Physics 202, Lecture 6

Today’s Topics

 Capacitance (Ch. 24.1-24.3)

Calculating capacitance
Combinations of capacitors: series and parallel

Energy stored in capacitors (24.4)

Capacitance
Capacitor: two (spatially separated) conductors, charged
to +Q and -Q, with constant potential difference ΔV
stores electrical energy (by storing charge)

Q
Capacitance: C!
"V
Our first example Units: Farad (F)
of a circuit element: a b
1 F= 1 C/V
C

1
 Charging a Capacitor
Battery: source of ΔV
Charging
Uncharged
Charge flows
until Q=CΔV

C
C

flow of e-
ΔV=V+-V-

Charging/discharging capacitor:
Text problems: 24.2, 24.6, 24.8

Calculating Capacitance
Capacitance is independent of charge, voltage on
capacitor: it depends on geometry of the conductors.

Examples:
Parallel conducting plates
Concentric spherical conductors
Concentric cylindrical conductors

Procedure: determine !V as a function of Q

Simple example: capacitance of sphere (imagine second

conductor at infinity)
kQ Q Q R
!V = V = C= = = = 4"# 0 R
R !V kQ R k
Text: 24.13

2
 Example: Parallel Plate Capacitor
Consider two metallic parallel plates with area A, separation d:
A !d ! =Q A
+Q
Step 1. Use Gauss’s law to get E: A
! !" ! ! ++++
" A = Ein A! = # A! $ 0
Eid d -----
-Q
Ein = ! " 0
A!
Step 2. Get potential difference:
! ! ! $ d Qd
E !V = " # E i dl = =
%0 %0 A
Q " A
Step 3. Get Capacitance: C= = 0
!V d

Parallel Plate Capacitor

!0 A
C=
d

fringe field

Realistic case

Text: 24.15,…

3
 Spherical Capacitor

Consider two concentric conducting spherical shells, radii a,b

a<b
Step 1. Get electric field: -Q
! kQ b a
Gauss’s Law: E = 2 r̂ (a < r < b)
r
Step 2. Get potential difference: +Q

! ! a
kQ $ 1 1 ' kQ(b " a)
!V = " # Eidl = " # 2 dr = kQ & " ) =
b
r % a b( ab

ab
Step 3: C=
k(b ! a)

Cylindrical Capacitor

Consider two concentric cylindrical conducting shells, radii a,b

Q = !! a<b
Step 1. Get electric field:
! 2k !
Gauss’s Law: E = r̂ (a < r < b)
r

Step 2. Get potential difference:

! ! a
2k $
!V = " # E idl = " # dr = 2k $ ln ( b a )
b
r

Step 3: !
C=
2k ln(b / a)

4
 Calculating Capacitance -Q
• Given 4 concentric cylinders +Q
of radii a,b,c,d and charges -Q
+Q, -Q, +Q, -Q
+Q
b
a
• Question: What is the c
capacitance between a and d?
• Note: E=0 between b and c! WHY?? d
• A cylinder of radius r1: b < r1< c
encloses zero charge!

Q $ $ b' $ d''
b d
Q Q
Vad = #a 2!" 0 rL dr + 0 + #c 2!" 0 rL dr = 2!" 0 L &% ln &% a )( + ln &% c )( )(
Q 2!" 0 L
C= =
Vad # # b & # d&& Note: result of 2 cylindrical capacitors
%$ ln %$ a (' + ln %$ c (' (' “in series” (next slides)

Combinations of Capacitors
Parallel combination: ΔV same
ΔV1 Q
C1 1 C1ΔV1 =Q1 ΔV CP
C2
C2ΔV2 =Q2
Q=Q1+Q2
Q2
ΔV2 effectively

ΔV ΔV

ΔV1 =ΔV2 =ΔV Equivalent Capacitance

(why?) CP=Q/ΔV  C = C1+ C2

CP= C1+C2+C3+… CP always > Ci!

5
 Combinations of Capacitors
Series combination:
-Q2
-Q1 +Q2
+Q1
Charge conservation:
C1ΔV1 =Q Q1=Q2(=Q) Q
C2ΔV2 =Q C2 CS
C1

ΔV=ΔV1+ΔV2
ΔV1 ΔV2 effectively

ΔV

Equivalent Capacitance C1C2

Cs =
CS=Q/ΔV  1/CS = 1/C1+1/C2 C1 + C2

1/CS= 1/C1+1/C2+1/C3+… CS always < Ci!

Example: Connection of Charged Capacitors

Two capacitors, C1=1µF and C2=2µF are initially
charged to ΔV1=1V and ΔV2=2V, respectively.

 What are the charges in each capacitor?

 If the capacitors are connected in parallel as shown by
the dashed lines, what is the charge in each capacitor
after the connection?

C1
- +

- +

C2

More examples: 24.29-31

6
 Energy of a Capacitor
• How much energy is stored in a charged capacitor?
– Calculate the work provided (usually by a battery) to charge a
capacitor to +/- Q:

Incremental work dW needed to add charge dq to capacitor at voltage V:

- +

! q$
dW = V (q)i dq = # & i dq
" C%

• The total work W to charge to Q is then given by:

Q
1 1 Q2
C !0
W= qdq = Two ways to write W
2 C

• In terms of the voltage V: 1

W= CV 2
2

Capacitor Variables

• The total work to charge capacitor to Q equals the energy U

stored in the capacitor: Q
1 1 Q2
U = ! qdq =
C0 2 C

• In terms of the voltage V: 1

U = CV 2
2

You can do one of two things to a capacitor :

• hook it up to a battery specify V and Q follows Q = CV

Q
• put some charge on it specify Q and V follows V=
C

7
 Example (I)
A
• Suppose the capacitor shown here is charged
to Q. The battery is then disconnected.
++++
d -----
• Now suppose the plates are pulled further apart to a final
separation d1.
• How do the quantities Q, C, E, V, U change?

• Q: remains the same.. no way for charge to leave.

• C: decreases.. capacitance depends on geometry
• E: remains the same... depends only on charge density
• V: increases.. since C ↓, but Q remains same (or d ↑ but E the same)
• U: increases.. add energy to system by separating

• How much do these quantities change?.. See board.

d d1 d1
Answers: C1 = C V1 = V U1 = U
d1 d d

Example (II)
• Suppose the battery (V) is kept A
attached to the capacitor.
V ++++
d
-----
• Again pull the plates apart from d to d1.

• Now what changes?

• C: decreases (capacitance depends only on geometry)

• V: must stay the same - the battery forces it to be V
• Q: must decrease, Q=CV charge flows off the plate
!
• E: must decrease ( E = V , E = )
D E0
• U: must decrease (U = 1 CV 2)
2

• How much do these quantities change?.. See board.

d d d
Answers: C1 = C E1 = E U1 = U
d1 d1 d1

8
 Where is the Energy stored?
• Claim: energy is stored in the electric field itself.
• Consider the example of a constant field generated by a parallel
plate capacitor:
-Q
-------- ------
1 Q2 1 Q2
U= =
++++++++ +++++++
+Q 2 C 2 ( A! 0 / d)
• The electric field is given by:
! Q
E= =
"0 "0 A
⇒ 1
U = ! 0 E 2 Ad
2
• The energy density u in the field is given by:
U U 1 J
u= = = !0 E 2 Units:
volume Ad 2 m3

Examples (today or next lecture): 24.42, 24.48,…