capacitance of the devlce, an affect exploited when

sensing air humidity.

• Capacitors for Signal Processing

Capacitors have found increasingly advanced
appllcattons in information technology. Dynamic
Random Access Memory (DRAM) devices use
capacltore to repreeent binary Information as blts. The
devlce reads one value when
the capacitor is charged and
another when discharged.
Charge Coupled Devlces
(CCDs) use capacitors In an
analogue form. Capacitors are
also used in conjunction wlth
inductors to tune circuits to
particular frequencles, an effect
exploited by radlo receivers, speakers and analog
equalizers.
• Capacitora for Power Conditioning
One important application of capacitors is the
condltlonlng of power eupplieB. Capadtors allow AC
signals to pass but block DC slgnals when they are
charged. They can effectively split these two signal
types, cleaning the supply of power. This effect has
been exploited to eeparate or decouple dlfferent parta
of electrical circuits to reduce nolee which could lead to
reduction ofefflclency. Capadtors are also used
lnutllity substations to counteract Inductive loading
Introduced by transmission Ilnes.

Capacitors are used as sensors to measure a variety

of things, includlng air humidity, fuel levels and
mechanlcal straln. The capacitance of a device Is
dependent on Its structure. Changes in the structure
can be measured ae a loss orgaln of capacitance. Two
aspects ofa capacitor are uaed In sensing applications:
the distance between paralle! platas and the
material between them. The former Is used to detect
mechanical changes such as acceleration and
preeaure. Even mlnute changes in the material
between the plates can be enough to alter the
Uses of Capacitors
Capacitors are devices which store electrical charge. They
are a baelc component of electronics and have a host
of varioue applicatione. The most common uee for
capacitors Is energy storage. Additional uses Include
power conditioning, Bignal coupling or decoupling,
electronic noise filtering, and remote senslng. Because of
its varied applications, capacitors are used In a wide
range of Industries and have become a vltal part of
everyday life.

• Capacitors for
Energy Storage
Capacitors have been
used to store electrlcal
energy since the late
18a century. 8enjamln
Franklin was the first to coin the phrase "battery" for
a series of capacltors in an energy store appllcatlon.
Individual capacltora generally do not hold a great deal
of energy, providing only enough power for
electronic devices to use during temporary power
outages or when they need additlonal power. For
example, lerge capacitors are induded In car audio
systems to provide extra power to amplifiers when
needed.
• Electrolytic Capacitors
• It Is most prsvalently used capacitors which have
a wide tolerance capacity.
• Electrolytic capacitors are available with working
voltages up to about SOOV.
• There are two types of
electrolytic capacitor, Tantalum
and Alumlnum.
• Tantalums capacitors have
ordlnarily better exhibition, higher
value.
• The dielectric properties of
tantalum oxide is much superior to
those of aluminum oxide.
• It has an easier leakage current and better
capacitance strength which makes them suitable
for obstructing, decoupling, Altering applications.
• The thickness of the aluminum oxlde film and
heightened breakdown voltage gives the
capacitor exceptionally elevated capacitance
values for their size.
• Ceramic Capacitors
• Ceramic capacitors are used in high frequency
circuits such as audio to RF.
• Ceramic Capacitors nre the vest choice for high
frequency compensation in audio circuits.
• These capacitors are also called as disc
capaci(ors
• Ceramic capacitors are
made by coating two sides of a
small porcelain or ceramic disc
with silver and are then stached
together to make a capacitor.
• One can make both
capacitance in ceramic
capacitors.
• They come in values from a few Pico farads to 1
microfarad
• The voltage range is from a few volfs up fo many
thousands of volts.
• Ceramics are inexpensive to manufacture and
they come with several dielectrics types.
e of Ca acitors
• Film Capacitors
• FIIm Capacitors comprising of a generally
expanaive group of capacitors wlth the distinction
being in their dielectric properties.
• Film Capacitors are available in almost any value
and voltages as hlgh as 1500 volts.
^ They come in tolerance from 10°4 to 0.01”/o.
^ There are two types of film
capacltors l.e. Radial lead type &
Axlal lead type.
• The electrodes of film capacitors
may be metallzsd alumlnum or zinc.
• It use polyatyrene, polycarbonate
or Teflon as their dielecti1cs.
• It can be used in AC voltage
applications, and they have much more stable
electrical parameters.
 Ener in a Ca acitor
Energy is the amount of some work against the electro-static
field to charge the capacitor fully. In the capacitor at initial
stage of charging, the charge Q transferred between the
plates from one plate to another plate. This charge either
+Q or —Q Is interchanged between two plates of a
capacitor. After transformation of some charge an electric
field is formed between the plates, in that case we need some
extra work to charge the capacitor fully. This extra work is
called as the energy stored in a capacitor, the energy is
measured in the units of Joules (J). Now we see the
equations for this energy and work.
dW = V dQ
dW = (Q/C) dQ
After integration of the above equation is
W = Q* / 2C
W = (CV)* / 2C
W = CV* / 2 Joules
Finally we get the energy stored in a capacitor is
Energy (W) = CV2 / 2 Joules
Now we calculate the energy stored in a capacitor of
capacitance 200 pF which operate with voltage of 12V
W = (200 x 10 ^ x 122) / 2 = 14.4 mJ
Charging & Discharging of a
Capacitor
Let us assume that the capacitor, which is shown in the
Figure below in the circuit, is completely discharged. In this
circuit the capacitor value is 100 pF and the supply voltage
applied to this circuit is 12V.
Now the switch which is connected to the capacitor in the
circuit is moved to the
point A. Then the
6W•SPDT capacitor starts charging
with the charging current
I. The charging voltage
across the capacitor is
equal to the supply
voltage when the
capacitor is fully
charged i.e. VS = VC = 12V.
In the case of ideal capacitors the charge remains constant
on the capacitor but in the case of general capacitors the
fully charged capacitors is slowly discharged because of its
leakage current.
When the switch is moved to the position B, then the
capacitor slowly discharges by switching on the lamp which
is connected in the circuit.
 Self-Caacitance
Self oapacitan e \›roperty is relateri No Phe oat›acitors
cspecially \o tire isolnteü concluctor to raise its potentiel
diffeiei ce to one volt. Generally nom iaI condrictoi s will have
mritual capacitance. This is also measrirecl in the S I rmits
i e. Farac1s
The Self-capacitanre of a conrlr cting sphère which lias the
raûiris R‘ is given by.

