ELECTRIC

POTENTIAL,
ENERGY, AND
CAPACIATANCE
 Objectives:
At the end of the session the students should be able to:
 1.Understand the concept of electric potential difference
(Voltage”) and its relationship to electric potential energy
 2.Calculate electric potential differences and electric potential
energies.
 3.Explain what is meant by an equipotential surface
 4.Sketch equipotential surfaces for simple charge
configurations
 5.Explain the relationship between equipotential surfaces and
electric fields.
 6.Understand what dielectric is and how it affects the physical
properties of a capacitor.
 7.Find the equivalent capacitance of capacitors connected in
series and in parallel
 8.Calculate the charges, voltages, and energy storage of
individual capacitors in series and parallel configurations.
 9.Analyze capacitor networks that include both series and
parallel arrangement.
Electric Potential
Energy and
Potential
Difference
Electric Fields and WORK
In order to bring two like charges near each other work must
be done. In order to separate two opposite charges, work
must be done. Remember that whenever work gets done,
energy changes form.
As the monkey does work on the positive charge, he increases the
energy of that charge. The closer he brings it, the more electrical
potential energy it has. When he releases the charge, work gets done on
the charge which changes its energy from electrical potential energy to
kinetic energy. Every time he brings the charge back, he does work on
the charge. If he brought the charge closer to the other object, it would
have more electrical potential energy. If he brought 2 or 3 charges
instead of one, then he would have had to do more work so he would
have created more electrical potential energy. Electrical potential energy
could be measured in Joules just like any other form of energy.
Electric Potential Energy

The electric force is conservative; therefore, there must be a potential

energy associated with it.
It takes work to move an electric charge perpendicular to an electric
field:

As usual, the change in potential energy is the negative of the work:

∆𝑼𝒆 = 𝑼 𝑩 -𝑼 𝑨

∆𝑼𝒈 = 𝑼 𝑩 -𝑼 𝑨 =Fh=mgh
Consider a negative charge
moving in between 2
oppositely charged parallel
plates initial KE=0 Final KE= 0,
therefore in this case Work =
PE

We call this ELECTRICAL

potential energy, UE, and it is
equal to the amount of work
done by the ELECTRIC FORCE,
caused by the ELECTRIC FIELD
over distance, d, which in this
case is the plate separation
distance.
Is there a symbolic relationship with the FORMULA for gravitational
potential energy?
Electric Potential
Here we see the equation for gravitational
U g = mgh potential energy.

U g → U E (or W )
Instead of gravitational potential energy we are
talking about ELECTRIC POTENTIAL ENERGY

m→q A charge will be in the field instead of a mass

g→E The field will be an ELECTRIC FIELD instead of

a gravitational field
h→x→d
The displacement is the same in any reference
U E (W ) = qEd frame and use various symbols

W Putting it all together!

= Ed Question: What does the LEFT side of the equation
q mean in words? The amount of Energy per charge!
Energy per charge
The amount of energy per charge has a specific
name and it is called, VOLTAGE or ELECTRIC
POTENTIAL (difference). Why the “difference”?

1 mv 2
W K
V = = = 2
q q q

SI unit is Joule per

Coulomb. This was
renamed the volt (V)
in honor of
Alessandro Volta, an
italian scientist (1745-
1827).
Understanding “Difference”
Let’s say we have a proton placed
between a set of charged plates. If
the proton is held fixed at the
positive plate, the ELECTRIC FIELD will
apply a FORCE on the proton
(charge). Since like charges repel,
the proton is considered to have a
high potential (voltage) similar to
being above the ground. It moves
towards the negative plate or low
potential (voltage). The plates are
charged using a battery source
where one side is positive and the
other is negative. The positive side is
at 9V, for example, and the negative
side is at 0V. So basically the charge
travels through a “change in
voltage” much like a falling mass
experiences a “change in height.
(Note: The electron does the
opposite)
 BEWARE!!!!!!
W is Electric Potential Energy (Joules)
is not
V is Electric Potential (Joules/Coulomb)
a.k.a Voltage, Potential Difference
The “other side” of that equation?
Since the amount of energy per charge is
U g = mgh called Electric Potential, or Voltage, the
product of the electric field and
U g → U E (or W ) displacement is also VOLTAGE

