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Lesson 4 Capacitors

The document provides an overview of capacitors, including their structure, function, and the principles of charging and discharging. It explains capacitance, the formulas for energy storage, and how capacitors behave in series and parallel configurations. Additionally, it includes various questions and calculations related to capacitors to reinforce understanding.

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rickettsmarkaelo6
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33 views24 pages

Lesson 4 Capacitors

The document provides an overview of capacitors, including their structure, function, and the principles of charging and discharging. It explains capacitance, the formulas for energy storage, and how capacitors behave in series and parallel configurations. Additionally, it includes various questions and calculations related to capacitors to reinforce understanding.

Uploaded by

rickettsmarkaelo6
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Lesson 4

Capacitor
Capacitor
 Capacitor is an electrical device, used to store electric energy (plates of
the capacitor store charge);
 It consists of two metal plates of same size, separated by distance d from
each other;
 Space between plates is filled with an insulator, known as dielectric;

Parts of the capacitor Symbol of the capacitor


Capacitor
 In order for charge to be stored in the
capacitor potential difference must be
applied;
 As soon as its applied – electric current
starts flowing;
 Direction of the conventional current
is represented with a short arrow,
while direction of actual electron flow
– long arrow.
Capacitor
 Electrons entering one plate of the
capacitor (right in this case) bring
negative charge to it;
 Let's say charge on that plate is –Q;
 Before voltage was applied, total
charge was zero, and now charge on
one of the plates is –Q;
 This accumulated charge induces
charge +Q on the other plate
(from principle of conservation of
electric charge).
Capacitor
 Electrons, however cannot be constantly added to that plate;
 At some point, the existing negative charge on the right plate will be so
repulsive (repulsion between negative charge already stored there and
new incoming electrons), that it'll prevent from adding any more negative
charges to that plate. In this case the capacitor is fully charged.
Capacitance
 Capacitance is a physical quantity that characterizes capacitor;
 Symbol of capacitance – C;
 C=Q/V(charge per volt), [C]=C/V=F(Farad);
 From the equation above, electric charge Q=CV.
Capacitance
 Capacitance of the capacitor C:

 Where Ɛ ([Ɛ]=F/m) - permittivity of material


(dielectric constant), A – area of the plate, d-
distance between plates;
 For dielectric constant:

 Where Ɛ0 - permittivity of free space and Ɛr -


relative permittivity of material.
Charging capacitor
 Capacitor can be charged when its added
to electrical circuit in series with resistor;
 When switch S is in position A electric
charge starts accumulating in the
capacitor, negative charges accumulate on
lower plate of capacitor, while positive –
on upper;
 This process will continue until no more
charges can be stored (repulsion between
electrons is maximum);
 In this case we say capacitor is fully
charged and electric current measured by
ammeter A will be zero (no more current
flow in the circuit).
Charging capacitor a)

 Diagrams on the right show variation of electric


charge with time (a) and current with time (b);
 Charge will increase exponentially until it reaches
maximum value Q0 as switch is in position A;
 While electric current will be decreasing
exponentially until it drops to zero.
b)
Charging capacitor

 - law according to
which electric charge is changing, where
Q0 – is maximum charge, t – time of
charging, 𝜏 - time constant;
 - time needed for charge to
reach 63% of its maximum value Q0 while
charging.
Discharging capacitor
 When switch S is in position B voltage is no
longer acting on the capacitor;
 It starts discharges;
 Accumulated electrons are leaving capacitor
now and start flowing back in the circuit.
Discharging capacitor
 Direction of electron flow now is
opposite to the one that was when
capacitor was charging;
 It will cause ammeter's indicator
for a short time to turn in the
opposite direction before it goes
back to zero;
 When it happens – capacitor is
discharged.
Discharging capacitor

 - law according
to which electric charge is changing,
where Q0 – is maximum charge, t – time
of charging, 𝜏 - time constant;
 - time needed for charge
to reach 37% of its maximum value Q0
While discharging.
Capacitors in series
 Same as for resistors, there is series and
parallel connection of capacitors in the
circuit;
 When capacitors are added in series, net
capacitance is found using rule:

 P.S. unlike to resistors connection!


Capacitors in parallel
 When capacitors are added in parallel:
Energy stored in the capacitor
 Energy stored in the capacitor is calculated as:

 Since Q=CV, two more formulas for energy stored in the capacitor can be
used:

 Energy stored in the capacitor can be numerically found as area under the
graph Q against V.
Questions
 A capacitor with a capacitance of 2200μF is charged until the potential
difference between its plates is 5.0V. Determine:
 i the charge on one of the plates
 ii the energy stored in the capacitor.
Questions
 A capacitor is marked as having a capacitance of 220μF. There is another
marking indicating a voltage of 18V.
 a Explain what is meant by a capacitance of 220μF.
 b Calculate the charged stored on the capacitor when a p.d. of 18V is
applied across it.
 c State the maximum charge that can be safely stored by this capacitor.
 d Calculate the energy stored in the capacitor.
 e State one reason why a maximum voltage is marked on a capacitor.
Questions
 A capacitor of capacitance 12μF is fully charged from a 20V d.c. supply.
 i Calculate the charge stored by the capacitor.
 ii Calculate the energy delivered by the d.c. supply.
 iii Calculate the energy stored in the capacitor.
 iv Account for the difference between your answers for ii and iii.
Questions
 A 12μF capacitor is charged from a 20V d.c. supply through a resistor of
1.8kΩ.
 i Calculate the time constant for this circuit.
 ii Given that the capacitor is initially uncharged, calculate the time taken
for the potential difference across the capacitor to reach 95% of its final
value.
Questions
 A parallel-plate, air-filled capacitor consists of two plates, each having an
area of 4.5 × 10^−3m2 . The separation of the plates is 1.2mm. The p.d.
across the plates of the capacitor is 450V. Calculate:
 i the capacitance of the capacitor
 ii the energy stored in the capacitor.
Questions
 Each plate of a parallel-plate capacitor has an area of 18.0cm2 . The
separation between the plates is 4.0mm. The electric field strength
between the plates is 2.5 × 10 6Vm−1 . Calculate:
 i the capacitance of the capacitor
 ii the energy per unit volume P.
Questions
 A 6.0μF capacitor is charged by a 12.0V d.c. supply and is then discharged
through a 1.8MΩ resistor.
 a Calculate the charge on the capacitor just before being discharged.
 b Calculate the time constant for the circuit.
 c After 6.0s, what is:
 i the charge on the capacitor
 ii the p.d. across the capacitor
 iii the current in the circuit?
Questions
 a Determine the equivalent capacitance of the network of capacitors in
the circuit shown.
 b What is the total charge stored by the network of capacitors?
 c What is the charge stored in the 6μF capacitor?
 d What is the potential difference across the 6μF capacitor?
 e What is the charge stored in the 14μF capacitor?
 f What is the total energy stored by the network of capacitors?

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