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Capacitance
 Capacitance

Some conductors can store electric

charge. This type of devices called
capacitors.

The amount of charge that a conductor

can store when a potential difference U
is applied, is capacitance.
 Capacitance

It is experimentally found that the

amount of charge increases as the
potential difference increases.
C – capacitance, Farad (F)
This proportionality constant is denoted
q – charge, Coulomb (C)
C and is called the capacitance of the V – potential difference,
conductor. Volt (V)
 Capacity

Normally capacitors vary in the range of microfarads (µF),

through nanofarads (nF) to picofarads (pF).

1 µF = 10-6 F 1 nF = 10-9 F 1 pF = 10-12 F

 Example
A parallel plate capacitor of capacitance 4 µF, carries a charge of
60 µC. What is the potential difference between the plates of the
capacitor?

V = 15 V
 Problem
A 4 volt source is connected across a 2 µF capacitor. Find the
charge on this capacitor.

8 = µC
 Capacitors

A system consisting of two conductors with an insulating medium

placed between them is called a capacitor.

Capacitors are devices which store electric charge.

Symbol of capacitor
 Capacitors
A system consisting of two conductors with an insulating medium
placed between them is called a capacitor.
Types of capacitors
 Interesting fact

Capacitors are used in computers, smartphones

and other electronic devices.
Parallel plate capacitors

A parallel plate capacitor consists of two parallel

plates each of area A, separated by a distance d

connection connection
wire wire

plate plate
 Parallel plate capacitors
According to this equation the capacitance of
a parallel plate capacitor:
o Depends on the medium between the
plates.
o Is directly proportional to the area of the A - area of the plates;
plates (units) d - distance between plates;
εo - constant number 8.85 x
o Is inversely proportional to the plate 10–12 Farad/metre;
separation (units)
 Example
A parallel plate capacitor has an area of 40cm x 50cm and plate separation of 1
cm.
a) What is the capacitance of this capacitor in units of Farads (F)?
b) If it has a charge of 3.6 x 10–3 C, what is the potential difference across the
capacitor?

V
 Problem
Find the capacitance of a parallel-plate capacitor if the area of each
plate is 200 cm2 and the distance between them is 2 mm.

88.5 pF
Combination of
Capacitors
 Combinations of capacitors
In an electric circuit, we may need capacitors of various
capacitance values.

However, capacitors only come in certain fixed values.

The required capacitance value can be obtained by

connecting capacitors in series and parallel.
 Series combination
If two or more capacitors are connected
end to end, they are said to be connected
in series.

V1 V2
In series combinations, charges on each
capacitor are equal. If qt is the total charge,
we can write V

A series combination
qt = q1 = q2 of capacitors
 Series combination
If the voltage supplied by the battery is V, it
is equal to the sum of the potential
differences across each capacitor.

V1 V2
If V1 and V2 are potentials across capacitors
C1 and C2 respectively, the potential
difference of the system is V

A series combination
V = V1 + V2 of capacitors
 Series combination
The equivalent capacitance is denoted Ceq.
This capacitor stores the charge qt of the
system. V1 V2

If the potential differences

V

are substituted in, V = V1 + V2

V
Their equivalent capacitance
 Series combination

Since qt = q1 = q2 we can simplify this V1 V2

equation by cancelling these same charges.
Thus we obtain,
V

V
Their equivalent capacitance
 Series combination

If there are ‘n’ capacitors connected in

series, total charge, total potential V1 V2
difference and equivalent capacitance are
given by V

V
Their equivalent capacitance
 Example
Two capacitors, C1 and C2, are connected in series. Find:
a) The equivalent capacitance.
b) The total charge. V1 V2
c) The charge on each capacitor.
d) The voltage across each capacitor.
12 V
 Parallel combination C1, q1

If two or more capacitors are connected V2

parallel to each other, they are said to be
connected in parallel. C2, q2

Since the plates of each capacitor are V1

connected to the same potential
difference, their potentials are equal.
V
A parallel combination of
V = V1 = V2 qt = q1 + q2 capacitors
 Parallel combination C1, q1

qt = q1 + q2 V2

qt =CeqV q1 =C1V1 q2 = C2V2 C2, q2

CeqV = C1V1 + C2V2 V1

Then since V = V1 = V2 we can cancel out

these same potential differences and obtain
V
A parallel combination of
Ceq = C1 + C2 capacitors
 Parallel combination C1, q1