m→q This makes sense as it is applied usually

to a set of PARALLEL PLATES.
g→E V=Ed
h→x→d
U E (W ) = qEd
E
V d
W
= Ed
q
Problem 1:
1. A proton moved from the negative to positive plate of
a parallel –plate arrangement. The plates are 1.50 cm
apart, and electric field is uniform with a magnitude of
1500N/C.
a. What is the proton's potential energy change?
b. What is the potential difference between the plates?
c. Between the negative plate and a point midway
between plates?
d. If the proton is released from rest at the positive plate,
what speed will it have just before it hits the negative
plate?
Problem 2:
2. We want to accelerate an electron to 1.00% of
the speed of light(1860 mi/s) in a space of 2.50
mm between a pair of large horizontal plates. If
the top plate is positively charged,
a. What voltage between the plates is required?
b. What are the direction and magnitude of the
electric field?
Potential Difference Due to point
Charges
 Electric potential increases (+∆𝐕) 𝑎𝑠 𝑤𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑛𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑜
𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑜𝑟 𝑓𝑢𝑟𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑛𝑒𝑔𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒.
 Electric potential decreases (-∆𝑉) 𝑎𝑠 𝑤𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 further
from 𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑜𝑟 nearer to 𝑛𝑒𝑔𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒.
Electric potential difference
point charge only
𝒌𝒒 𝒌𝒒
∆𝑽 = −
𝒓𝑩 𝒓𝑨

Electric potential due to point

charge only.
𝒌𝒒
𝑽=
𝒓
Problem:
1. In the Bohr model of the hydrogen atom,
the electron in orbiting around the
proton can exist only in certain circular
orbits. The smallest has a radius of 0.0529
nm, and the next largest has radius of
0.212 nm.
A. What is the potential difference between
the two orbits?
B. Which orbit is at the higher potential?
 Electric Potential Energy of Various
Charge Configurations

If a positive point charge q1 is fixed in space

and a second positive charge q2 is pushed
toward it from a very large distance
(r=∞) 𝑡𝑜 𝑎 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑟12 , the work done is
positive. The system of two charges gains
electric potential energy:

𝒌𝒒𝟏 𝒌𝒒𝟏 𝒌𝒒𝟏𝒒𝟐 𝒌𝒒𝟏𝒒𝟐 𝒌𝒒𝟏𝒒𝟐

∆𝑼𝒆 = 𝒒𝟐 ∆𝑽 = 𝒒𝟐 ( − ) = - =
𝒓𝟏𝟐 ∞ 𝒓𝟏𝟐 ∞ 𝒓𝟏𝟐
 For unlike charges, the electrical force is attractive.
With attractive gravitational force, the electrostatic
potential energy is negative.
 For like charges, the electrical force is repulsive,
and the potential energy is positive.
 Thus if the two charges are of the same sign, it
takes positive work to move them together; when
released, they will move apart, gaining kinetic
energy as they loss potential energy.
Total Potential Energy

𝑼𝒕𝒐𝒕𝒂𝒍 =𝑼𝟏𝟐 + 𝑼𝟐𝟑 + 𝑼𝟏𝟑 … … … .

 Problem
1. The water molecule is the foundation of life as we
know it. Many of its important properties ( for example,
the reason it is a liquid on the Earth’s surface) are related
to the fact that it is a polar molecule. Although the
molecule’s net charge is zero, it is separated into positive
and negative regions. A very simple picture of the water
molecule, along with the charges. The distance from
hydrogen atom to the oxygen atom is 9.60 ×
𝟏𝟎−𝟏𝟏 𝐦, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞 (∅ ) between two hydrogen-oxygen
bond direction is 104 degrees. What is the total
electrostatic energy of the water molecule?
 Objectives:
At the end of the session the students should be able to:
 1.Understand the concept of electric potential difference
(Voltage”) and its relationship to electric potential energy
 2.Calculate electric potential differences and electric potential
energies.
 3.Explain what is meant by an equipotential surface
 4.Sketch equipotential surfaces for simple charge configurations
 5.Explain the relationship between equipotential surfaces and
electric fields
 6. Define capacitance and explain what it means physically
 7. Calculate the charge, voltage, electric field and energy storage
for parallel-plate capacitor.
 8.Understand what dielectric is and how it affects the physical
properties of a capacitor.
 9.Find the equivalent capacitance of capacitors connected in
series and in parallel
 10.Calculate the charges, voltages, and energy storage of
individual capacitors in series and parallel configurations.
 11.Analyze capacitor networks that include both series and
parallel arrangement.
 EQUIPOTENTIAL SURFACES AND THE ELECTRIC FIELD

