CAPACITORS

A capacitor is a device for storing charges. It is

used in computer motherboards, television and
radio circuits. Its standard symbol is:
The simplest type of capacitor consists of two
parallel conducting plates separated from each
other by a thin sheet of insulating material.
When connected to a source of
charge, such as a battery, the
positive terminal of the battery
removes electrons from the plate
connected to it and transfers them
to the other plate. As a result of this,
the two plates are equally but
 CAPACITANCE
•The ability of a capacitor to store charges. It is
mathematically defined as the ratio of the amount of
charge (q) in one plate to the potential difference (V)
between the plates.

C=
The SI unit of capacitance is
Farad, symbolized by letter F and
named after Michael Faraday. It
follows that 1 Farad= 1 coulomb
per volt.
1F= 1C/V
•A capacitor can store 400C of charge at a
voltage of 50V.
a. Determine the capacitance.
b.What voltage is required to store 1000C
of charge on this capacitor.
•A 5F is charged to 100V.
Determine the electric charge
stored on this capacitor?
The capacitance of a parallel plate capacitor
is affected by the following factors:
• Area of plates. The bigger the area of the
plates, the greater is the capacitance.
• Distance between the plates. The closer the
plates to one another, the greater the
capacitance.
• Insulating material or dielectric between
them.
The dependence of the capacitance on these
factors is mathematically expressed as:
•

C=
Where:

A = Area in square meters

d= distance between plates in meters
Ɛ= the permitivity of the insulating
material or dielectric.
Permitivity of Some Materials
Material Ɛ(x
Air or Vacuum 0.885
Glass (ordinary) 7
Glass (pyrex) 4.7
Mica 4.8
Mylar 2.7
Water at 20° 70.8
• A parallel plate capacitor is composed of
two plates that are separated by 0.55mm.
The dimensions of each plate are 30cm x 50
cm.
a. What is the capacitance of this device?
b. Calculate the charge on each plate if the
capacitor is connected across a 9V battery.
c. Calculate the electric field between them.
•A capacitor consists of two square metal
plates, each measuring 5.00x10^-2m on
a side. In between the plates is a sheet
of mica measuring 1.00x10^-4m thick.
a. What is the capacitance of this
capacitor?
b.If the charge in one plate is 2.00x10^-
8C, what is the potential difference?
Combination of Capacitors
Three important rules for capacitors in
series:
• The reciprocal of the total capacitance is equal to the sum of
the reciprocals of the individual capacitance. It should be
noted that adding a capacitor in series decreases the total
capacitance of the combination.
•
• The total potential difference or total
voltage is the sum of the potential
differences across each capacitor.
•
•The total charge is equal to the
individual charge stored in each
capacitor.
=
For parallel capacitors, the following rules
apply:
•
• The total capacitance is the sum of the
individual capacitances.

=…
•• The
voltage across all capacitors is equal to the
voltage across each capacitor.

=== …
•
• The total charge is equal to the sum of the
individual charges.
Sample Problem:
• Find the capacitance for each connection shown:
C1= 10.0F
C2= 5.0 F
C3= 4.0 F