Capacitance and Dielectrics
Capacitance and Dielectrics
Capacitance
and
Dielectrics
Capacitors
Capacitors are devices that store electric
charge
Examples of where capacitors are used
include:
radio receivers
filters in power supplies
to eliminate sparking in automobile ignition
systems
energy-storing devices in electronic flashes
Definition of Capacitance
The capacitance, C, of a capacitor is defined
as the ratio of the magnitude of the charge on
either conductor to the potential difference
between the conductors
Q
C
V
The SI unit of capacitance is the farad (F)
Makeup of a Capacitor
A capacitor consists of
two conductors
These conductors are
called plates
When the conductor is
charged, the plates carry
charges of equal
magnitude and opposite
directions
A potential difference
exists between the
plates due to the
charge
More About Capacitance
Capacitance will always be a positive quantity
The capacitance of a given capacitor is constant
The capacitance is a measure of the capacitor’s
ability to store charge
The farad is a large unit, typically you will see
microfarads (mF) and picofarads (pF)
A capacitor Shapes
Parallel Plate Capacitor
Each plate is
connected to a terminal
of the battery
The battery is a source of
potential difference
If the capacitor is
initially uncharged, the
battery establishes an
electric field in the
connecting wires
Parallel Plate Capacitor, cont
This field applies a force on electrons in the wire just
outside of the plates
The force causes the electrons to move onto the
negative plate
This continues until equilibrium is achieved
The plate, the wire and the terminal are all at the same
potential
At this point, there is no field present in the wire and
the movement of the electrons ceases
Parallel Plate Capacitor, final
The plate is now negatively charged
A similar process occurs at the other plate,
electrons moving away from the plate and
leaving it positively charged
In its final configuration, the potential
difference across the capacitor plates is the
same as that between the terminals of the
battery
Capacitance – Isolated Sphere
Assume a spherical charged conductor with radius a
The sphere will have the same capacitance as it
would if there were a conducting sphere of infinite
radius, concentric with the original sphere
Assume V = 0 for the infinitely large shell
Q Q R
C 4πεo a
V keQ / a ke
Note, this is independent of the charge and the
potential difference
Capacitance – Parallel Plates
The charge density on the plates is σ =
Q/A
A is the area of each plate, which are equal
Q is the charge on each plate, equal with
opposite signs
The electric field is uniform between the
plates and zero elsewhere
Capacitance – Parallel Plates,
cont.
The capacitance is proportional to the area of
its plates and inversely proportional to the
distance between the plates
Q Q Q εo A
C
V Ed Qd / εo A d
External Example: Size of a 1-F capacitor
PLAY
ACTIVE FIGURE
Capacitors in Parallel, 2
The flow of charges ceases when the voltage across
the capacitors equals that of the battery
The potential difference across the capacitors is the
same
And each is equal to the voltage of the battery
V1 = V2 = V
V is the battery terminal voltage
The capacitors reach their maximum charge when
the flow of charge ceases
The total charge is equal to the sum of the charges
on the capacitors
Qtotal = Q1 + Q2
Capacitors in Parallel, 3
The capacitors can be
replaced with one
capacitor with a
capacitance of Ceq
The equivalent capacitor
must have exactly the
same external effect on
the circuit as the original
capacitors
Capacitors in Parallel, final
Ceq = C1 + C2 + C3 + …
The equivalent capacitance of a parallel
combination of capacitors is greater than any
of the individual capacitors
Essentially, the areas are combined
Use the active figure to vary the battery
potential and the various capacitors and
observe the resulting charges and voltages
on the capacitors
Capacitors in Series
When a battery is
connected to the circuit,
electrons are
transferred from the left
plate of C1 to the right
plate of C2 through the
battery
PLAY
ACTIVE FIGURE
Capacitors in Series, 2
As this negative charge accumulates on the
right plate of C2, an equivalent amount of
negative charge is removed from the left
plate of C2, leaving it with an excess positive
charge
All of the right plates gain charges of –Q and
all the left plates have charges of +Q
Capacitors in
Series, 3
An equivalent capacitor
can be found that
performs the same
function as the series
combination
The charges are all the
same
Q1 = Q2 = Q
Capacitors in Series, final
The potential differences add up to the battery
voltage
ΔVtot = V1 + V2 + …
The equivalent capacitance is
1 1 1 1
Ceq C1 C2 C3
The 1.0-mF and 3.0-mF capacitors are in parallel as are the 6.0-
mF and 2.0-mF capacitors
These parallel combinations are in series with the capacitors
next to them
The series combinations are in parallel and the final equivalent
capacitance can be found
Example: