Physics

ART INTEGRATED PROJECT

Electrostatic Potential and Capacitance
Introduction
El ect r os t at i c i s a br anc h o f ph y si cs wh i ch d eal s
wi t h ch aract eri s t i cs el ect r i c ch arges wh i ch are
s l ow mo vi n g or s t at i o nar y.

Ex amp l es o f El e ct ros t a ti c P hen o men on ar e:

 Las er mach i ne and p ho t o cop i er

 S p on t ane ou s ex pl o s i on o f g rai n s i l o s

 At t rac ti o n of p ap er t o a ch arge r s cal e

In o ur ch i l dh o od , we ru bb ed t h e sc al e o n o u r
h ead an d t ry t o at t r act p ap er fr om t h at s cal e.
Th i s i s an exam p l e o f El ect r os t at i c
P h eno men on .
Electric Potential
• The electric potential (also called the electric field potential, potential drop, the electrostatic
potential) is the amount of work energy needed to move a unit of electric charge from a
reference point to the specific point in an electric field with negligible acceleration of the test
charge to avoid producing kinetic energy or radiation by test charge. Typically, the reference
point is the Earth or a point at infinity, although any point can be used. More precisely it is the
energy per unit charge for a small test charge that does not disturb significantly the field and
the charge distribution producing the field under consideration.

• Electric potential is a scalar quantity denoted by V, ∆V, U, ∆U .

• Dimension: ML^2T^-3A^-1

• General Formula : Voltage = Energy/Charge

• SI Unit : Volt

• The electric potential at any point around a point charge q is given by : V = k × [q/r]
Electric Potential Difference

 T h e e le c tr ic a l p o t e nt ia l d iffe re nc e is de f in e d  T h e u n i t o f p o t e n t i a l d i f f e re n c e i s v o l t .

as th e a mo u n t o f w o r k do ne to c ar r y in g a
 A c h a r g e w i t h h i g h e r p o t e n t i a l w i l l h a v e m o re
u n it c h a r g e fro m o n e p o int to an oth e r in a n potential energy and the charge with lesser
e le c tr i c fi e l d . I n o t he r w o r d s, th e p ot e ntia l p o t e n t i a l w i l l h a v e l e s s p o t e n t i a l e n e r g y.
d iffe re nc e i s de f in e d a s t h e d if fe re nc e in t h e
 I n o r d e r t o c re a t e e l e c t r i c i t y a n d t h e f l o w o f
e le c tr i c p o t e nt ia l o f th e tw o c h ar g e d b od ie s.
c u r re n t , a p o t e n t i a l d i f f e re n c e i s a l w a y s

 W h e n a b o d y i s c h a r ge d to a d iffe re n t re q u i re d w h i c h i s m a i n t a i n e d b y a b a t t e r y o r a

e le c tr i c p o t e nt ia l a s c o mp a re d to th e o th e r cell.

c h ar g e d b o d y, th e tw o b o d ie s a re said to a  V x y = V x – Vy = [ W x – Wy ] / q
p ote n t ia l di f fe ren c e . B o th th e b o d ie s a re
 T h e S I U n i t o f E l e c t r i c a l p o t e n t i a l d i f f e re n c e
u n de r s tre ss a n d s tr a in an d tr y to atta in
i s s a m e a s t h e e l e c t r i c p o t e n t i a l , i . e ; Vo l t a g e
m in im um p o te nt i a l .
o r Vo l t s
Electric potential energy
 El ect r i c po t en t i al en ergy, i s a po t en t i al en ergy (m eas u red i n jo u l es ) t h at r esu l t s f ro m co n se rva t iv e
Co u l o mb fo rces an d i s as s oci at ed wi t h t h e co nf i gu rat i o n of a p art i cu l ar s et of p o i nt ch arge s wi t hi n a
d efi n ed sy s t em. An o bj ect may h ave e l ect ri c p o t ent i al energ y by v i rt u e o f t wo k ey el emen t s : i t s o wn
el ect r i c charg e an d i t s rel at i v e p os i t i o n t o o t h er el ect ri cal l y ch arged o bj ect s .

 Th e el ect r ic po t en t i al en ergy o f a sy s t em o f po i n t cha rg es i s d efi n ed as t h e wor k req ui r ed t o ass em bl e th i s

s ys t em of ch arges b y br i n gi n g t hem cl o se t og et h er, as i n t h e s y s t em f ro m an i n fi n i t e d i s t ance .
Al t ern at i v el y, t h e el ect ri c po t en t i al en ergy o f an y gi v en cha rg e o r sy s t em o f charg es i s t erm ed as t h e t ot al
wo rk do n e by an ex t ern al ag ent i n br i ng i n g t he ch arg e o r t h e s ys t em o f ch arges f ro m i nf in i t y t o t h e
p res ent con fi g u rat i o n wi t ho ut un d ergo i ng an y accel erat io n .
Electrostatic potential energy of one point charge

The electrostatic potential energy, UE, of one point charge q at position r in the presence of
a point charge Q, taking an infinite separation between the charges as the reference position,
is:

where is Coulomb's constant, r is the distance between the point charges q and Q,
and q and Q are the charges (not the absolute values of the charges—i.e., an electron would
have a negative value of charge when placed in the formula).
Potential Due To Dipole

An electric dipole is an arrangement of two

equal and opposite charges separated by a
distance 2a. The dipole moment is
represented by p which is a vector quantity.