∆𝑼𝑨𝑨′
∆𝑽𝑨𝑨 = 𝑽𝑨′ − 𝑽𝑨 = =𝟎 or 𝑽𝑨′ = 𝑽𝑨
𝒒
 Electric potential is constant to all plates.
 Equipotential means “ same potential”.
 An equipotential surface need not be a
plane, nor is it necessarily parallel to the
plates or charges that created the field,
as is true in the special parallel-plate case
must be consider.
 Equipotential surfaces are always at right
angles to the electric field.
∆𝑽
𝑬= −( )=V/m=N/c electric field from potential
𝒅
Unit of Electric Potential
Electron volt (eV)-is defined as the kinetic energy
required by an electron’s gain in kinetic energy is
equal to the magnitude of its loss in electric
potential energy.
∆= −∆𝑈𝑒 = −𝑒∆𝑉 = −(−1.60 × 10−19 C)(1.00V)
= 1.60 × 10−19 J
1 eV=𝟏. 𝟔𝟎 × 𝟏𝟎−𝟏𝟗 𝐉
1000eV=1keV
1MeV=𝟏𝟎𝟔 𝐞𝐕
1GeV=𝟏𝟎𝟗 eV
Capacitance
o The electric field caused by charged
conductors stores electrical energy.
o Capacitor-Store energy by means of an
electric field.
o In most everyday capacitors, the
potential diffrence across the plates is
proportional to the charge Q.
Q∝ 𝑽
𝑸
Q=CV or C=
𝑽
SI unit: C/V, or Farad
1micro farad=𝟏𝟎−𝟔 F, Pico Farad=𝟏𝟎−𝟏𝟐 F
Capacitance depend only on the geometry (size,
shape, spacing) of the plate arrangement (and
the material between plates, as well.

𝟒𝝅𝒌𝑸
E=
𝑨
𝟒𝝅𝒌𝑸𝒅
V=Ed=
𝑨
𝑸 𝟏 𝑨
C= =( )
𝑽 𝟒𝝅𝒌 𝒅

𝟏
Permittivity of free space:𝜺𝟎 = =8.85× 𝟏𝟎−𝟏𝟐 𝑪𝟐 /N∙ 𝒎𝟐
𝟒𝝅𝒌
𝜺 𝑨
C= 𝟎 Parallel plates only
𝒅
 Problem:
What would be the plate area of an air-filled 1.0
farad parallel plate capacitor if the plate separation
were 1.0mm? Would it be realistic to consider
building one?
Energy stored in the capacitor
𝟏 𝑸𝟐 𝟏
𝑼𝒄 = QV= = 𝐂 𝑽𝟐
𝟐 𝟐𝑪 𝟐

Application: Cardiac defibrillator.

 Problem:
Following a heart attack, the heart sometimes beats in
erratic (and useless) fashion, called fibrillation. One way to
get the heart back to its normal rhythm is to shock it with
electrical energy supplied by an instrument called a
CARDIAC DEFIBRILLATOR. Experiments shows that about
300 j of energy is required to produce the desire effect.
Typically, a defibrillator stores this energy in a capacitor
charge by a 5000-volt power supply.
a. What capacitance is required?
b. What is the charge on the capacitor’s plates?
 Objectives:
At the end of the session the students should be able to:
 1.Understand the concept of electric potential difference
(Voltage”) and its relationship to electric potential energy
 2.Calculate electric potential differences and electric potential
energies.
 3.Explain what is meant by an equipotential surface
 4.Sketch equipotential surfaces for simple charge configurations
 5.Explain the relationship between equipotential surfaces and
electric fields
 6. Define capacitance and explain what it means physically
 7. Calculate the charge, voltage, electric field and energy storage
for parallel-plate capacitor.
 8.Understand what dielectric is and how it affects the physical
properties of a capacitor.
 9.Find the equivalent capacitance of capacitors connected in
series and in parallel
 10.Calculate the charges, voltages, and energy storage of
individual capacitors in series and parallel configurations.
 11.Analyze capacitor networks that include both series and
parallel arrangement.
Dielectrics
 Is a sheet of insulating material, such as paper or
plastics is placed between the plates of most
capacitor.
 Purposes:
❑ It keeps the plate from coming into contact, which
allow the electrons to flow back onto the positive plate,
thereby neutralizing the charge on the capacitor and
energy stored.
❑ It also allows flexible plates of aluminum foil to be
rolled into a cylinder, giving the capacitor a practical
size.
❑ Increase the charge storage capacity of the capacitor
and therefore, under the right conditions, the energy
stored in the capacitor.
Dielectric Constant (K)
Material Dielectric Constant (K)
Vacuum 1.00000
Air 1.00054
Paper 3.5
Polyethylene 2.3
Polystyrene 2.6
Teflon 2.1
Glass 4.6
Silicon Oil 2.6
Definition of Dielectric
Constant
 Dielectric of the material – is defined ad
the ratio of the voltage with the material
in place divided by the vacuum voltage.
 Since V is proportional to E.

