Capacitance

By Allu Ayobami
History of capacitors
There are records that indicate a German scientist named Ewald Georg von Kleist
invented the capacitor in November 1745. Several months later Pieter van
Musschenbroek, a Dutch professor at the University of Leyden came up with a very
similar device in the form of the Leyden jar, which is typically credited as the first
capacitor.
Application of capacitors
▪ Radio tuner circuit uses variable capacitor
▪ Blocks DC voltages in ac circuits
▪ Act as switches in computer circuits
▪ Triggers the flash bulb in a camera
▪ Converts AC to DC in a filter circuit
Applications…
One of the more futuristic applications of capacitors is the capacitive touch screen. This
exact location of the voltage drop is picked up by a controller and transmitted to
a computer. These touch screens are commonly found in interactive building directories
and more recently in touchscreen phones.
What is are capacitors?
▪ They are another fundamental building block in electronic circuits.
▪ Their certain characteristics are similar to resistors and inductors; in other ways, they
are unique.
▪ They are used in nearly every electronic system.
▪ They can be defined as the ability to store electrical energy in electrostatic field.
▪ They are devices design to have a certain capacitance.
▪ The unit of measure is Farad.
▪ The usual function of the capacitor is to block the DC voltage but pass the AC signal
voltage by means of the charge and discharge current.
▪ The schematic symbol is:
Therefore, a capacitor is
… an electronic component that stores electric charge. The capacitor is made of 2
close conductors (usually plates) that are separated by a dielectric material. The plates
accumulate electric charge when connected to power source. One plate accumulates
positive charge and the other plate accumulates negative charge.
Note
A capacitor is a useful device in electrical circuits that allows us to store charge and
electrical energy in a controllable way. The simplest to understand consists of two
parallel conducting plates of area A separated by a narrow air gap d or a dielectric. If
charge +Q is placed on one plate, and -Q on the other, the potential difference between
them is V, and then the capacitance is defined as C=Q/V. The SI unit is C/V, which is
called the Farad, named after the famous and creative scientist Michael Faraday from
the early 1800’s.
A battery also stores energy…
▪ In a way, a capacitor is a little like a battery. Although they work in completely different
ways, capacitors and batteries both store electrical energy.
▪ A battery has two terminals. Inside the battery, chemical reactions
produce electrons on one terminal and absorb electrons on the other terminal. A
capacitor is much simpler than a battery, as it can't produce new electrons -- it only
stores them.
▪ Batteries store energy in the form of a chemical reaction while capacitors store energy
in an electric field.
▪ Batteries can store more energy than a capacitor but they release it more slowly while
capacitors releases energy very quickly.
▪ Batteries are used for long term energy storage and can be used to power devices
while capacitors are used for short term energy storage and are often used in laser
technology, camera flash, touchscreen etc.
…
▪ Capacitors can be charged and discharged many more times than batteries and are
not affected by temperature in the same way as batteries.
▪ Capacitors are much more expensive than batteries per unit energy storage.
Types of capacitors
Inside a capacitor
Inside the capacitor, the terminals connect to two metal plates separated by a non-
conducting substance, or dielectric. For example, you can easily make a capacitor
from two pieces of aluminum foil and a piece of paper. It won't be a particularly good
capacitor in terms of its storage capacity, but it will work.
What is a dielectric?
▪ A dielectric is any material that is not a conductor, but polarizes well. Even though they

don’t conduct they are electrically active.

▪ When you put a dielectric in a uniform electric field (like in between the plates of a capacitor),

a dipole moment is induced on the molecules throughout the volume. This produces a
volume polarization that is just the sum of the effects of all the dipole moments. If we put it in
between the plates of a capacitor, the surface charge densities due to the dipoles act to
reduce the electric field in the capacitor.
Dielectrics
▪ The amount that the field is reduced defines the dielectric constant  from the formula
E = E0 / , where E is the new field and E 0 is the old field without he dielectric.

▪ Since the electric field is reduced and hence the voltage difference is reduced (since E
= Vd), the capacitance is increased.
Capacitance
▪ It is the ability to hold or store an electric charge.
▪ The more charge stored for a given voltage, the higher the capacitance.
▪ The symbol for capacitance is (C), and the unit is the farad (F), named after Michael
Faraday.
▪ A capacitor's storage potential, or capacitance, is measured in units called farads.
▪ A 1-farad capacitor can store one coulomb (coulomb) of charge at 1 volt. A coulomb is
6.25e18 (6.25 X 10^18, or 6.25 billion billion) electrons. One amp represents a rate of
electron flow of 1 coulomb of electrons per second, so a 1-farad capacitor can hold 1
amp-second of electrons at 1 volt.
Therefore…
▪ For a capacitor
𝑄 = 𝐶𝑉
𝑄
𝐶 = ൗ𝑉
Where Q is the charge on the plates of the capacitor.
C is the capacitance of the capacitor.
V is the voltage across the capacitor.
Example
1. How much charge is stored in a 2μF capacitor connected across a 50V supply?
𝑄 = 𝐶𝑉 = 2 × 10−6 × 50 = 100 𝜇𝐶
2. How much charge is stored in a 40μF capacitor connected across a 50V supply?
𝑄 = 𝐶𝑉 = 40 × 10−6 × 50 = 2000 𝜇𝐶
3. The voltage across a 40 × 10−6 C charged capacitor is 20v. Calculate C.
𝑄 40 × 10−6
𝐶= = = 2 𝜇𝐹
𝑉 20
Factors that affect the
capacitance of a capacitor
▪ Distance between the plates of the capacitor.
▪ Area of the plates.
▪ Dielectric material.
▪ Dielectric constant.
▪ Temperature.
▪ Geometry of the capacitor.
Parallel plate capacitor
A parallel plate capacitor is a type of capacitor that consists of two parallel plates
separated by a distance. It is the simplest form of capacitor and often used to explain
the basic principle of capacitors. The characteristics of a parallel plate capacitor are as
follows:-
▪ The plates are made of a conducting material, usually a metal.
▪ The plates have equal area (A) and opposite charge (Q).- The plates are separated by
a distance (d).
▪ The space between the plates can be filled with air, a vacuum or a dielectric material.-
▪ The capacitance of a parallel plate capacitor is directly proportional to the area of the
plates and inversely proportional to the distance between the plates.
Parallel plate capacitor
Electric Field of Parallel Plate
Capacitor
Capacitance of a parallel
plate capacitor
Example
A parallel plate capacitor kept in the air has an area of 0.50m 2 and is separated from
each other by a distance of 0.04m. Calculate the capacitance of the parallel plate
capacitor.
Solution
Area A = 0.50 m2,
Distance d = 0.04 m,
ϵo = 8.854 × 10−12 F/m
The parallel plate capacitor formula is expressed by,
𝐶=𝑘𝜖0𝐴𝑑
= 8.854×10−12 × 0.50 / 0.04
= 4.427 x 10−12 / 0.04
Therefore, C = 110.67 x 10−12 F
Circular plate capacitor
Spherical capacitor
Cylindrical capacitor
Therefore…
▪ The capacitor’s geometry has an effect on the capacitance of the capacitor.
Charging and discharging a
capacitor
▪ Increasing the charge on the plates is called charging and as the charge on the

plates increases a potential difference is created across the gap. Charging stops
when this potential difference equals the emf of the supply.

▪ Short term behavior of Capacitor:

▪ Long term behavior of Capacitor: Current through a Capacitor eventually goes to zero.
▪ If the capacitor is charging, when fully charged no current flows and capacitor acts as an open circuit.
▪ If capacitor is discharging, potential difference goes to zero and no current flows.
Note
▪ With resistance in the circuits, capacitors do not charge and discharge
instantaneously – it takes time (even if only fractions of a second).
▪ To store charge a capacitor is connected to a battery – the plate connected to the
negative terminal of the battery receives electrons to become negatively charged
while the plate connected to the positive terminal of the battery loses electrons to
become positively charged.
Time constant in an RC
circuit
▪ Time constant is the time it takes for a capacitor to charge or discharge to
approximately 63.2% of its maximum voltage in a circuit with a resistance and a
capacitor connected in series.
1 1
▪ This is also the time for the charge to have decreased to 𝑜𝑟 of its charge.
𝑒 2.718
1
▪ This means that in one time constant, the charge stored by the capacitor drops to 𝑟𝑑
3
of its initial value.
▪ During the next cycle it will drop to 1/9th of its value at the beginning of the decay.
▪ This determines how quickly a capacitor charges or discharges in response to voltage
change.
▪ Time constant is given as 𝜏 = 𝑅𝐶
▪ It is measured in seconds.
Discharging process curve
Therefore,
▪ When a charged capacitor discharges, the charge on the plates decays exponentially.
▪ This exponential curve gets closer and closer to the time axis but never actually meets
it. This makes it impossible to quote a time for the capacitor to discharge completely.
▪ However, we can use the time constant to determine whether the decay is fast or
slow.
▪ All exponential decay curves have an equation of the form 𝑥 = 𝑥0 𝑒 −𝑘𝑡. 𝑥 = quantity
that is decaying, 𝑥0 = is the quantity at time t.
▪ The charge stored by a capacitor refers to the charge stored on either plate. The
amount of charge stored depends on the emf of the battery as well as the design of
the capacitor. The ability of a device to store charge is called its capacitance.
If R is increased

1. The time constant (τ = RC) increases, meaning the capacitor takes longer to charge
or discharge.
2. The current flowing through the circuit decreases, as higher resistance reduces the
flow of charge.
3. The voltage across the capacitor increases, as the capacitor takes longer to charge
and more voltage is required to drive the current through the increased resistance.
In summary, increasing R leads to a slower charging/discharging process, reduced
current, and increased voltage across the capacitor.
If C is increased
Note: This assumes the resistance (R) remains constant. If R changes, the effects
on the circuit will be different.

