - Potential Between Them Is Such That

This document discusses the relationships between capacitance, charge, potential difference, area, and surface charge density for a parallel plate capacitor. It provides examples of calculating these values given certain parameters of a parallel plate capacitor, such as capacitance, plate separation distance, and charge. The key relationships used are C=Q/V, C=εA/d, E=V/d, and σ=Q/A.

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Siva Kumar
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48 views

Two Isolated Conductors - Charge To Equal and Opposite Charge - Each Is An Equipotential Surface - Potential Between Them Is Such That

This document discusses the relationships between capacitance, charge, potential difference, area, and surface charge density for a parallel plate capacitor. It provides examples of calculating these values given certain parameters of a parallel plate capacitor, such as capacitance, plate separation distance, and charge. The key relationships used are C=Q/V, C=εA/d, E=V/d, and σ=Q/A.

Uploaded by

Siva Kumar
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Two isolated conductors

Charge to equal and opposite charge


Each is an equipotential surface
Potential between them is such that:
(Farad is the unit of capacitance, however, we
commonly use (pF) picofarad=10-12F, (F)
microfarad=10-6F, and (nF) nanofarad=10-9F.)
A parallel-plate air capacitor has a capacitance of 800 pF. The
charge on each plate is 6 C. What is the potential difference
between the plates ?

In this problem we just need to use the relation


between the capacitance of the capacitor, its
charge and the potential difference between the
plates :
A parallel-plate air capacitor of capacitance of 100 pF
has a charge of magnitude 0.1 C on each plate. The
plates are 0.5 mm apart .
(a) What is the potential difference between the plates ?
(b) What is the area of each plate ?
(c) What is the electric-field magnitude between the
plates ?
(d) What is the surface charge density on each plate ?

a) To find the potential difference we need to use the equation


A parallel-plate air capacitor of capacitance of 100 pF
has a charge of magnitude 0.1 C on each plate. The
plates are 0.5 mm apart .
(a) What is the potential difference between the plates ?
(b) What is the area of each plate ?
(c) What is the electric-field magnitude between the
plates ?
(d) What is the surface charge density on each plate ?

To find the area of the plates we need to use the


expression for the capacitance :

We know d=0.5
mm=0.0005 m, then
we can find the area A:
A parallel-plate air capacitor of capacitance of 100 pF
has a charge of magnitude 0.1 C on each plate. The
plates are 0.5 mm apart .
(a) What is the potential difference between the plates ?
(b) What is the area of each plate ?
(c) What is the electric-field magnitude between the
plates ?
(d) What is the surface charge density on each plate ?

The potential difference is related to the


electric field through the following relation :
A parallel-plate air capacitor of capacitance of 100 pF
has a charge of magnitude 0.1 C on each plate. The
plates are 0.5 mm apart .
(a) What is the potential difference between the plates ?
(b) What is the area of each plate ?
(c) What is the electric-field magnitude between the
plates ?
(d) What is the surface charge density on each plate ?

The surface charge density can be found from the equation :


To Find Capacitance
Assume charge, q
Find E
Calculate V
Calculate C
For close parallel plates:
use Gaussian surface around positive plate
For close parallel plates:
use Gaussian surface around positive plate
For close parallel plates:
use Gaussian surface around positive plate

q=CV
C=0EA/Ed=0A/d
V1=V2=V3
q1=q2=q3
Reminder:

The work of moving a little bit of


charge from one plate to another is:

The work of moving all of the charge


from one plate to another is:
The work is stored as potential energy:

Or using q=CV can re-write as:


C = k Cair
Working Voltage
Defined as the maximum safe potential difference beyond which
there is a risk of electrical breakdown. Occurs at a fixed
electrical field. For air it is 50 MV/m.

Reminder, in parallel plate:


E=V/d
So the smaller spaced the lower allowed voltage.

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