LECTURE 9

CAPACITANCE & ENERGY

 Lecture 9
2

!  Reading chapter 24-1 to 24-3.

!  Capacitance
"  Parallel plate capacitors
"  Cylindrical capacitors
"  Spherical capacitors

!  Thestorage of electrical energy

!  Capacitors and batteries in circuits
 Self-capacitance
3

!  The potential V of an isolated conductor

depends on the total charge Q on it and its
size and shape.
!  For example, the potential of a spherical conductor is
kQ
V=
R
!  The self-capacitance of an isolated conductor
is defined by Q/V.
 Capacitors
4

!  A capacitor is a device consisting of two

conductors.
!  One conductor with charge Q, and the other with
charge -Q will have a potential difference
between them.
!  The size of the potential difference between two
conductors of a capacitor depends on the shape
and orientation of the two conductors.
!  Capacitors are used in variety of electronics
devices.
!  The symbol for a capacitor in a circuit diagram is
 Capacitance
5

!  The capacitance of the capacitor is a property of the

geometry of the objects and defined as
Q
C=
V
!  Capacitance is a measure of the capacity to store charge for
a given potential difference.
!  Since V is proportional to Q, C does not depend on either Q or
V.
!  The SI unit of capacitance is the farad (F), which is equivalent
to the (C/V).
 Quiz: 9-1
6

 Quiz: 9-2
7

 Example: 1
8

!  A storage capacitor on
a random access
memory (RAM) chip has
a capacitance of 55 fF.
If the capacitor is
charged to 5.3V, how
many excess electrons
are on its negative
plate?
 Parallel plate capacitor
9

!  A common capacitor geometry is the

parallel-plate capacitor.
!  In a parallel-plate capacitor, two

plates of conductors are closely

placed parallel to each other.
!  The separation of the plates is much

smaller than the length and width of

the plates.
 E of a parallel plate capacitor
10

!  If a charge +Q is placed on one plate, and –Q on the other, they

will be distributed evenly on the inner surfaces of the plates with
area, A. The separation of the plates is d.
!  The E field between the plates is uniform and given by
Q
E=
ε0 A

!  The potential difference

between the plates is given by
Qd
ΔV =
ε0 A
 Capacitance of a parallel plate capacitor
11

!  The capacitance of a parallel plate capacitor is

ε0 A
C=
d
!  Note that the capacitor depends only on the geometry,
the area, A, and the separation, d.
!  The capacitance increases as the plates become
larger and decreases as the separation increases.
This is a general trend in all capacitors.
 Demo: 1
12

!  Variable capacitor
!  Tuning
capacitor used in AM radios, in which the
overlapping area between the plates can be changed.

Q ε0 A
C= =
V d
1
V∝
A
 Example: 2
13

!  Two sheets of aluminum foil have

the same area, a separation of
d = 1.00 mm, and a capacitance
of C = 10. pF, and are charged
to V = 12 V.
a)  Calculate the area of each sheet,
A.
!  Now, the separation is decreased
by 0.10 mm with the charge held
constant.
b)  What is the new capacitance?
c)  By how much does the potential
difference change?
 Quiz: 9-3
14

 Condenser microphones
15

!  In a condenser microphone, also called a capacitor

microphone or electrostatic microphone, the diaphragm
acts as one plate of a parallel-plate capacitor.
!  The sound (vibrations of air) produces changes in the
distance between the plates.

Q ε0 A
C= =
V d
 Key board
16

!  There is a capacitor under each key.

!  As you press a key, the spacing between the

capacitor plates change, increasing the

capacitance.

Q ε0 A
C= =
V d
 Cylindrical capacitor
17

!  Another common capacitor geometry is the

cylindrical capacitor.
!  Suppose charge +Q is placed on the inner cylinder,
and –Q on the outer cylinder.
!  Consider a cylindrical gaussian surface of length l

(l << L) in the gap.