C=4pc R

• For the top olale of a van rte Graff generator wis ich
is having radÏLlS Of 20 cm self-ca gacitance is 22.24 F
• For the planet EARTH self-caçacitance is 7 10 pF
 The unit of capacitance is the farad (F), named for
Michael Faraday (1791-1867), an English scientist
who contributed to the fields of electromagnetism and
electrochemistry. Since capacitance is charge per
unit voltage , we see that a farad is a coulomb per volt.

1U
1P

A 1-Tarad capacitor would be able to store 1 coulomb with

the application of only 1 volt. One farad is, thus a very
large capacitance. Typical capacitors range from
fractions of a picofarad to millifarads.
 Amount of Charge Q A Capacitor
Can Store
The amount of charge 0 a capacitor can store depends on
two major factors- the voltage applied and the capacitor's
physlcal characteristics, such as its size. In Figure given
below each electric field line starts on an individual
positive and ends on a negative one, so that there will be
more field lines if there is more charge. The electric field
strength is, thus, directly proportional to O.

The field is proportional to the

charge: EaQ

We know that,

V = Ed

So, VaE

Hence, VaQ
FIG . Elec tr ic field lines
in the parallel plale Removing sign of proportionality
cepecltor, as elv•ays.
we get,
sfart on post five altd
end on negaHve
chargas,

Where C = capacitance of the

parallel plate capacitor.
 CaacitOFS
Introduction
A capacltor is a device used to store electric charge.
Capacitors have applications ranging from filtering
static out of radio reception to energy storage in
heart defibrillators. Typically, commercial capacitors
have two conducting parts close to one another, but not
touching. When battery terminals are connected to an
initially uncharged capacitors. equal amount of positive
and negative charge, Q and —0, are separated into its
two plates. The capacitor remains neutral overall, but
we refer to it as storing a charge O in this
FIC, Both capacitors circumstance.
shown here were
Initially uncharted
bafore beIng connected
to a baffer y , They now
have separated chorgas
of +Q end -0 on Inear
two halves.

A) A p aral let plale

capacitor
By A roll ad
cnpacltor wllh
an mediating
material
between the
charged plates
Certificate
This is to certify that Vish al of class XII-C has successfully
completed the invest!gatory project on the topic
“CAPACITORS : DETAIL, TYPES & USES” under my
guidance during the year 2018-19 in the partial fulfillment of
the physics practical examination conducted by CBSE.

Teacher s Signature
Acknowledement
I would like to sincerely and profusely thank my Physics
teacher Mrs. Puman Sharma, for his able guidance and
support in completing my project.
I would also like to extend my gratitude to the principal for
providing mw with all the facility that was required.
Last but not the least, I would extend my gratitude towards
all teaching and all the non-teaching staff of Kendriya
Vidyalaya No.1 Sector-14 Gurugram and towards my
friends who has supported me to complete this project.
Contents
Acknowledgement 1
Certificates 2
Capacitors 3
Amount of Charge QA Capacitor Can Store 4 Self-
Capacitance 6
Charging & Discharging of a Capacitor 7
Energy in a Capacitor _ _ _ 8
Type of Capacitors 9
Uses of Capacitors 12
Bibliography
15