CHAPTER FIVE

Capacitor and
capacitance
A.A Yusuf
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 Capacitor and capacitance
•A capacitor is a device that stores electrical charge.
•A capacitor consists of two conductors separated
by
an insulator Figure
• A charged capacitor is actually neutral
overall, but it maintains a charge
separation.
 The measure of how much charge
is stored is the capacitance C.
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•An electric field exists inside a charged
capacitor, between the positive and
negative charge separation.
•A charged capacitor store electrical
potential energy
•Capacitors are ubiquitous in electrical
devices. They’re used in power
transmission, computer memory,
photoflash units in cameras, tuners for
radios and TV’s, defibrillators, etc. 4
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 Definition of capacitance
How much charge can a capacitor store per voltage?
The capacitance C of a capacitor is defined as the
ratio of the magnitude of the charge on either
conductor to the magnitude of the
potential difference between them

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The capacitance C has a unit of C/v, which is called farad F

The farad is very big unit and hence we use submultiples of

farad

The capacitor in the circuit is represented by

the symbol shown in Figure

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Parallel plate capacitor
Two parallel plates
of equal area A are
separated by
distance d as shown
in
figure bellow. One
plate charged with
+q, the other -q
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The capacitance is given by

the electric field E to

The potential difference between the plates is equal to Ed,

therefore

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Example1
An air-filled capacitor consists of two plates, each with an area
of 7.6, separated by a distance of 1.8mm. If a 20V potential
difference is applied to these plates, calculate
A. , the electric field between the plates,
B. the capacitance, and
C. the charge on each plate.

Solution
1. V/m

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Example:2
A parallel plate capacitor is fully charged by a 20 V
battery, acquiring a charge of 1.62 nC.. What is the
capacitance of the capacitor?
From Q = C V, C = Q / V = (1.62  10-9 C) / (20 V)
= 8.1  10-11 F = 81  10-12 F = 81 pF.
- 1.62 nC

20 V
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Combination of capacitors
Some times the electric circuit
consist of more than two
capacitors, which are,
connected either in parallel or
in series the equivalent
capacitance is evaluated as
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Capacitors in parallel
Capacitors in parallel have the
:same voltage across each one

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In this case have same voltage across each one

The charge on each capacitor is

The total charge is

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 We know

Ceq V

The Equivalent capacitance is

Ceq = C1 + C2 + C3 (after dividing both

sides by V)

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:Capacitors in series
:Capacitors in series have the same charge

charge +Q flows from the

battery to the left plate of
C1
charge -Q flows from the
battery to the right plate
of C3
(+Q and –Q: the same in
magnitude but of opposite 16

sign)
In this case have same charge each one

The voltage

The total voltage V

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Substituting for V:

Dividing both sides by Q:

The Equivalent capacitance is

1 1 1 1
= + +
Ceq C1 C2 C3

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Example: determine the
capacitance of a single C2
capacitor that will have the
C1
same effect as the
combination shown. Use C3
C1 = C2 = C3 = C.

Start by combining parallel combination of

C2 and C3

C23 = C2 + C3 = C + C = 2C

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Now I see a series combination.
C23 = 2C C 1= C

1 1 1
= +
Ceq C1 C23

1 1 1 2 1 3
= + = + =
Ceq C 2C 2C 2C 2C

2
Ceq = C
3

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Example: for the capacitor circuit shown, C1 = 3F, C2 =
6F, C3 = 2F, and C4 =4F. (a) Find the equivalent
capacitance.

C1 C2
C4

C3

V

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(a) Find Ceq.
C1=3F C2=6F
C4=4F C1 and C3 are not in parallel.
Make sure you understand
why!
C3=2F
C2 and C4 are not in series.
Make sure you understand
V=12 V
why!

C1 and C2 are in series. Make sure you use the correct

equation!
1 1 1 1 1 2 1 3 1
= + = + = + = =
C12 C1 C2 3 6 6 6 6 2

Don’t forget to invert: C12 = 2 F. 22

(a) Find Ceq.
C12=2F
C4=4F C12 and C4 are not in series.
Make sure you understand
why!
C3=2F

V=12 V

C12 and C3 are in parallel. Make sure you use the correct
equation!

C123 = C12 + C3 = 2 + 2 = 4μF

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(a) Find Ceq.

C123=4F C4=4F

C123 and C4 are in series. Make

sure you understand why!
Combined, they make give
Ceq.
V=12 V

Make sure you use the correct equation!

1 1 1 1 1 2 1
= + = + = =
Ceq C123 C24 4 4 4 2

Don’t forget to invert: Ceq = 2 F.

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End 25