The time constant (τ = RC) increases, meaning the capacitor takes longer to charge or
discharge.
2. The current flowing through the circuit increases, as a larger capacitor can store
more charge and supply more current.
3. The voltage across the capacitor decreases, as the increased capacitance can store
more charge at a lower voltage.
In summary, increasing C leads to a slower charging/discharging process, increased
current, and decreased voltage across the capacitor.
The exponential decay rate of a
capacitor (discharging a
capacitor)
𝑄 = 𝑄0 𝑒 −𝑘𝑡
𝑄 = 𝑄0 𝑒 −𝑡/𝐶𝑅
Where Q is the charge on the plates at time t
𝑄0 is the charge on the plates at time t = 0.
C is the capacitance of the capacitor
R is the external resistance.
Charging a capacitor
▪ A capacitor starting with no charge, the time constant is the amount of time an RC
circuit takes to charge a capacitor to about 63.2% of its final value.

𝑄 = 𝑄0 (1 − 𝑒 −𝑡/𝐶𝑅 )
Example
A 500𝜇𝐹 capacitor is connected to a 10V supply, and is then discharged through a
100KΩ resistor. Calculate
1. The initial charge stored by the capacitor.
2. The initial discharge current
3. The value of the time constant
4. The discharge plate after 100 secs
5. The time at which the remaining charge is 2.5 × 10−3 𝐶
Solution
1. 𝑄 = 𝐶𝑉 = 500 × 10−6 × 10 = 5 × 10−3
2. 𝐼 = 𝑉Τ𝑅 = 10Τ100×103 = 10−4 𝐴
3. 𝑡 = 𝐶𝑅 = 500 × 10−6 × 10 = 50𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑠
4. After 50 secs, the charge on the plate is
𝑄0 500 × 10−3
𝑄= = = 1.8 × 10−3 𝐶
𝑒 2.718
𝑄0 1.8×10−3
After another 50 secs, the charge on the plates is 𝑄 = 𝑒
= 2.718
= 6.8 × 10−4 𝐶
5. 𝑄 = 𝑄0 𝑒 −𝑡/𝐶𝑅
−𝑡ൗ
2.5 × 10−3 = 500 × 10−3𝑒 50
−𝑡
0.5 = 𝑒 ൗ50
−𝑡
ln 0.5 = ln 𝑒 ൗ50
𝑡 = 35 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑠
Charging a capacitor in a DC
or AC circuits.
▪ You can charge a capacitor using either AC or DC.
▪ When you charge a capacitor fully with DC, the plates of the capacitor will have the
same potential thereby blocking further flow of current in the circuit. At this point, the
capacitor will act as an insulator when fully charged in a DC circuit.
▪ In an AC circuit, the capacitor will continue to charge and discharge continuously
because of the change in polarity of voltage in an AC circuit. Here, the capacitor will
allow the flow of current.
Capacitors in series
▪ When connected in series, the total capacitance is less than the value of any
individual capacitances.
1 1 1 1 1
= + + +
𝐶 𝐶1 𝐶2 𝐶3 𝐶4
Capacitors in series
Example
Capacitors in parallel
Example
Energy stored in a capacitor
▪ A charged capacitor can be used to light a bulb for a short time, therefore the
capacitor must contain a store of energy. The charging of a parallel plate capacitor is
considered below.
▪ When the circuit is completed there is an initial surge of electrons from the negative
terminal of the cell onto one of the plates (and electrons out of the other plate towards
the positive terminal of the cell).
Energy stored in capacitor
▪ Once the capacitor starts to charge any further electrons which the –ve terminal of the
cell wants to add to the –ve plate will experience a repulsive force from the electrons
already on the –ve plate.

▪ Similarly, to make the +ve plate more positively charged the +ve terminal of the cell
will have to exert an attractive force on the electrons remaining on the +ve plate.

▪ To move electrons against these attractive and repulsive forces the cell must use up
some of its energy i.e. work is done in charging the capacitor.

▪ The energy is being stored in the electric field between the plates.
Energy stored in a capacitor
The quantity of work done (or the energy stored) can be found from the area under the
Q versus V graph.

Area of triangle = ½  base  height

=½VQ

1Τ 𝐶𝑉 2 𝑄2
=½QV= 2 =
2𝐶
An uncharged capacitor and a resistor are connected across a 12 V d.c.
supply as shown below.
Thank you