Capacitors
Two
parallel
plates
a
distance
d
apart
are
charged
to
a
poten2al
dierence
V
One
plate
gains
the
e-
the
other
one
loses
Charge
stored
on
each
plate
assuming
empty
space
between
plates
AV 0 Q0 = d
Ways
to
increase
charge
stored:
increase
A,
increase
V,
decrease
d
1
Parallel-plate
Capacitors
There
is
another
way
to
increase
the
charge
stored:
Use
a
dielectric
Dielectrics
=
insula2ng
materials
used
to
increase
the
capacity
of
the
plates
to
store
charge
When
a
dielectric
is
placed
between
the
charged
plates,
its
molecules
become
polarized
For
a
xed
V,
inser2ng
a
dielectric
will
increase
the
charge
stored
in
the
plates
Relative
permittivity
The
rela2ve
permiGvity
(or
dielectric
constant)
r
is
the
ra2o
of
(charge
stored
with
dielectric)/(charge
stored
without
dielectric)
Charge
stored
on
each
plate
(with
dielectric)
AV 0r Q = rQ0 = d
Some
typical
values
for
r
Vacuum/Air
=
1,
Acrylic
(Plexiglass)
=4.5,
Beeswax=2.6
Silk=3.5,
Silicon=
12,
Pyrex
glass=5,
Paper=3
3
Q A 0r C= = V d
Unit:
Farad
(F)
=
1
Coulomb
per
Volt
Capacitance
values
are
usually
given
in
F
(1F=10-6F)
pF
(1pF=10-12F)
Example
Consider
a
capacitor
made
of
two
0.05
m2
plates
separated
by
0.5
mm.
If
the
capacitance
is
3.0
nF,
what
is
the
rela2ve
permiGvity
of
the
material
between
the
plates?
What
is
the
unit
of
rela2ve
permiGvity?
[Assume
0=8.85
x
10-12
Fm-1]
Capacitors
in
Series
Capacitors
are
devices
that
store
charge
Charge
stored
Q
=
I
t
Capacitance
C
=
Q/V
Energy
stored
E
=
CV2
C1
C2
C3
I
V1
V2 V
V3
1 1 1 1 = + + C C1 C2 C3
Capacitors
in
Parallel
Capacitors
are
devices
that
store
charge
Charge
stored
Q
=
I
t
Capacitance
C
=
Q/V
Energy
stored
E
=
CV2
I1
I
I2
I3
C1
C2
C3
V
I
C = C1 + C2 + C3
Example
a)
What
is
the
equivalent
capacitance
of
the
following
segment
of
a
circuit
if
C1=C2=C3=3.0mF?
b)
If
a
voltage
Vab
=
6.0
V
is
applied,
what
is
the
charge
on
each
capacitor?
c)
What
is
the
voltage
across
each
capacitor?
Example
An
air-lled
parallel
plate
capacitor
has
a
capacitance
of
5.0pF.
A
poten2al
of
100V
is
applied
across
the
plates,
which
are
1.0
cm
apart,
using
a
storage
babery.
What
is
the
energy
stored
in
the
capacitor?
Suppose
that
the
babery
is
disconnected,
and
the
plates
are
moved
un2l
they
are
2.0
cm
apart.
What
now
is
the
energy
stored
in
the
capacitor?
Suppose,
instead,
that
the
babery
is
lec
connected,
and
the
plates
are
again
moved
un2l
they
are
2.0
cm
apart.
What
is
the
energy
stored
in
the
capacitor
in
this
case?
Charging
a
Capacitor
Babery + -
To
charge
a
capacitor
we
connect
it
to
a
babery
Resistance
of
the
wire
+
resistance
of
babery
=
R
e-
owing
from
nega2ve
terminal
charge
one
plate
ve
Electric
repulsion
charges
the
other
plate
+ve
Electron
buildup
on
ve
plate
reduces
electron
ow
As
2me
passed
the
rate
of
charge
accumula2on
decreases.
Q0
Q
V0
V
I
10
C R + - E VC
At
start
I0=E/R
where
I0
is
the
ini2al
current,
E
the
e.m.f.
of
the
babery
and
R
the
resistance
Acer
2me
t
the
current
is
I
and
the
p.d.
across
the
capacitor
is
VC
E VC I=
R But
I=dQ/dt
and
VC=Q/C
.
Subs2tu2ng
and
simplifying
dQ = CE Q = Q0 Q dt Integra2ng
this
we
get
Q $ Q0 Q ' 1 t dQ t dt = Q Q CR = ln & Q ) CR 0 % ( 0 0 0 CR
11
V = V0 (1 e
t/RC
) Q = Q0 (1 e
t/RC
I = I0e
t/RC
Discharging
a
Capacitor
To
discharge
a
capacitor
we
connect
it
to
a
resistance
Charge
drops
with
2me
Voltage
drops
with
2me
Current
drops
with
2me
Energy
stored
converted
to
heat
at
the
resistor
12
dQ 1 Q = CR Q0
$Q' t dt ln & Q ) = CR % 0( 0
t
Q = Q0 e
t/RC
I = I0e
t/RC
V = V0 e
t/RC
13
Example
A
2200F
capacitor
is
charged
to
a
p.d
of
9V
then
discharged
through
a
100k
resistor.
a) What
is
the
ini2al
charge
stored
by
the
capacitor?
b) What
is
the
2me
constant
of
the
circuit?
c) Calculate
the
p.d.
acer
a
2me
equal
to
the
2me
constant
d) Calculate
the
p.d.
acer
300s.
14
15
16
To
Do
From
chapter
22
read
sec2ons
22.5
(Capacitors)
Homework
Assignment
wk4:
22.21,
22.22,
22.23,
22.25,
22.28,
22.30
Hand
it
in
no
later
than
4:00pm
next
Wednesday
-
LATE
WORK
WILL
NOT
BE
ACCEPTED
17