Capacitors

February 5, 2014

Physics for Scientists & Engineers 2, Chapter 24

Review
! The electric potential energy stored in a capacitor
is given by
1
U = CV 2
2

! The field energy density stored in a parallel plate capacitor is

given by
1 V
u = 0
2 d

! The field energy density in general is

1
u = 0E2
2
September 17, 2008

Physics for Scientists & Engineers 2, Lecture 14

Capacitors with Dielectrics

! Placing a dielectric between the plates of a capacitor
increases the capacitance of the capacitor by a numerical
factor called the dielectric constant,
! We can express the capacitance of a capacitor with a
dielectric with dielectric constant between the plates as
C = Cair

! Where Cair is the capacitance of the capacitor without the

dielectric
! Placing the dielectric between the plates of the capacitor has
the eect of lowering the electric field between the plates
and allowing more charge to be stored in the capacitor
q
C=
V
February 5, 2014

Physics for Scientists & Engineers 2, Chapter 24

Parallel Plate Capacitor with Dielectric

! Placing a dielectric between the plates of a parallel plate
capacitor modifies the electric field as
E=

Eair
q
q
=
=
0 A A

! 0 is the electric permittivity of free space

! is the electric permittivity of the dielectric material
= 0

! Note that the replacement of 0 by is all that is needed to

generalize our expressions for the capacitance
! The potential dierence across a parallel plate capacitor is
V = Ed =

qd
0 A

! The capacitance is then

February 5, 2014

q 0 A
C=
=
V
d

Physics for Scientists & Engineers 2, Chapter 24

Dielectric Strength
! The dielectric strength of a material measures the ability of
that material to withstand potential dierence
! If the electric field strength in the dielectric exceeds the
dielectric strength, the dielectric will break down and begin
to conduct charge between the plates via a spark, which
usually destroys the capacitor
! A useful capacitor must contain a dielectric that not only
provides a given capacitance but also enables the device to
hold the required potential dierence without breaking
down
! Capacitors are usually specified in terms of their capacitance
and by the maximum potential dierence that they are
designed to handle
February 5, 2014

Physics for Scientists & Engineers 2, Chapter 24

Dielectric Constant
! The dielectric constant of vacuum is defined to be 1
! The dielectric constant of air is close to 1 and we will use
the dielectric constant of air as 1 in our problems
! The dielectric constants of common materials are listed
below (more are listed in the book in Table 24.1)

February 5, 2014

Physics for Scientists & Engineers 2, Chapter 24

Microscopic Perspective on Dielectrics

! Lets consider what happens at the atomic and molecular
level when a dielectric is placed in an electric field
! A polar dielectric material is
composed of molecules that
have a permanent electric dipole
moment
! A nonpolar dielectric material
is composed of atoms or
molecules that have no inherent
electric dipole moment
Dipole moment is induced by
external electric field
February 5, 2014

Physics for Scientists & Engineers 2, Chapter 24

Microscopic Perspective on Dielectrics

! In both polar and non-polar dielectrics, the fields resulting
from aligned electric dipole moments tend to partially
cancel the original electric field
+

! The resulting electric field inside the capacitor then is the

original field minus the induced field

Er = E Ed

February 5, 2014

Physics for Scientists & Engineers 2, Chapter 24

Example I
! A parallel plate capacitor whose capacitance C is 13.5pF is charged by
a battery to a potential dierence of V =12.5V between its plates. The
battery is now disconnected and material with =6.5 is slipped
between the plates.
(a) What is the potential energy before the material is inserted?
(b) What is U after the material has been inserted?
(a)
(b) Key Idea: Because the battery is disconnected, the charge on the
capacitor cannot change!

February 5, 2014

Physics for Scientists&Engineers 2

10

Example II
! A parallel plate capacitor whose capacitance C is 13.5pF is charged by
a battery to a potential dierence of V =12.5V between its plates. The
battery is now disconnected and material with =6.5 is slipped
between the plates.
(a) What is the potential energy before the material is inserted?
(b) What is U after the material has been inserted?
(b) Key Idea: Because the battery is disconnected, the charge on the
capacitor cannot change, but the capacitance does change (C--> C)!

February 5, 2014

Physics for Scientists&Engineers 2

11

Example III
! A parallel plate capacitor whose capacitance C is 13.5pF is charged by
a battery to a potential dierence of V =12.5V between its plates. The
battery is now disconnected and material with =6.5 is slipped
between the plates.
(b) What is U after the material has been inserted?

