CAPACITOR

Outcomes
At the end of the session the students will be
able to:
– Explain the characteristics of a capacitor.
– Calculate capacitance.
– Combine capacitors in series and parallel.
 Inside the Capacitor
• In its simplest form, a capacitor is
an electrical device constructed of
two parallel plates separated by an
insulating material called the
dielectric
 What is Capacitor?
• Capacitor is an electronic component that
stores electric charge.
• In the neutral state, both plates have an equal number
of free electrons
• When a voltage source is connected to the capacitor,
electrons are removed from one plate and an equal
number are deposited on the other plate
• No electrons flow through the dielectric (insulator)
• The voltage of the capacitor is equal to the source
voltage
 Characteristics of Capacitor
• By applying a voltage to a capacitor and
measuring the charge on the plates, the ratio
of the charge Q to the voltage V will give the
capacitance value of the capacitor and is
therefore given as:
C = Q/V
Q=CxV
 Capacitance Unit
• Capacitance is the electrical property of a
capacitor and is the measure of a capacitors
ability to store an electrical charge onto its
two plates with the unit of capacitance being
the Farad (abbreviated to F) named after the
British physicist Michael Faraday.
 Farad
• Capacitance is defined as being that a
capacitor has the capacitance of One
Farad when a charge of One Coulomb is
stored on the plates by a voltage of One volt.
1 Farad = 1 Coulomb / 1 Volt

• Charge = 1.6 x 10 ^-19 C (Coulomb/electron)

• 1 Coulomb = 6.25 x 10 ^18 electrons
 Standard Unit of Capacitance
• Microfarad (μF) 1μF = 1/1,000,000
= 0.000001 = 10-6 F

• Nanofarad (nF) 1nF = 1/1,000,000,000

= 0.000000001 = 10-9 F

• Picofarad (pF) 1pF = 1/1,000,000,000,000

= 0.000000000001 = 10-12 F
 Sample Problems
• Determine the amount of charge stored on
either plate of a capacitor (4 x 10^-6 F) when
connected across 1 12V battery.
• A 30 μF capacitor is connected to a 9.0 V
battery.
– Calculate the charge on the capacitor.
– How many excess electrons are there on the
negative plate of the capacitor? (Elementary
charge e = 1.6 × 10–19 C)
 Sample Problems
• The p.d. across a capacitor is 3.0 V and the
charge on the capacitor is 150 nC. Determine
the charge on the capacitor when the p.d. is:
a 6.0 V
b 9.0 V.
 Characteristics of Capacitor
• Capacitance is directly proportional to the
physical size of the plates as determined by
the plate area.
 Characteristics of Capacitor
• Capacitance is inversely proportional to the
distance between the plates.
 Characteristics of Capacitor
• Capacitance is directly proportional to the
dielectric constant.
 Capacitance Equation

−12 𝐹
• Dry air: ϵ = 8.854 𝑥 10
𝑚
 Sample Problem
• If the plate separation for a capacitor is 2.0 x 10^-3m,
determine the area of the plates if the capacitance is
exactly 1 F.

• A parallel plate capacitor is constructed of metal

plates, each with an area of 0.2m^2. The capacitance
is 7.9 nF. Determine the plate separation distance
 Sample Problem
• What is the capacitance of a parallel plate capacitor
with square plates of side length 20 mm, separated
by 2 mm?
Ans: 1.7708 x 10^-12 F
• What is the capacitance of a parallel plate capacitor
with square plates of side length 50 mm separated
by 5 mm, and with a dielectric material of
permittivity ϵ = 9×10^−5F/m between the plates?
Ans: 4.5×10^−5 F
 Capacitor Use
• Energy Storage
• Power Conditioning - capacitors are used in
power supplies where they smooth the output of
a full or half wave rectifier.
• Signal Coupling - because capacitors pass AC but
block DC signals (when charged up to the applied
DC voltage), they are often used to separate the
AC and DC components of a signal.
• Motor starter
Types of Capacitor
 Mica

