Capacitor is a device that store charges

Parallel plates separated by a dielectric layer

EGR 101 1
 Fixed Value Capacitors
• Polarized Electrolytic Capacitors
• Most electrolytic capacitors are polarized

EGR 101 2
 Variable Capacitors
Interleaved-Plate Capacitors

EGR 101 3
 Charging a Capacitor
Electrostatic Charge Develops on the Plates

Electrostatic Field Stores energy

EGR 101 4
 Discharging a Capacitor
Apply a discharging component (here a short
circuit) across the capacitor.

EGR 101 5
Capacitance
Capacitance is the ratio of the amount of
charge Q in one plate to the potential
difference V between the plates.

Capacitance is the amount of charge that a

capacitor can store per unit volt applied.

Capacitance is directly proportional to charge

and inversely proportional to voltage

Q
C or Q  CV
V
EGR 101 6
 Q
C or Q  CV
V
where
C = the capacity (or capacitance) of the
component, in coulombs per volt, or Farads

Q = the total charge stored by the

component

V= the voltage across the capacitor

EGR 101 7
Sample Problem 1

EGR 101 8
 Capacitor Ratings
Most capacitors rated in the picofarad (pF) to
microfarad (F) range

Capacitors in the millifarad range are

commonly rated in thousands of microfarads:
68 mF = 68,000 F

Capacitors in the nanofarad range are also

commonly rated in microfarads:
68 nF = 0.068 F

EGR 101 9
Capacitance of a Parallel Plate Capacitor

A
C 
d

EGR 101 10
 A
C 
d

C = capacitance (F)

 = dielectric constant

A= the area of either plate, in square meters (m2)

d = the distance between the plates, in meters (m)

EGR 101 11
The capacitance of a parallel plate
capacitor is affected by the following
factors:
1.The area of plates. The bigger the area of
the plates, the greater the capacitance.
2.The distance between the plates. The
closer plates to one another, the greater the
capacitance.
3.The insulating material or dielectric
between them. The capacitance is determined
in terms of material’s permittivity constant ϵ -
the higher the ϵ, the higher the capacitance.

EGR 101 12
 Permittivity of Some Common Dielectrics
The dielectric constant is a property of the material;
here are some examples:
Dielectric ϵ ( x 10-11 C2/Nm2)
Air or vacuum 0.885 or 1
Glass (ordinary) 7
Glass (pyrex) 4.7
Mica 4.8
Mylar 2.7
Teflon 1.9
Water at 20 °C 70.8
Sometimes the relative permittivity or dielectric constant
of the dielectric material is given instead of its
permittivity. The relative permittivity or dielectric
constant ϵR is the ratio of the permittivity ϵ of the
dielectric to the permittivity of vacuum in air.

R 
0
Therefore, the capacitance becomes:
A A
C    R 0
d d
C   R C0
Plate Area: capacitance is directly proportional
to plate area

Dielectric Thickness: capacitance is inversely

proportional to dielectric thickness

Dielectric Permittivity: the ease with which

lines of electrical force are established in the
dielectric material

Relative Permittivity: the ratio of a material’s

permittivity to that of a vacuum
EGR 101 16
 Sample Problem 2
A capacitor consists of two square metal
plates, each measuring 5.00 x 10-2m on side.
In between the plates is a sheet of mica
measuring 1.00 x 10-4 m thick.
a.What is the capacitance of this capacitor?
b.What is the potential difference if the
charge on one plate is 2.00 x 10-8 C
c.What is the electric field between the
plates?
EGR 101 17
 Sample Problem 3
The capacitance of a parallel plate air
capacitor is 350.0 µF. When a sheet of a
dielectric is inserted between the plates, the
capacitance increases to 2100.0 µF. What is
the permittivity of the dielectrics?

EGR 101 18
 Capacitors in Series

1
CT 
1 1 1
   
C1 C2 Cn

CT = the total series capacitance

Cn = the highest-numbered capacitor in the circuit
EGR 101 19
 Capacitors in Parallel

CT  C1  C 2      C n

Cn = the highest-numbered capacitor in the

parallel circuit

EGR 101 20
 Sample Problem 4

Given that C1 = 10.0 F, C2 = 5.0 F, and

C3 = 4.0 F, Find the total capacitance
for each connection.
a.Series
b.Parallel
c.Series-parallel combination

EGR 101 21
Energy Stored in Capacitor
1
W  U  qV
2

1 1 1 q2
U  qV  CV 2 
2 2 2C

EGR 101 22
 Sample Problem 5

How much energy is stored by a 35 µF

capacitor when the charge on each
plate is 2500 µC?

What is the potential difference

between the plates of the capacitor?

EGR 101 23