CAPACITANCE &

DIELECTRICS
 CHAPTER 3.1
Deduce the effects of
simple capacitors.
CAPACITORS
Is a component which has the
ability or “capacity” to store
energy in the form of an electric
charge producing a potential
difference (static voltage).
 A capacitor consists of two or
more parallel conductive
(metal) plates, which are not
connected to each other, but
are electrically separated either
by air or insulating material.
 INSULATING MATERIALS SUCH AS;

WAXED PAPER, MICA,

CERAMIC, PLASTIC, OR
LIQUID GEL.
The insulating layer between a
capacitors plates is commonly
called dielectric.
FIG. 1 BASIC
CAPACITOR
STRUCTURE.
 The conductive metal plates of a capacitor can
either be a square, circular, or rectangular, or can
be of a cylindrical or spherical shape with the
general shape, size, and construction of a parallel
plate capacitor depending on its application and
voltage rating.
Parallel Plate Capacitor
Is the simplest form of capacitor. It
can be constructed using two metal
or metallized foil plated at a distance
parallel to each other, with its
capacitance value in Farads.
FIG. 2 PARALLEL PLATE CAPACITOR.
The ratio of the charge Q to the voltage V
will give the capacitance value of the
capacitor as:

C = Q/V
Can be re-arranged to give the more familiar
formula for the quantity of charge on the
plates as:

Q= C x V
CAPACITANCE
The property of a capacitor to
store charge on its plates in
the form of an electrostatic
field.
FARAD
Unit for capacitance named
after the British Physicist,
Michael Faraday.
MICHAEL FARADAY
Capacitance is defined as being that a capacitor
has the capacitance of One Farad when a charge
of One Coulomb is stored on plates by a voltage
of One Volt.
 The capacitance of a parallel
plate capacitor is proportional
to the area (A) in m² of the
smallest of the two plates &
inversely to the distance or
separation (d).
 Generalized equation for the
capacitance of a parallel plate
capacitor:

C=ɛ(A/d)
ɛ represents the absolute permittivity of the dielectric material
being used.
ɛ=8.84 x 10^-12
FIG. 3 PARALLEL
PLATE
CAPACITOR
DIAGRAM
 CHAPTER 3.2
Calculate the equivalent capacitance
of a network of capacitors connected
in series/parallel.
FIG 4. CAPACITORS IN SERIES
 Then by applying Kirchoff ’s Voltage Law
(KVL) to the above circuit, we get:

Vab =Vc1 + Vc2 + Vc3 = 12V

Vc1 = Qt / C1
Vc2 = Qt / C2
Vc3 = Qt / C3
Since Q = CV and rearranging for V=Q/C
substituting Q/C for each capacitor voltage
Vc in the KVL equation will give us:

Vab = Qt /Ct = Qt /C1 +

Qt /C2 + Qt /C3
 Dividing each term through by Q
gives the Series Capacitor Equation
FIG 5. CAPACITORS IN PARALLEL
 The Voltage (Vc) connected across all the
capacitors that are connected in parallel is THE
SAME. Then, Capacitors in Parallel have a
“common voltage” supply across them giving:

Vc1 = Vc2 = Vc3 = Vab = 12V

 CHAPTER 3.3-3.5
Potential difference in
capacitors
FIG 6. CAPACITORS IN SERIES
CREATING A FUNCTIONAL
BLOCK
 When this block is connected to a voltage
source, each capacitor in the block stores an
equal amount of charge.
The amount of charge stores at each
capacitor equals:

Qt = Q1 = Q2 = Q3 = … =
Qn
 When the voltage is first
applied across the block, the
same current flows through all
the capacitors and as a result,
charge shift occurs.
 Voltage across each capacitor are
not equal, and are calculated for
each capacitors by using the known
formula:

Vn = Qn / Cn
 However, the amount of charge
stored at each capacitor is not the
same.

Qn = (Cn)(Vn)
Qn = amount of charge in
every capacitor in the series
connection.

Cn = capacitance of the
capacitor

Vn = voltage across the

capacitor
FIG 7. CAPACITORS IN PARALLEL
CREATING A FUNCTIONAL
BLOCK
The total amount of charge that is stored by
the block of capacitors is represented by Q
and is divided between all the capacitors
present in this circuit. Represented by:

Qt = Q1 + Q2 + Q3 + … +
Qn
 All the capacitors in the parallel
connection have the same voltage
across them, meaning that:

Vt = V1 = V2 = V3 = … = Vn
 CHAPTER 3.6-3.7
Energy density and effects of
inserting dielectric materials.
 The energy stored on a capacitor can be
calculated from the equivalent expressions:

W = U = (1/2)(Q²/C) = (1/2)(Q)(V)
= (1/2) CV²
U = energy stored
Q = charge
C = capacitance
V = voltage
FIG 8.
Energy Density
Energy density is defined
as the total amount of
energy in a system per
unit volume.
In case of electric field or capacitor,
the energy density formula is given
by:

U = (1/2)ɛoE²
ɛ=8.84 x 10^-12 the permittivity at vacuum
E = electric field strength
Parallel Plate Capacitor
The capacitance of a set of
charged parallel plates is increased
by the insertion of dielectric
material.
The capacitance is inversely
proportional to the electric field
between the plates.
Parallel Plate Capacitor
The presence of dielectric reduces
the effective electric field.

The dielectric is characterized by

dielectric constant k, and the
capacitance is multiplied by that
factor.
FIG 9. PARALLEL PLATE CAPACITOR
 The capacitance of flat, parallel metallic
plates of Area A and separation d is given
by the expression where:
C = kɛo (A/d)
ɛ=8.84 x 10^-12 the permittivity at vacuum
k = relative permittivity of the dielectric material
between the plates
A = area of metallic plates
d = separation between plates
 When a dielectric is placed
between charged plates, the
polarization of the medium
produces electric field opposing
the field of the charges on the
plate.
THANK YOU!
END.