The potential due to a dipole depends on r

(distance between the point where potential is
calculated and the mid-point of the dipole) and
angle between position vector r and dipole
moment p.
Dipole potential is inversely proportional to
square of r.
Equipotential Surfaces
An equipotential sur face is one where the potential is same at every point on the sur face. For a single charge,

• Since r is constant, the equipotential sur faces are concentric spherical sur faces centered at the charge.

• Electric field lines are radial star ting from or ending at the charge for positive and negative charges respectively

• For any charge configuration, equipotential surface through a point is normal to the electric field at that point .
CAPACITANCE
 What is Capacitance ?
Capacitance is the ability of a component or circuit to collect and store energy in the form of an
e le c t r i c a l c h a r g e .

C a p a c i t o r s a r e e n e r g y - s t o r i n g d e v i c e s a v a i l a b le i n m a n y s i z e s a n d s h a p e s . T h e y c o n s i s t o f t w o
p l a t e s o f c o n d u c t i n g m a t e r i a l ( u s u a l l y a t h i n m e t a l ) s a n d w i c h e d b e t w e e n a n i n s u la t o r m a d e o f
c e r a m i c , f i l m , g l a ss o r o t h e r m a t e r i a ls , e v e n a i r .

T h e i n su l a t o r i s a ls o k n o w n a s a d i e l e c t r i c , a n d i t b o o s t s a c a p a c i t o r ' s c h a r g i n g c a p a c i t y . C a p a c i t o r s
a r e s o m e t i m e s c a ll e d c o n d e n s e r s i n t h e a u t o m o t i v e , m a r i n e a n d a v i a t i o n i n d u s t r i e s .

The internal plates are wired to two external terminals, which sometimes are long and thin and
c a n r e s e m b l e t i n y m e t a l li c a n t e n n a e o r le g s . T h e s e t e r m i n a ls c a n b e p l u g g e d i n t o a c i r c u i t .

C a p a c i t o r s a n d b a t t e r i e s b o t h s t o r e e n e r g y . W h i l e b a t t e r i e s r e l e a s e e n e r g y g r a d u a l ly , c a p a c i t o r s
discharge it quickly
How Does A Capacitor Work?
A capacitor collects energy (voltage) as current flows through
an electrica l circuit. Both plates hold equal charges, a nd as the
positive plate collects a charge, an equal charge flows off the
negative plate.

When the circ uit is switched off, a capacitor retains the energy
it has gathered, though slight leakage usually occurs.

A variety of capacitors (shown in color) in circuit board.A

variety of capacitors (shown in color) in circuit board.

Capacitance is expressed as the ratio of the electric charge on

each conductor to the potential difference (i.e. , voltage)
between them.

The capacitance value of a capacitor is measured in farads (F),

units named for English physicist Michael Faraday (1791–
1867).

A farad is a large quantity of capacitance. Most household

electrical devices include capacitors that produce only a
fraction of a farad, often a thousandth of a farad (or
microfarad, µF) or as small as a picofarad (a trillionth, pF ).
How to increase
capacitance
Capacitance can be increased when:A capacitor's
plates (conductors) are positioned closer together.

L a r g e r p l a t e s of f e r m o r e s u r f a c e a r e a .

The dielectric is the best possible insulator for the

application .

Capacitors come in various shapes.

Capacitors come in various shapes.

In electrical circuits, capacitors are frequently used

t o b l o c k d i r e c t c u r r e n t ( d c ) w h i l e p e r m i tt i n g
a l t e r n a t i n g c u r r e n t ( a c ) t o fl o w .

S o m e d i g i t a l m u l t i m e t e r s of f e r a c a p a c i t a n c e
measurement function so technicians can:

Identify an unknown or unlabeled capacitor.

D e t e c t o p e n o r s h o rt e d c a p a c i t o r s .

Measure capacitors directly and display their value .

 Formula Of Capacitor

• The e ner g y stor ed by th e c a pac it or i s

The capacitance C is the ratio of the
g i ven a s
amount of charge q on either conductor
to the potential difference V between the
conductors, or simply C = q/V.

In both the practical and the metre–

kilogram–second scientific systems, the • The power a bsor bed by th e ca pa ci tor
unit of electric charge is the coulomb is g i ven b y t he equ at ion sh own b elow
and the unit of potential difference is
the volt, so that the unit of
capacitance—named the farad
(symbolized F)—is one coulomb per • The C ha rg e on t he ca pa c itor a t a ny
volt. in st an t of t im e is :
Parallel and series capacitance in circuit
PARALLEL CAPACITANCE
If the number of capacitors is connected to each
other as in parallel connection, the circuit is said to
. a parallel capacitor circuit. The circuit is shown
be
below:
The equivalent capacitance in a parallel
circuit is given by the equation shown
below:
SER IES CAPACITOR CIRCUI T
Th e eq ui I f t he n u mb er o f capaci t o rs , fo r
ex amp l e, C 1, C 2, C3 …..co n nect ed t o ge t her i n a
s eri es i s cal l ed a s eri es cap aci t or ci r cui t . T he
cu rre nt f l o wi ng i n t h i s t yp e o f c i rcu it wi l l b e
t h e s ame a cro s s al l t he capaci t o rs a s t hey ar e
co nn ect ed i n s eri es .
The equivalent capacitance is given
by the equation as: