Scribd
Upload
6 views

Chapter 19 Capacitance_

Capacitors are devices that store energy in electronic circuits, with capacitance defined as the charge stored per unit potential difference, measured in Farads. The energy stored in a capacitor can be calculated using the formula W = ½ CV², and the discharge process involves an exponential decay of current, voltage, and charge, influenced by the circuit's resistance. The time constant (τ) indicates how long it takes for the charge to decrease to 0.37 of its original value, defined as τ = RC.

Uploaded by

ayeshasps83
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
6 views

Chapter 19 Capacitance_

Capacitors are devices that store energy in electronic circuits, with capacitance defined as the charge stored per unit potential difference, measured in Farads. The energy stored in a capacitor can be calculated using the formula W = ½ CV², and the discharge process involves an exponential decay of current, voltage, and charge, influenced by the circuit's resistance. The time constant (τ) indicates how long it takes for the charge to decrease to 0.37 of its original value, defined as τ = RC.

Uploaded by

ayeshasps83
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
You are on page 1/ 6

19 Capacitance

19.1 Capacitors and capacitance

• Capacitors are electrical devices used to store energy in electronic circuits.


• The circuit symbol for capacitor is shown below

• They come in two forms

-Isolated spherical conductor

-Parallel plates

• The unit of capacitor is capacitance.


• Capacitance is defined as the charge stored per unit potential difference.
• The higher the capacitance, the greater the energy that can be stored in a
capacitor.
• A parallel plate capacitor is made up of two conductive metal plates connected
to a voltage supply

• The negative terminal of the voltage supply pushes electrons onto one plate,
making it negatively charged.
• The electrons are repelled from the opposite plate, making it positively charged.
• There is a commonly a dielectric in between the plates to prevent the charge
does not free flow between them.
• The capacitance (C) of a capacitor is defined by the equation

𝑄
𝐶=
𝑉

• The SI unit is in Farad (F)


• If the capacitor is made of parallel plates, Q is the charge on the plates and V is
the potential difference across the capacitor.
• For spherical conductor, Q is the charged stored on its plates.
• The capacitance of a charged sphere is defined by the charge per unit potential
at the surface of the sphere.
• Recall that the potential (V) of an isolate point charge is given by

𝑄
𝑉=
4𝜋𝜀0 𝑟

Substituting into the capacitance equation we get the equation for capacitance
(C) of a sphere

C = 4𝜋𝜀0 𝑟

• For capacitor in series, recall that the total voltage (VT) is given by

VT = V1 + V2

Substituting
𝑄
𝑉=
𝐶
Into the equation above we get

𝑄 𝑄 𝑄
= +
𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝐶1 𝐶2
Since the current is the same for a series circuit, Q will cancel out. If you have
more capacitors the equation will become
𝑄 1 1 1
= 𝐶 + 𝐶 +𝐶 + ⋯.
𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 1 2 2

• For capacitors in parallel start with

QT = Q1 + Q2
You should get

CT = C1 + C2 + C3 +….

19.2 Energy stored in a capacitor

• The charge (Q) on a capacitor is directly proportional to its potential


difference (V).
• The area under the curve of a potential-charge graph is equal to the area under
a triangle.
• This area is the energy stored in a capacitor.
• The energy stored (W) is therefore

W =1/2 QV

Substituting Q = CV we get

W = ½ CV2
19.3 Discharging a capacitor

• When a capacitor is being charged, the electrons flow from the positive to
negative plate.
• When the capacitor is being discharged through a resistor, the electrons flow
back from negative plate to the positive plate until there are equal number of
electrons on each plate.
• At the start of the discharge, the current is large and gradually falls to zero.

• As a capacitor discharges, the I, V and Q all decrease exponentially.


• This is represented by an exponential decay in the graph above.
• V and Q versus time graphs have a similar shape as well.
• The rate at which a capacitor discharges depends on the resistance (R) of the
circuit.
• A high resistance will slow down the discharge since the current will decrease.
• A low resistance will increase the rate of discharge since current can flow
more freely.
• The time constant of a capacitor discharging through a resistor is a measure of
how long it takes for the capacitor to discharge.
• Time constant (τ) is defined as the time taken for the charge of a capacitor
to decrease to 0.37 of its original value

τ = RC
• The equations below can be used to determine how much current (I), potential
difference (V) and charge (Q) left after a certain amount of time from its
initial I0, V0 and Q0.

𝑡
𝐼 = 𝐼0 ⅇ −𝑅𝐶
𝑡
𝑉 = 𝑉0 ⅇ −𝑅𝐶
𝑡
𝑄 = 𝑄0 ⅇ−𝑅𝐶

You might also like