Lecture 5: Capacitors &Capacitance Capacitor

Parallel Plates •  Capacitor is a device that stores electrostatic

potential energy.
A
d •  A capacitor consists of 2 spatially separated
conductors which can be charged to +Q and -Q.

Cylindrical Capacitor

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Capacitance Capacitance between Parallel Plates

•  The capacitance is defined as the ratio of the charge •  Calculate the capacitance. We assume +σ, -σ charge
on one conductor of the capacitor to the potential densities on each plate with potential difference V:
difference between the conductors.
A
++++
d
-----

•  Capacitance is measured in Faradays represented

by the letter F which is equal to (coulomb/volt)
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 Demo Example
What is the capacitance of a parallel plate
capacitor made out of two square plates 10
x10 cm2 separated by 1 mm wide gap?
Demo: Capacitance versus d
A=0.01 m2

d=1 mm

If we connect 1.5V battery to its plates, how

much charge could be stored in this capacitor?

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Energy stored in a capacitor Energy stored in a capacitor

Charging capacitor requires work:

1
Energy stored in a capacitor: PEcap = QΔV
2
ΔV
Alternative equations for energy stored in a capacitor

1
Q = CΔV PEcap = C ( ΔV )
2
Using
• must move charges from one plate to another through rising ΔV 2
• charging a capacitor involves work: W=q ΔV
• this work is equal to the energy stored in a capacitor Q Q2
Using ΔV = PEcap =
C 2C
1
Energy stored in a capacitor: PEcap = QΔV
2
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 Demonstration: Energy Stored in a Capacitor Numbers

C P.S. 1 1
CV 2 = ( 70 µ F ) ( 5000 V ) = 875 J
2
PE =
2 2
Power supply (P.S.) supplies
voltage V.

1 About 200 J of this is sent through the

PEcap = CV 2 can produce a big jolt.
2 heart attack victim in 2 milliseconds.

Application: defibrillator A fibrillating heart is one PE 200 J

in which the cardiac muscles go into uncontrolled
P= = = 100 kW
t 2 × 10 −3 s
twitching and quivering. A defibrillator is used to
stop this. short time
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Equivalent Capacitors Capacitors in Parallel

a a Capacitors connected in parallel can be replaced with an
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q equivalent capacitor that has the same total charge, Q and the
V V same applied potential V.
C1 C2 C3 C
b a
b
Q1 Q2 Q3
a a V
+Q C1 C2 C3
-Q
+Q b
V +Q
-Q
C -Q
+Q
-Q
b
b
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3
 Capacitors in Series Example 1
Capacitors are in series when a potential difference that is
o
applied across their combination is the sum of the resulting
potential differences across each capacitor.
C C C a b
o C
a
+Q
-Q
V +Q
-Q
+Q
-Q

b
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Dielectrics Dielectric Strength

•  Empirical observation: Inserting a non-conducting
material between the plates of a capacitor changes
the VALUE of the capacitance.
•  Definition:The dielectric constant of a material is
the ratio of the capacitance when filled with the
dielectric to that without it.
*The maximum value of the electric field that a
dielectric material can tolerate before breaking
down.
* It limits the voltage that can be applied to a
capacitor. The maximum voltage is called the
breakdown potential.

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 Dielectric Properties Demo: Dielectrics & Capacitance
material κ dielectric strength –
++ –
(kV/mm) + –
++ –
–
air (1 atm) 1.00059 3 ++ –
–
paraffin 2.1–2.5 10 ++ –
–
–
glass (Pyrex) 5.6 14 + –

mica 5.4 10–100

polystyrene 2.55 24 E0
κ
H2O (200 C) 80 ?
titania ceramic 130
strontium 310 8 V E
V→ E→
titanate κ κ
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Effect of Dielectrics on the Electric Field Dielectric Combinations

real charge real charge
A
κ1
=
d/2
A
κ2 d/2

= A/2
κ1 d
A/2
κ2 d

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Energy stored in electric field

Electric field energy density:

1
u= Κε 0 E 2
2

Electric field energy is proportional to E2

This equation is true in general, for any electric field

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