Chapter 26
Capacitance
and
Dielectrics
Capacitors
Capacitors are devices that store electric
charge
Examples of where capacitors are used
include:
radio receivers
filters in power supplies
to eliminate sparking in automobile ignition
systems
energy-storing devices in electronic flashes
Definition of Capacitance
The capacitance, C, of a capacitor is defined
as the ratio of the magnitude of the charge on
either conductor to the potential difference
between the conductors
Q
C
V
The SI unit of capacitance is the farad (F)
Makeup of a Capacitor
A capacitor consists of
two conductors
These conductors are
called plates
When the conductor is
charged, the plates carry
charges of equal
magnitude and opposite
directions
A potential difference
exists between the
plates due to the
charge
More About Capacitance
Capacitance will always be a positive quantity
The capacitance of a given capacitor is constant
The capacitance is a measure of the capacitor’s
ability to store charge
The farad is a large unit, typically you will see
microfarads (mF) and picofarads (pF)
A capacitor Shapes
Parallel Plate Capacitor
Each plate is
connected to a terminal
of the battery
The battery is a source of
potential difference
If the capacitor is
initially uncharged, the
battery establishes an
electric field in the
connecting wires
Parallel Plate Capacitor, cont
This field applies a force on electrons in the wire just
outside of the plates
The force causes the electrons to move onto the
negative plate
This continues until equilibrium is achieved
The plate, the wire and the terminal are all at the same
potential
At this point, there is no field present in the wire and
the movement of the electrons ceases
Parallel Plate Capacitor, final
The plate is now negatively charged
A similar process occurs at the other plate,
electrons moving away from the plate and
leaving it positively charged
In its final configuration, the potential
difference across the capacitor plates is the
same as that between the terminals of the
battery
Capacitance – Isolated Sphere
Assume a spherical charged conductor with radius a
The sphere will have the same capacitance as it
would if there were a conducting sphere of infinite
radius, concentric with the original sphere
Assume V = 0 for the infinitely large shell
Q Q R
C 4πεo a
V keQ / a ke
Note, this is independent of the charge and the
potential difference
Capacitance – Parallel Plates
The charge density on the plates is σ =
Q/A
A is the area of each plate, which are equal
Q is the charge on each plate, equal with
opposite signs
The electric field is uniform between the
plates and zero elsewhere
Capacitance – Parallel Plates,
cont.
The capacitance is proportional to the area of
its plates and inversely proportional to the
distance between the plates
Q Q Q εo A
C
V Ed Qd / εo A d
External Example: Size of a 1-F capacitor
A parallel-plate capacitor has a capacitance of 1 F. If
the plates are 1 mm apart, what is the area of the
plates?
Example 24.2: properties of a parallel-plate capacitor
The plates of a parallel-plate capacitor in vacuum are 5
mm apart and 2 m2 in area. A potential difference of
10,000 V is applied across the capacitor. Compute a) the
capacitance; b) the charge on each plate; and c) the
magnitude of the electric field in the space between
them.
Example: properties of a parallel-plate capacitor
The plates of a parallel-plate capacitor in vacuum are 5
mm apart and 2 m2 in area. A potential difference of
10,000 V is applied across the capacitor. Compute a) the
capacitance; b) the charge on each plate; and c) the
magnitude of the electric field in the space between
them.
Circuit Symbols
A circuit diagram is a
simplified representation of
an actual circuit
Circuit symbols are used to
represent the various
elements
Lines are used to represent
wires
The battery’s positive
terminal is indicated by the
longer line
Capacitors in Parallel
When capacitors are
first connected in the
circuit, electrons are
transferred from the left
plates through the
battery to the right
plate, leaving the left
plate positively charged
and the right plate
negatively charged
PLAY
ACTIVE FIGURE
Capacitors in Parallel, 2
The flow of charges ceases when the voltage across
the capacitors equals that of the battery
The potential difference across the capacitors is the
same
And each is equal to the voltage of the battery
V1 = V2 = V
V is the battery terminal voltage
The capacitors reach their maximum charge when
the flow of charge ceases
The total charge is equal to the sum of the charges
on the capacitors
Qtotal = Q1 + Q2
Capacitors in Parallel, 3
The capacitors can be
replaced with one
capacitor with a
capacitance of Ceq
The equivalent capacitor
must have exactly the
same external effect on
the circuit as the original
capacitors
Capacitors in Parallel, final
Ceq = C1 + C2 + C3 + …
The equivalent capacitance of a parallel
combination of capacitors is greater than any
of the individual capacitors
Essentially, the areas are combined
Use the active figure to vary the battery
potential and the various capacitors and
observe the resulting charges and voltages
on the capacitors
Capacitors in Series
When a battery is
connected to the circuit,
electrons are
transferred from the left
plate of C1 to the right
plate of C2 through the
battery
PLAY
ACTIVE FIGURE
Capacitors in Series, 2
As this negative charge accumulates on the
right plate of C2, an equivalent amount of
negative charge is removed from the left
plate of C2, leaving it with an excess positive
charge
All of the right plates gain charges of –Q and
all the left plates have charges of +Q
Capacitors in
Series, 3
An equivalent capacitor
can be found that
performs the same
function as the series
combination
The charges are all the
same
Q1 = Q2 = Q
Capacitors in Series, final
The potential differences add up to the battery
voltage
ΔVtot = V1 + V2 + …
The equivalent capacitance is
1 1 1 1
Ceq C1 C2 C3
The equivalent capacitance of a series combination
is always less than any individual capacitor in the
combination
Equivalent Capacitance,
Example
The 1.0-mF and 3.0-mF capacitors are in parallel as are the 6.0-
mF and 2.0-mF capacitors
These parallel combinations are in series with the capacitors
next to them
The series combinations are in parallel and the final equivalent
capacitance can be found
Example:
Two parallel plate capacitors with capacitance
C 1 6 mF and C 2 3 mF respectivilty, and the
potential across both of them is Vab 18 V (see figures
below). Find the equivalent capacitance, and find the
charge and potential difference for each capacitor when
the two capacitors are connected a) in series and b) in
parallel.