Qenclosed
E2 π rl =
ε0
Q Ql L Q
E = enclosed = =
2 π lε 0 r 2 π lε 0 r 2 π Lε 0 r
 Cylindrical capacitor: 2
18

R2 Q Q R2
ΔV = ∫ Edr = ∫ dr = ln
R1 2π Lε 0 r 2π Lε 0 R1
Q 2π Lε 0
C= =
V ln ( R2 R1 )

Coaxial cable
 Spherical capacitor
19

!  What is the capacitance of a capacitor that consists

of concentric sphere and spherical shell.
!  Suppose charge +Q is placed on the inner sphere,
and –Q on the outer shell.
kQ
E= 2
r
b kQ ⎛ 1 1⎞
ΔV = ∫ Edr = ∫ dr = kQ ⎜ − ⎟
a r 2
⎝ a b⎠
−1
Q ⎛ 1 1⎞
C = = k⎜ − ⎟
V ⎝ a b⎠
 Electrical potential energy in capacitors
20

!  A charged capacitor stores electrical potential

energy.
!  The energy stored is the total amount of energy
required to charge the plates by moving increments
of charge, dQ, from one plate to the other.
!  Since C = Q/V, the energy stored in a capacitor is

given by

1 1 Q2 1
U = QV = = CV 2
2 2 C 2
 Electrostatic field energy
21

!  The energy stored in a capacitor can be thought as

energy stored in the electric filed, electrostatic field
energy.
!  The energy density ue stored in any electric field is

energy 1
ue = = ε0 E 2
volume 2
 Camera flash and electronics
22

!  A capacitor can store a large amount of charge.

!  A flash unit of a camera uses a large amount of

charge in a short amount of time.

!  In most electronics boards, we use capacitors where

we need to use a lot of charge quickly.

 Defibrillator
23

!  A jolt of electric current from a

defibrillator can restore normal
heartbeat.
!  A capacitor is used to store a
large amount of charge (and
energy).
!  The charged capacitor is
discharged quickly to deliver the
charge and the energy to a
person in distress.
 Demo: 2
24

!  Capacitor energy
!  Three1500 mF capacitors connected in parallel are
charged to 400 volts.
!  Capacitors store energy and could be dangerous.

1 1
( )
U = CV = 4500 × 10 −3 F ( 400V) = 3.6 × 10 5 J
2
2

2
2
 Batteries
25

!  The potential difference between the terminals of a battery is

called terminal voltage.
!  When nothing is connected to the
battery, it has the open-circuit terminal
voltage across the terminals.
!  Chemical reaction removes electrons
from one terminal and deposits them on
the other, maintaining the terminal
voltage.
!  The symbol for a battery in a circuit
diagram is
Carbon-zinc cell
 Battery and capacitor
26

!  When a capacitor is connected to a battery,

!  the terminal voltage of the battery temporarily drops
causing the chemical reactions to take place within the
battery.
!  the battery acts as a charge pump.
!  the battery charges the capacitor until the open-circuit
terminal voltage is attained.
 Battery and capacitor: 2
27

!  Since the potential inside a system of connected

conductors is constant, when equilibrium is attained,
!  the potentials of the positive terminal, the upper plate
and the connecting wire are the same.
!  the potentials of the negative terminal, the lower plate
and the connecting wire are the same.
 Example: 3
28

!  A parallel-plate capacitor has plates of

area A = 500 cm2 and is connected across
the terminals of a battery. After some time
has passed, the capacitor is disconnected
from the battery. When the plates are then
moved Δd = 0.40 cm farther apart, the
charge on each plate remains constant but
the potential difference between the plates
increases by ΔV = 100 V.
a)  What is the magnitude of the charge on
each plate?
b)  Do you expect the energy stored in the
capacitor to increase, decrease, or remain
constant as the plates are moved this way?
c)  Support your answer to Part b) by
determining the change in stored energy in
the capacitor due to the movement of the
plates.