CAPACITORS IN

PARALLEL
CAPACITANCE and CAPACITORS
CIRCUIT
• In electronics, a circuit is a closed
path that allows electricity to flow
from one point to another. It may
include various electrical
components, such as transistors,
resistors, and capacitors, but the
• It’s important to realize that a
circuit is a collection of real
objects, usually containing a
source of electrical energy
(such as a battery) connected
to elements that convert
electrical energy to other
forms (light, heat, sound) or
store the energy in electric or
magnetic fields for later
retrieval.
COMBINATIONS OF CAPACITORS
• Two or more capacitors can be combined in
circuits in several ways, but lost reduce to two
simple configurations, called parallel and series.
• The idea, then, is to find the single equivalent
capacitance due to a combination of several
different capacitors that are in parallel or in
series with each other.
• Capacitors are manufactured with a number of
different standard capacitances, and by
combining them in different ways, any desired
Capacitors in Parallel
• Two capacitors connected as shown and are said to be in parallel.

The left plate of

each capacitor is
connected to the
positive terminal of
the battery by a
conducting wire, so
the left plates are at
Capacitors in Parallel
In the same way, the
right plates, both
connected to the
negative terminal of
the battery, are also
at the same
potential.
Capacitors in Parallel
This means that capacitors in parallel
both have the same potential
difference V across them.
CAPACITANCE IN PARALLEL
•• We
 
can replace these two capacitors with one
equivalent capacitor having a capacitance of
• This equivalent capacitor must have exactly the same
external effect on the circuit as the original
two, so it must store Q units of
charge and have the same
potential difference across it.
• The respective charges 𝑸 𝟏=𝑪 𝟏 ∆ 𝑽
 

on each capacitor are

𝑸 𝟐=𝑪 𝟐 ∆ 𝑽
 
CAPACITANCE IN PARALLEL
• The respective charges
on each capacitor are
𝑸 𝟏=𝑪 𝟏 ∆ 𝑽
 
𝑸 𝟐=𝑪 𝟐 ∆ 𝑽
 

• The charge on the

equivalent 𝑸
 
¿𝑪 𝑽is
capacitor
𝒆𝒒
• Substituting to the equation:
 
𝑪 𝒆𝒒 𝑽 =𝑪𝟏 ∆ 𝑽 +𝑪 𝟐 ∆ 𝑽
CAPACITANCE IN PARALLEL
𝑸 𝟏=𝑪 𝟏 ∆ 𝑽
 
𝑸 𝟐=𝑪 𝟐 ∆ 𝑽
 

• The charge on the equivalent

capacitor  is
𝑸 ¿𝑪 𝑽 𝒆𝒒
• Substituting to the equation:
 
𝑪 𝒆𝒒 𝑽 =𝑪𝟏 ∆ 𝑽 +𝑪 𝟐 ∆ 𝑽
 
𝑪 𝒆𝒒 =𝑪 𝟏 +𝑪 𝟐
• Since they both have same
 
CAPACITANCE IN PARALLEL
•Therefore, If we extend
this treatment to three or
more capacitors
connected in parallel, the
equivalent capacitance is
 
𝑪 𝒆𝒒 =𝑪 𝟏
found to be
+𝑪 𝟐 +𝑪 𝟑 +…
The equivalent capacitance of a parallel
combination of capacitors is larger than any
of the individual capacitances.
EXAMPLE
•  
• (a) Determine the capacitance of
the single capacitor that is
equivalent to the parallel
combination of capacitors shown
in Figure .
• Find (b) the charge on the 12.0F
capacitor
• (c) the total charge contained in
the configuration.
EXAMPLE
• (a) Determine the capacitance of the
single capacitor that is equivalent to
the parallel combination of
capacitors
EXAMPLE
•  
• Find (b) the charge on the
12.0F capacitor
EXAMPLE
• (c) the total charge
contained in the
configuration
ACTIVITY
•  
1. Find the equivalent
capacitance of the
three capacitors
connected in
parallel with a 24V
battery.
2. Find the total
charge and the