• Stacked-foil mica capacitors are made of alternate

layers of metal foil and thin sheets of mica
• Silver mica are formed by stacking mica sheets
with silver electrode material screened on them
• Range from 1pF to 0.1 uF @ 2500V
 Ceramic

• Ceramic capacitors provide very high dielectric

constants, and relatively large capacitance in a
small physical size.
• Capacitance ranges are from 1pF to 2.2μF @
2500V.
 Electrolytic
• Electrolytic capacitors have higher capacitance but
lower voltage ratings and higher leakage current
• They come in capacitance values from 1μF to200,000
μF, with voltage ratings to 350 V
• Electrolytic capacitors have higher capacitance but
lower voltage ratings and higher leakage current

• They come in capacitance

values from 1μF to
200,000 μF, with voltage
ratings to 350 V
 Series Capacitance
• The figure below shows that opposite
charges of magnitude Q flow to either
side of the originally uncharged
combination of capacitors when the
voltage V is applied.
• Conservation of charge requires that
equal-magnitude charges be created on
the plates of the individual capacitors,
since charge is only being separated in
these originally neutral devices. The end
result is that the combination resembles
a single capacitor with an effective plate
separation greater than that of the
individual capacitors alone.
 Series Capacitance
𝑄
• Remember: C =
𝑉
𝑄
V=
𝐶

• The voltages across the individual capacitors:

𝑄 𝑄 𝑄
𝑉1 = , 𝑉2 = , 𝑉3 =
𝐶1 𝐶2 𝐶3
 Series Capacitance
The total voltage is the sum of the individual
voltages:
𝑉 = 𝑉1 + 𝑉2 + 𝑉3
Now, calling the total capacitance 𝐶𝑇 for series
capacitance, consider that
𝑄
𝑉= = 𝑉1 + 𝑉2 + 𝑉3
𝐶𝑇
Entering the expression,
𝑄 𝑄 𝑄 𝑄
= + +
𝐶𝑇 𝐶1 𝐶2 𝐶3
 Total Capacitance
• Canceling the Qs, we obtain the equation for
the total capacitance in series CS to be:

1 1 1 1
= + +
𝐶𝑇 𝐶1 𝐶2 𝐶3

• the total capacitance is less than the smallest

capacitance value.
 Total Capacitance
1. Find the total capacitance for three capacitors
connected in series, given their individual
capacitances are 1.000, 5.000, and 8.000 µF.
2. 3.
Parallel Capacitance
 Parallel Capacitance
• To find the equivalent total capacitance CT, we
first note that the voltage across each
capacitor is V, the same as that of the source,
since they are connected directly to it through
a conductor.
• Thus the capacitors have the same charges on
them as they would have if connected
individually to the voltage source.
 Parallel Capacitance
• The total charge Q is the sum of the individual
charges: Q = Q1 + Q2 + Q3.
• Using the relationship Q = CV, we see that the
total charge is Q = CTV, and the individual
charges are Q1 = C1V, Q2 = C2V, and Q3 = C3V.
• Entering these into the previous equation
gives:
CTV = C1V + C2V + C3V
 Parallel Capacitance
• Canceling V from the equation, we obtain the
equation for the total capacitance in parallel
CT = C1 + C2 + C3 + ….
 Sample Problem
1. Find the total capacitance of the combination of capacitors
(C1 = 1.000 µF, C2 = 3.000 µF, and C3 = 8.000 µF), and round
your answer to three decimal places.
2.

3. Calculate the total charge.

 Sample Problem
• A parallel plate capacitor has square plates of
side 5 cm and separated by a distance of 1
mm. (a) Calculate the capacitance of this
capacitor. (b) If a 10 V battery is connected to
the capacitor, what is the charge stored in any
one of the plates? (The value of εo = 8.85 x
10-12 Nm2 C-2)
 Sample Problem
• Calculate for the total capacitance.