MODULE 4

Capacitance and Dielectrics

The cylindrical components you see in this picture of a circuit board are called capacitors. Capacitors are made for a variety of purposes
which range from signal “cleaner” to tuner.

Electric charge can be stored in just a simple system of conductors. The measure of an object’s ability
to store electric charge is called capacitance.

Prior Knowledge
Take note of the prerequisites before you proceed in this module.
You should be able to: Where it is learned
1. Get the value of an unknown variable College Algebra and Trigonometry

Objectives
After finishing this module, you should be able to:
1. calculate the capacitance of a capacitor.
2. determine the amount of energy a capacitor can store .

Key Concepts

Capacitance, C – is the ability of a component or circuit to collect and store energy in the form of an electrical
charge. It is the ratio of the change in electric charge of a system to the corresponding change in its
electric potential.

SI Unit: Farad, F -->

Capacitor – a simple capacitor is a system of conductors that stores energy and charge. Two
conductors are separated by a distance. When charged, the two conductors gain
opposite charges of the same magnitude. That means the net charge of the whole
capacitor is zero. Purpose dictates the design and shape of the capacitor.
Figure 1. Electronic
Symbol for Capacitor

Parallel-Plate Capacitor
A parallel plate capacitor consists of opposing conducting
plates that faces each other and separated by a distance d that is
very small in comparison with the dimension of the plates. When
charged, electric field between the plates is uniform.
The magnitude of the electric field between the plates is:

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Figure 2. Parallel Plate Capacitors
 The potential difference between the two plates then is

And so the capacitance of a parallel-plate capacitor in a vacuum is

When capacitors are connected to one another, the equivalent capacitance either decreases or
increases depending on the connection.
The equivalent capacitance of capacitors connected in series is lesser than each of the component
capacitors.

Figure 3. Capacitors in Series

The capacitors store equal amounts of charge.

The voltage across the series is equal to the sum of the voltages across each capacitor.

The equivalent capacitance is:

The equivalent capacitance of capacitors connected in parallel is the sum of the capacitances of the
capacitors.

Figure 4. Capacitors in Parallel

The voltage across each capacitor is the same.

The total charge stored is the sum of the charges in each of the capacitors.

And the equivalent capacitance is:

Energy Stored in the Capacitor

Because the capacitor can store charge, it can also store electrical energy. We can determine the
energy stored in the capacitor through the work done in charging the capacitor. The total work, W, needed to
increase the capacitor charge q from zero to a final value Q is equal to the total work done by the electric field
on the charge when the capacitor discharges.
 ∫ ∫

We can think of charging a capacitor as moving a charge from one plate directly onto the other plate
across a potential difference V between the plates. With that in mind, the electric potential energy U stored in
a capacitor of capacitance C, having a charge q and a potential difference V is given by:

The energy stored in a capacitor is the potential energy stored in the system of positive charges that are
separated from the negative charges. This is comparable to the potential energy associated with a stretched
spring.

Electric Field Energy

The energy stored in a capacitor is electrostatic potential energy and is thus related to the charge and
voltage between the capacitor plates. A charged capacitor stores energy in the electrical field between its
plates. As the capacitor is being charged, the electrical field builds up. When a charged capacitor is
disconnected from a battery, its energy remains in the field in the space between its plates. The space
between the plates contains the energy density u, and is stored in the field between the plates as:

Energy density,

Energy density in a vacuum,

This indicates that empty space can contain energy!

Dielectric

Inserting an insulator between capacitor plates gives interesting results. A non-conducting material
placed between the conducting plates of the capacitor is called a dielectric. The presence of a dielectric serves
three functions:
1. Solves the mechanical problem of maintaining two metal sheets at a very small separation, thus
avoiding contact between the plates.
2. Decreases the maximum possible potential difference between the capacitor plates hence
increases the capacitance.
3. Tolerate stronger electric fields without breakdown than air can.

Because not all dielectrics are made of the same material, different dielectrics affect the capacitance
of capacitors differently. The ratio of the capacitance, C, of a capacitor with dielectric to its original capacitance
(without dielectric), C0, is called the dielectric constant, .