The potential energy decreased by a factor . The missing energy, in

principle, would be apparent to the person inserting the material. The
capacitor would exert a tiny tug on the material and would do work
on it, in amount

February 5, 2014

Physics for Scientists&Engineers 2

12

Capacitance of a Coaxial Cable

! Coaxial cables are used to transport signals between devices
with minimum interference
! A 20.0 m long coaxial cable is composed of a conductor and
a coaxial conducting shield around the conductor
! The space between the conductor and the shield is filled with
polystyrene
! The radius of the conductor is
0.250 mm and the radius of the shield
is 2.00 mm
! PROBLEM

! What is the capacitance of the coaxial

cable?
February 5, 2014

Physics for Scientists & Engineers 2, Chapter 24

14

Capacitance of a Coaxial Cable

SOLUTION

! We can think of the coaxial cable as a cylinder

! The dielectric constant of polystyrene is 2.6
! We can treat the coaxial cable as a cylindrical capacitor with
r1 = 0.250 mm and r2 = 2.00 mm, filled with a dielectric with
= 2.6
! The capacitance of the coaxial cable is
2 ( 8.851012 F/m )( 20.0 m )
2 0 L
C =
= ( 2.6 )
r2
2.00103 m
ln
ln
2.50104 m
r1
C = 1.39109 F=1.39 nF
February 5, 2014

Physics for Scientists & Engineers 2, Chapter 24

15

Capacitor Partially Filled with a

Dielectric
PROBLEM:
! A parallel plate capacitor is constructed of two square
conducting plates with side length L = 10.0 cm.

! The distance between the plates is d = 0.250 cm.

! A dielectric with dielectric constant =15.0 and thickness
0.250 cm is inserted between the plates.
! The dielectric is L = 10.0 cm wide and L/2 = 5.00 cm long.
! What is the capacitance of this capacitor?
February 5, 2014

Chapter 24

17

Capacitor Partially Filled with a

Dielectric
SOLUTION:
! We have a capacitor partially filled with a dielectric.
! We can treat this capacitor as two capacitors in parallel.
! One capacitor is a parallel plate capacitor with plate area
A = L(L/2) and air between the plates.
! The second capacitor is a parallel plate capacitor with plate
area A = L(L/2) and a dielectric between the plates.
! Sketch

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Permission required for reproduction or display.

February 5, 2014

Chapter 24

18

Capacitor Partially Filled with a

Dielectric
Research
! The capacitance of a parallel place capacitor is:
0 A
C1 =
d

! If a dielectric is placed between the plates we have:

0 A
C2 =
d

! The capacitance of two capacitors in parallel is:

C12 = C1 + C2
Simplify

! Putting our equations together gives us:

0 A
0 A
0 A
C12 = C1 =
+
= ( +1)
d
d
d
February 5, 2014

Chapter 24

19

Capacitor Partially Filled with a

Dielectric
! The area of the plates for each capacitor is:
A = L( L / 2) = L2 / 2

! Putting our expressions together gives us:

C12 = ( +1)

0 ( L2 / 2)
d

( +1)0 L2
2d

! Calculate

! Putting in our numerical values:

(15.0 +1)(8.8510 F/m)(0.100 m)

C12 =
2(0.00250 m)

12

February 5, 2014

Chapter 24

= 2.8321010 F

20

Capacitor Partially Filled with a

Dielectric
Round
C12 = 2.831010 F = 283 pF
! Double-check

! To double-check our answer, we calculate the capacitance of

the capacitor without any dielectric:
8.8510
(
C =

12

F/m)(0.100 m)

(0.00250 m)

= 35.4 pF

! Calculate the capacitance of the capacitor with dielectric:

C1 = (15)35.4 pF = 531 pF

! Our result for the partially filled capacitor is half of the sum
of these two results, so it seems reasonable.
February 5, 2014

Chapter 24

21

Supercapacitor / Ultracapacitor
! Supercapacitors (ultracapacitors) are made using a material
with a very large surface area between the capacitor plates
! Two layers of activated charcoal are given opposite charge
and are separated by an insulating material

! This produces a capacitor with capacitance millions of times

larger than ordinary capacitors
! However, the potential dierence can only be 2 to 3 V
February 5, 2014

Physics for Scientists & Engineers 2, Chapter 24

22