The series combination
The parallel combination
Example:
Find the equivalent capacitance of the combination
shown in Figure below.
Energy in a Capacitor –
Overview
Consider the circuit to
be a system
Before the switch is
closed, the energy is
stored as chemical
energy in the battery
When the switch is
closed, the energy is
transformed from
chemical to electric
potential energy
Energy in a Capacitor –
Overview, cont
The electric potential energy is related to the
separation of the positive and negative
charges on the plates
A capacitor can be described as a device that
stores energy as well as charge
Energy Stored in a Capacitor
Assume the capacitor is being charged
and, at some point, has a charge q on it
The work needed to transfer a charge from
one plate to the other is
q
dW Vdq dq
C
The total work required is
Q q Q2
W dq
0 C 2C
Energy, cont
The work done in charging the capacitor appears as
electric potential energy U:
Q2 1 1
U QV C(V )2
2C 2 2
This applies to a capacitor of any geometry
The energy stored increases as the charge
increases and as the potential difference increases
In practice, there is a maximum voltage before
discharge occurs between the plates
Energy, final
The energy can be considered to be stored in
the electric field
For a parallel-plate capacitor, the energy can
be expressed in terms of the field as U = ½
(εoAd)E2
It can also be expressed in terms of the
energy density (energy per unit volume)
uE = ½ e o E 2
Capacitors with Dielectrics
A dielectric is a nonconducting material that,
when placed between the plates of a capacitor,
increases the capacitance
Dielectrics include rubber, glass, and waxed paper
With a dielectric, the capacitance becomes
C = κCo
The capacitance increases by the factor κ when the
dielectric completely fills the region between the plates
κ is the dielectric constant of the material
Dielectrics, cont
For a parallel-plate capacitor, C = κεo(A/d)
In theory, d could be made very small to create a
very large capacitance
In practice, there is a limit to d
d is limited by the electric discharge that could occur
though the dielectric medium separating the plates
For a given d, the maximum voltage that can be
applied to a capacitor without causing a discharge
depends on the dielectric strength of the material
Dielectrics, final
Dielectrics provide the following advantages:
Increase in capacitance
Increase the maximum operating voltage
Possible mechanical support between the plates
This allows the plates to be close together without
touching
This decreases d and increases C
Types of Capacitors – Tubular
Metallic foil may be
interlaced with thin
sheets of paraffin-
impregnated paper or
Mylar
The layers are rolled
into a cylinder to form a
small package for the
capacitor
Types of Capacitors – Oil Filled
Common for high-
voltage capacitors
A number of interwoven
metallic plates are
immersed in silicon oil
Types of Capacitors –
Electrolytic
Used to store large
amounts of charge at
relatively low voltages
The electrolyte is a
solution that conducts
electricity by virtue of
motion of ions
contained in the
solution
Types of Capacitors – Variable
Variable capacitors consist
of two interwoven sets of
metallic plates
One plate is fixed and the
other is movable
These capacitors generally
vary between 10 and 500
pF
Used in radio tuning circuits
Example 24.10
Suppose the parallel plates each have an area of 2000 cm2 and are 1
cm apart. The capacitor is connected to a power supply and charged
to a potential difference V0=3000 V. It is then disconnected from the
power supply, and a sheet of insulating plastic material is inserted
between the plates, completely filling the space between them. We
find that the potential difference decreases to 1000 V while the
charge on each capacitor plate remains constant. Compute
a) the original capacitance C0;
b) the magnitude of charge Q on each plate;
c) the capacitance C after the dielectric is inserted;
d) the dielectric constant K of the dielectric;
