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Chapter 17 Capacitance

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12 views32 pages

Chapter 17 Capacitance

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Atp
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Chapter 17

Potential and Capacitance


Potential
Voltage (potential) is the analogue of water pressure while
current is the analogue of flow of water in say gal/min or Kg/s …

Think of a potential as the words sounds like – the potential to do work


Potential Energy

We define potential as a the work per unit charge in moving a charge


from point a to b
Along some path that we choose

In a static field (not time varying) this energy is conservative


No matter what path you take you always get the same energy

In static gravity this is the same – it is a conservative field


Potential and Line Integrals in Space

• Mathematically this is a line integral along curve C


from a to b.
• Note that in a closed line integral from point a back
to point a the total energy is ZERO in a conservative
field. Again a static E field is a conservative field
Work and Electric Fields
• Work (energy) is then potential (voltage) times
charge moved from a to b

For such a field we can show mathematically that we can express the
E field as the gradient of the potential. We use a minus as a convention
for work done on the charge by the field vs work the charge does on
the field
Potential of a Point Charge

Note that the potential goes as 1/r while the E field goes as 1/r2
Q23.1

When a positive charge moves in the direction of


the electric field, E
Motion
+q
A. the field does positive work on it and the
potential energy increases.
B. the field does positive work on it and the
potential energy decreases. E
C. the field does negative work on it and the
potential energy increases.
D. the field does negative work on it and the
potential energy decreases.
E. The field does zero work on it and the
potential energy remains constant.
A23.1

When a positive charge moves in the direction of


the electric field, E
Motion
+q
A. the field does positive work on it and the
potential energy increases.
B. the field does positive work on it and the
potential energy decreases. E
C. the field does negative work on it and the
potential energy increases.
D. the field does negative work on it and the
potential energy decreases.
E. The field does zero work on it and the
potential energy remains constant.
Types of Voltages AC, DC, Pulse, Variable
Digital Volt Meter and International HV Symbol

DVM International Symbol of High Voltage


AC Generators go back ~ 150 years
Westinghouse 1887
Q23.8

The electric potential due to a point charge


approaches zero as you move farther away from the Charge #2
charge. –q
If the three point charges shown here lie at the
vertices of an equilateral triangle, the electric Charge #1
potential at the center of the triangle is +q

–q
x
A. positive. Charge #3
B. negative.
C. zero.
D. either positive or negative.
E. either positive, negative, or zero.
A23.8

The electric potential due to a point charge


approaches zero as you move farther away from the Charge #2
charge. –q
If the three point charges shown here lie at the
vertices of an equilateral triangle, the electric Charge #1
potential at the center of the triangle is +q

–q
x
A. positive. Charge #3
B. negative.
C. zero.
D. either positive or negative.
E. either positive, negative, or zero.
Introduction to Capacitance

– When flash devices made the


“big switch” from bulbs and
flashcubes to early designs of
electronic flash devices, you
could use a camera and
actually hear a high-pitched
whine as the “flash charged
up” for your next photo
opportunity.
– Just think of all those
electrons moving on camera
flash capacitors!
Keep charges apart and you get
capacitance
– Define Capacitance C = Q/V where V is the potential (voltage)
– Define unit of Capacitance = Farad = 1 Coulomb/Volt
– Any two charges insulated from each other form a capacitance.
How do we build a capacitor? What’s it
good for?
The unit of capacitance, the farad, is very
large

– Commercial capacitors
for home electronics are
often cylindrical, from
the size of a grain of rice
to that of a large cigar.
– Capacitors like those
mentioned above and
pictured at right are
microfarad capacitors.
Some examples of flat, cylindrical, and spherical capacitors
Calculation of Capacitance
• Flat plates with dielectric material
– Dielectric constant K = εR = relative permittivity
– A = Area of plate
– d = separation of plates
– C = Kε0 A/d
– K= 1 for vacuum
– K = 1.00058986 ± 0.00000050 for air at STP DC
Energy Stored in Capacitor
• A capacitor stores energy in its electric field
• C = q/V
• dW = Vdq = q/C dq W = ½ Q2/C = ½ CV2
Capacitance and Geometry
Flat plate
(lots of these in your cell phone)
C = Kε0 A/d = ε A/d
(notation can be confusing ε = Kε0)

Coaxial line (concentric cylinders)


Your “cable” like Cox cable
C = 2π ε l/(ln(R2 /R1 )

Concentric Spheres
C = 4π ε /(1/R1 - 1/R2 )
Capacitance of Single Sphere
• Recall two concentric sphere
• C = 4π ε /(1/R1 - 1/R2 )
• Let out sphere go to infinity (R2)
• C = 4π ε R1 = 4π ε R
• Example – our van de Graaff generator R~20cm
 C ~ 20 pF (p=pico = 10-12)
• Earth R~6.4x106 m  C ~ 710 F (=micro= 10-6)
Capacitors may be connected one or many
at a time
• Connection “one at
a time” in linear
fashion is termed
“capacitors in
series.”
• Multiple
connections
designed to operate
simultaneously is
termed “capacitors
in parallel.”
Calculations regarding capacitance
• Series 1/CT = 1/C1 + 1/C2 + 1/C3 + 1/C4 +…
• Parallel CT = C1 + C2 + C3 + C4 +…
• We will see the opposite when we get to resistors and inductors
The Z Machine—capacitors storing large amounts of energy

• This large array of capacitors in parallel can store


huge amounts of energy. When directed at a target, the
discharge of such a device can generate temperatures
on the order of 109K!
Dielectrics change the potential difference
• The potential between to
parallel plates of a capacitor
changes when the material
between the plates changes.
It does not matter if the
plates are rolled into a tube
or if they are flat
Dielectric constants
Field lines as dielectrics change
Capacitors with and without dielectrics
• Dielectric is polarized
• Dielectric increases capacitance
• Dielectric increases energy
• Dielectric is pulled into plates
Dielectric breakdown
• A very strong electrical field can exceed the strength of the
dielectric and then there will be ionization and breakdown.
Molecular models
Polarization and electric field lines
Gauss’s Law in dielectrics

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