𝑽𝒐 𝑬𝒐
K= =
𝑽 𝑬
 Holds only if the battery is
disconnected
𝑸 𝑸𝒐 𝑸𝒐
C= =K 𝒐𝒓 𝑪 = 𝑲𝑪𝟎
𝑽 𝑽𝟎 /𝑲 𝑽𝟎

The new value of the capacitance is larger than

the vacuum value .
Battery disconnected
𝟐 𝟐
𝑸𝟐 𝑸𝟎 𝑸𝟎 ൗ𝟐𝑪𝟎
Uc= = = = 𝑼𝟎 /𝑲 < 𝑼𝟎
𝟐𝑪 𝟐𝑲𝑪𝟎 𝑲

The stored energy drops a factor of K.

 Battery connected
𝟏 𝟏 𝟏
Uc= 𝐂𝑽 = 𝐊𝑪𝟎 𝑽𝟐
𝟐 =K( 𝑪𝟎 𝑽𝟐 )=K𝑼𝟎 > 𝑼𝟎
𝟐 𝟐 𝟐

The stored energy goes up at the expense of the battery

Parallel plate Capacitor with a
dielectric, the capacitance is
given by:
𝑲𝝐𝟎 𝑨
C=K𝑪𝟎 =
𝒅
𝐾𝜖0 − 𝑑𝑖𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑐 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑙𝑤𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑛 𝜖0 ,
𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑣𝑎𝑐𝑢𝑢𝑚 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑒 𝑠𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑒 , 𝑏𝑦 𝑎 𝑓𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝐾.
Problem
 1. Consider a capacitor (with dielectric)
underneath a computer key. IT IS
connected to a 12 volt power supply, has a
normal (uncompressed) plate separation of
3.00 mm and a plate area of 0.750 𝒄𝒎𝟐 .
a. What is the required dielectric constant if
the capacitance is 1.0micro farad?
b. How much charge is stored on the plates
under normal conditions?
c. How much charge flow onto the plates (
That is, what is the change in charge) if
they are compressed to a separation of
only 2.00 mm?
CAPACITOR IN
SERIES AND IN
PARALLEL
 Capacitor in Series
Q=𝑸𝟏 =𝑸𝟐 =𝑸𝟑 =𝑸𝟒 …
V=𝑽𝟏 +𝑽𝟐 +𝑽𝟑 +…
𝑸 𝑸 𝑸
𝑽𝟏 = , 𝑽𝟐 = , 𝑽𝟑 = , , ….
𝑪𝟏 𝑪𝟐 𝑪𝟑

Equivalent series Capacitance

𝑸 𝑸 𝑸 𝑸
= + + +⋯.
𝑪𝑺 𝑪𝟏 𝑪𝟐 𝑪𝟑

𝟏 𝟏 𝟏 𝟏
= + + +⋯.
𝑪𝑺 𝑪𝟏 𝑪𝟐 𝑪𝟑
 Capacitor in Parallel
V=𝑽𝟏 = 𝑽𝟐 = 𝑽𝟑 =…
𝑸𝒕𝒐𝒕𝒂𝒍 =𝑸𝟏 + 𝑸𝟐 + 𝑸𝟑 + 𝑸𝟒 …
𝑸 𝑸 𝑸
𝑽𝟏 = , 𝑽𝟐 = , 𝑽𝟑 = , , ….
𝑪𝟏 𝑪𝟐 𝑪𝟑

Equivalent parallel Capacitance

𝑪𝑷 V= 𝑪𝟏 V+ 𝑪𝟐 V+ 𝑪𝟑 V+………
𝑪𝑷 V= 𝑪𝟏 + 𝑪𝟐 + 𝑪𝟑 +………
Problem:
1. You have two capacitors, one 2. 50
micro farad, and the other 5.00micro
farad. What are the charge on each and
the total charge stored if they are
connected across a 12.0 volt battery.
a. In series
b. In parallel
1. You have 3 capacitors, one 3.50 micro
farad, 4.5 micro farad and 4.6 micro
farad. What are the charge on each and
the total charge stored if they are
connected across a 24 volt battery.
a. In series
b. In parallel