The presence of a dielectric between the plates of a capacitor causes the potential difference V0
between the plates to drop to V. The dielectric constant can also be expressed as the ratio of V0 to V.
 Figure 5. Effects of a Dielectric. (Fundamentals of Physics 10thEd.)
(Left) If the potential difference between the plates of a capacitor is maintained, as by battery B, the effect of a dielectric is to increase the
charge on the plates.
(Right) If the charge on the capacitor plates is maintained, as in this case, the effect of a dielectric is to reduce the potential difference
between the plates. The scale shown is that of a potentiometer, a device used to measure potential difference (here, between the
plates).A capacitor cannot discharge through a potentiometer.

Table 1. Some Common Dielectrics and Their Corresponding Dielectric Constants

The electric field between the capacitor plates is

reduced by the presence of the dielectric because the induced
surface charges on the dielectric cause an electric field in the
opposite direction of the original field in the charged capacitor.
These fields tend to cancel each other resulting in a reduction
of the original field.

Figure 6. (University Physics 12th Ed) Effect of Dielectric

to Electric Field Between Capacitor Plates

Table 2. Summary of Formulas

Quantity In Vacuum With Dielectrics

Capacitance

Potential Difference

Electric Field

Electric Potential Energy

Energy Density

Permittivity of Free Space

Sample Problems:

1. A parallel-plate air capacitor has a capacitance of 500 pF and each plate carries a charge of 0.200 µC
on each plate. The plates are 0.4mm apart. Determine:
a. The potential difference between the conducting plates, Vab
b. The area of each plate, Aplate
c. The electric field between the plates, E
d. The surface charge density on each plate, σ

a.
b.

c.

d.

2. Two capacitors each of 10µF and 20µF are connected in series across a 12-V battery. If the capacitors
are reconnected in parallel across the same battery, compare the energies of the capacitors now with
what they were when in series.

Capacitors in series:

Capacitors reconnected in parallel:

The energy increases when the capacitors are connected in parallel.

3. Refer to the figure on the right.

a. Find the equivalent capacitance of the combination with C 1 = 12µF, C2 = 5.3µF,
and C3 = 4.5µF.
b. A potential difference V=12.5V is applied to the terminals in the figure. What is
the charge on C1?

a. Capacitors C1 and C2 are in parallel. Their equivalent capacitance is

In the figure at the right, C1 and C2 have been replaced by their parallel combination C 12. AS the
figure shows, C12 and C3 are in series. Their final equivalent combination is
 b. We treat the equivalent capacitors C12 and C123 exactly as we would real capacitors having that capacitance.
The charge on C123 is then

This same charge exists on each capacitor in the figure showing series combination involving C12 and C3. The
potential difference across C12 in that figure is

This same potential difference appears across C 1 in the problem figure so that

4. A parallel-plate capacitor sandwiching a Plexiglass dielectric, with , is connected to a 100-V battery. After
2
the capacitor is fully charged, the battery is disconnected. If the area of each plate is 4.0 m and a separation
distance of 4.0 mm, determine the
a. Capacitance
b. Charge
c. Electric field strength
d. Energy stored in the capacitor
e. If the dielectric is carefully removed, without changing the separation distance neither any charge leaves the
capacitor; find the new values in letters a, b, c, and d

a. ( ) e.
𝐶 𝟗
b. 𝐶 𝟖 𝟖 𝒙 𝟏𝟎
𝜅
c.
d. Q doesn’t change, therefore
-6
Q = 3.0 x 10 C

V0 will increase by κ = 3.4, hence

𝑉 𝑉𝜅 𝑉 𝟑𝟒𝟎 𝑽
𝑉 𝒌𝑽
𝐸 𝟖𝟓
𝑑 𝒎

𝑈 𝐶 𝑉 𝟓 𝟏 𝒙 𝟏𝟎 𝟒𝑱

Exercise No. 4

1. A 6nF capacitor is connected to a 100 volt dc-supply. The plates of the capacitor are 0.1mm apart.
What force would an electron experience if placed in between the plates?
Ans. 1.6 x 10-13 N

2. An air capacitor consisting of two closely spaced parallel plates has a capacitance of 1000pF. The
charge on each plate is 1 µC.
a. What is the potential difference between the plates?
b. If the charge is kept constant, what will be the potential difference between the plates if the
separation is doubled?
c. How much work is required to double the separation?
Ans. a) 103 V b) 2 x 103 V c) 5 x 10-4 J

3. A parallel plate capacitor consists of plates of area 0.1m2 separated by a dielectric (κ = 3) of thickness
0.885mm. if this capacitor is connected by a potential difference of 1000 V find:
a. The charge on the plates
b. The energy stored in the capacitor.
Ans. a) 3 µC b) 1.5 x 10-3 J

4. The breakdown field strength at which dry air loses its insulating ability and allows a discharge to pass
through is Eb = 3 x 106 V/m. At this field strength, what is the electrical energy density?
Ans. 40 J/m3
5. A parallel plate capacitor has an area of 5.00 cm2 and a capacitance of 3.50 pF. The capacitor is
connected to a 12.0 V battery. After the capacitor is completely charged up, the battery is removed.
What must be the separation of the plates and the charge density on the plates?
Ans. 1.26mm ; 840 µC/m2

6. Consider two plates separated by d = 1.50cm, where the electric field between them is 100 V/m, and
the charge on the plates is 30.0 mC. What is the capacitance?
Ans. 2 x 10-5 F

7. Consider a capacitor made of two 0.05 m2 plates separated by 0.5mm. if the capacitance is 3.0 nF,
what is the relative permeability, κ, of the material between the plates?
Ans, 3.4

8. A 3.0 µF and a 5.0 µF capacitor are connected in series with a 12 V battery.

a. Find the equivalent capacitance.
b. Find the charge on each capacitor.
c. Find the potential drop (voltage) across each capacitor.
Ans. a) 19 µF b) 23 µC c) 7.7 V

9. Determine the equivalent capacitance between A and B for the group of

capacitors in the figure below.
Ans. 2 µF

10. A 5.80 µF parallel plate air capacitor has a plate separation of 5.00 mm,
and is charged to a potential difference of 400 V. Calculate the energy
density in the region between the plates (in units of J/m3).
Ans. 0.0283 J/m3
 Problem Set No. 4

1. Three capacitors are connected to a battery of unknown voltage as shown in the

circuit diagram. The voltage drop across the first capacitor C 1 is 11.0 V
a. What is the effective capacitance of the three capacitors?
b. What is the voltage of the battery?
c. Which capacitor has the largest stored charge in it?
d. How much work did it take the battery to charge up all the capacitors?

2. A 5.00 pF, parallel plate, air-filled capacitor with circular plates is to be used in a circuit in which it will
be subjected to potentials of up to 1.00 x 102 V. The electric between the plates is to be no greater
than 1.00 x 104 N/C. As a building electrical engineer, your tasks are to
a. Design the capacitor by finding what its physical dimension and separation must be
b. Find the maximum charge these plates can hold.

3. A constant potential difference of 12 V is maintained between the terminals of a 0.25 µF parallel plate
air capacitor.
a. A sheet of Mylar (κ = 3.1) is inserted between the plates of the capacitor, completely filling the
space between the plates. When this is done, how much additional charge flows onto the positive
plate of the capacitor?
b. What is the total induced charge on either face of the Mylar sheet?
c. What effect does the Mylar sheet have on the electric field between the plates? Explain how you
can reconcile this with the increase in charge on the plates, which acts to increase the electric
field.
4. A parallel plate capacitor consists of plates of area 8 x 10-4 m2 separated a distance of 1.77 mm. the
capacitor is connected to a 12 volt battery and a dielectric (κ = 3) is inserted between the plates.
a. How much charge is stored?
b. What is the electric field strength throughout the dielectric?
c. Assuming that the capacitor was fully charged before the dielectric was inserted, how much
additional charge was supplied by the battery when the dielectric was inserted?