CAIE Physics A-level

Topic 19: Capacitance

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19 - Capacitance

19.1 - Capacitors and Capacitance

A ​capacitor ​is an electrical component that stores charge. A parallel-plate capacitor

The equation for capacitance is

Q
C= V

where C is the capacitance measured in ​farads (F)​, Q is the stored charge and V is
the potential difference across the terminals of the capacitor.
A capacitance of 1 farad is defined as 1 coulomb of charge stored per volt of potential
difference.

This is the circuit symbol for a capacitor.

When multiple capacitors are connected in ​series​, the total capacitance is equivalent
to the combined spacing of all the plates in every capacitor in the circuit. Since
capacitance is ​inversely proportional ​to the spacing, the combined capacitance is
less than each individual one. The ​total capacitance in series​ ​is then:
1 1 1 1
C T OT = C1 + C2 + C3 + ...

In ​parallel​, the total capacitance can be thought of as the sum of the plate areas of all
the capacitors. As plate area is ​proportional​ to capacitance, the ​total capacitance in
parallel​ is the sum of the individual ones:

C T OT = C 1 + C 2 + C 3 + ...
Alternatively these equations can be derived using the formula C = Q/V . Rearrange

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this as V = Q/C and note that the voltage across each capacitor can be written as
V 1 = Q/C 1 , V 2 = Q/C 2 , V 3 = Q/C 3 , and so on. The total voltage in series and in
parallel can be recalled from ‘Topic 10 D.C. Circuits’.

In series, the total voltage is the sum of each individual voltage so

Q Q Q Q
V T OT = C T OT = V + V 2 + V 3 + ... = C1 + C2 + C3 + ....
1

Cancelling the Q terms yields the expression given before.

In parallel, the total charge is equal to the charge in each parallel capacitor,
QT OT = Q1 + Q2 + Q3 + ... = C 1 V + C 2 V + C 3 V + ... = C T OT V
cancelling the common voltage from each term gives the previous expression.

19.2 - Energy Stored in a Capacitor

Since a capacitor stores charge, it is also storing energy in the form of ​electrical
potential​. If you plot a graph of the voltage of the capacitor against the charge stored
in it you will obtain a straight line graph reflecting the direct proportionality of the two
terms. The area under this graph can be calculated as the area of a triangle:

Area = 1
2 × B ase × H eight = 1
2 QV = 21 CV 2
This is equivalent to the​ energy stored in the capacitor​.

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rs

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 19.3 - Discharging a Capacitor

When the energy stored in the capacitor has reached the desired amount, it can be
discharged​ to release a current that decreases over time.

The rate at which the capacitor discharges is proportional to the amount of charges
still being stored. This results in an ​exponential​ curve when plotting remaining
charge against time during discharging.

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As seen in the previous image, the voltage, current, and charge of the capacitor follow
a ​negative exponential​ relationship with time. The quantity RC is the product of the
capacitance C and resistance R of the circuit.

RC is also equivalent to τ , the ​time constant​, which represents the time after which
1
the current/voltage/charge falls to equal e of its original value. After each passing of
1
time τ , the value changes again by a factor of e .

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