If there are ‘n’ capacitors connected in V2

parallel, total charge, total potential
C2, q2
difference and equivalent capacitance are
given by
V1

qt = q 1 + q 2 + … + q n
V = V1 = V2 = … = Vn V
Ceq = C1 + C2 + … + Cn A parallel combination of
capacitors
 Example q1 C1 = 1 μF

Two capacitors, C =1 μF and C =2 μF, are connected V1

in parallel. Find:
a) Equivalent capacitance. q2 C2 = 2 μF
b) Total charge.
c) The potential difference across each capacitor. V2
d) The charge on each capacitor.
12 V
a) 3 μF
b) 36 μC
c) V1 = V2 = Vt =12 V
d) q1 = 12 μC, q2 = 24 μC, qt = 36 μC
 Example
C1 = 1 μF
Three capacitors of capacitance C1=1 μF, C2=2 μF and C3=6 μF
C3 = 6 μF
are connected as shown in the figure, and charged by a 100 V
battery. Find:
V3
a) The equivalent capacitance of the system. C2 = 2 μF
b) The total charge of the system.
c) The potential difference, V3.
d) The charge q1.
100 V

a) 2 μF
b) 200 μC
c) V3 =33.3 V
d) q1 = 66.7 μC
Problems
 Problem #1
What is the capacitance of a metallic sphere of radius 10 cm?
 Problem #2
The area of each plate of a parallel-plate capacitor is 500 cm2.
What separation must the plates have in order for their
capacitance to be 500 pF.

0.88 mm
 Problem #3
The first artificial satellite, Sputnik had a diameter of approximately
60 cm. During take-off, it was electrified up to a potential
difference of 6 V. Find the charge that was on the surface of
Sputnik.
 Problem #4
A parallel-plate capacitor of plate area 200 cm2 and separation 4
mm, is connected to a voltage source of 3 kV. What is the charge
on each plate?

132.7 nC
 Problem #5
For the circuit shown in the figure find:
a) The potential across each capacitor
b) The charge on each capacitor

90 V

a) V1 = 60 V, V2 = 30 V
b) q1 = q2 = 120 μC
 Problem #6
Three capacitors of capacitance 12 μF, 6 μF and 4 μF are connected
in series with a battery of U = 124 V. Find:
a) The charge on each capacitor
b) The voltage across each capacitor.

a) 248 μC each
b) V1 = 20.7 V, V2 = 41.3 V, V3 = 62 V
 Problem #7
C1 = 4 μF
Two capacitors are connected in parallel, as
shown in the figure. Find:
a) The voltage across each capacitor. C2 = 3 μF
b) The charge on each capacitor.
c) The total charge on the capacitors.
12 V

a) V1 = 12 V, V2 = 12V
b) q1 = 48 μC, q2 = 36 μC
c) 84 μC
 Problem #8
Three capacitors of capacitance 5 μF, 7 μF and 12 μF are connected in
parallel to a battery of voltage, 12 V. Find:
a) The charge on each capacitor.
b) The voltage across each capacitor.
c) Equivalent capacitance of the circuit.

a) q1 = 60 μC, q2 = 84 μC, q3 = 144 μC

b) 12 V each
c) 24 μF
 Problem #9
Four capacitors are connected as shown in the figure.
Find:
a) The equivalent capacitance of the circuit
b) The charge on each capacitor.

V = 40 V

a) 2 μF
b) q6 = 40 μC, q3 = 40 μC, q2 = 40 μC, q4 = 80 μC
 Problem #10
Find the equivalent capacitance for the capacitor
network shown in the figure.

8 μF
 Problem #11
Find the equivalent capacitance in units of
microfarads (μF) between the points K and L.

6 μF
 Problem #12
Calculate the equivalent capacitance
between points K and L?

18 μF
Thanks!
Any questions?