CAPACITOR

function
• Main function stored charge.
• Capacitors are used for several purposes:
1. Timing - for example with a 555 timer IC controlling the
charging and discharging.
2. Smoothing - for example in a power supply.
3. Coupling - for example between stages of an audio system
and to connect a loudspeaker.
4. Filtering - for example in the tone control of an audio system.
5. Tuning - for example in a radio system.
6. Storing energy - for example in a camera flash circuit.
 Working Principle
• The principle of capacitor is based on the fact that the
potential of a conductor is greatly reduced and its
capacity is increased without affecting the electric
charge in it by placing another earth connected
conductor or an oppositely charged conductor in its
neighborhood.
• This arrangement is therefore able to store electric
charge.
• Capacitor are designed to have large capacity of storing
electric charge without having large dimensions.
 Capacitor is an electronic device, which is used to store electric charge or electrical
energy A system of two conductors separated by air or any insulating material forms a
capacitor as shown below:
• A parallel plate capacitor consists of two conducting plates of
same dimensions. These plates are
placed parallel to each other. Space between the plates is
filled with air or any insulating material (dielectric).
• One plate is connected to positive terminal and other is
connected to negative terminal of power supply.
• The plate connected to positive terminal acquires positive
charge and the other plate connected to negative terminal
acquires equal negative charge .
• The charges are stored between the plates of capacitor due
to attraction.
 Capacitance
The magnitude q of the charge on each plate of a capacitor
is directly proportional to the magnitude V of the potential
difference between the plates:

  C
q
                                                                       

where C is the capacitance

                  
V

SI Unit of Capacitance: coulomb/volt= farad (F)

1 F = 103 mF = 106 μF = 1012 pF
 THE CAPACITANCE OF A PARALLEL PLATE
CAPACITOR

(1) Calculate q:

(2) Calculate V:
                                                                                                               

(3) Calculate C:
q  0 EA
C 
V Ed
Only the geometry of the plates (A and d) affect the
capacitance.
  
 
 

THE CAPACITANCE OF A Cylindrical

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Capacitor
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 

A cylindrical capacitor of length L

 
 
 
 
  formed by two coaxial cylinders
 
 
 
of radii a and b
 
 
 
 
 
                                                                                            
 
 
 
 
                   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
THE CAPACITANCE OF A Spherical
Capacitor

A capacitor that consists of two

concentric spherical shells, of
radii a and b.

For An Isolated Sphere, a=R and b=∞

 Dielectric
• The term "dielectric" was coined by William Whewell ("dia-electric") in response to a
request from Michael Faraday.
• A dielectric is an electrical insulator that can be polarized by an applied electric field.
When a dielectric is placed in an electric field, electric charges do not flow through the
material, as in a conductor, but only slightly shift from their average equilibrium positions
causing dielectric polarization. Because of dielectric polarization, positive charges are
displaced toward the field and negative charges shift in the opposite direction. This
creates an internal electric field that partly compensates the external field inside the
dielectric.If a dielectric is composed of weakly bonded molecules, those molecules not
only become polarized, but also reorient so that their symmetry axis aligns to the field.
• Although the term "insulator" implies low electrical conduction, "dielectric" is typically
used to describe materials with a high polarizability. The latter is expressed by a number
called the dielectric constant. A common, yet notable example of a dielectric is the
electrically insulating material between the metallic plates of a capacitor. The polarization
of the dielectric by the applied electric field increases the capacitor's surface charge.
Capacitors in Parallel

• When a potential difference V is applied

across several capacitors connected in
parallel, that potential difference V is
applied across each capacitor.

• The total charge q stored on the capacitors

is the sum of the charges stored on all the
capacitors.

• Capacitors connected in parallel can be

replaced with an equivalent capacitor that
has the same total charge q and the same
potential difference V as the actual
capacitors.
 Parallel Combination
• The p.d. across each capacitor is the same.
• QT = Q 1 + Q 2

• Apply Q = CV to each capacitor to find CT.

QT= C1V + C2V

QT= V (C1+ C2)
QT / V = C1+ C2

CT = C1 + C2
 Capacitors in Series
• When a potential difference V is applied across
several capacitors connected in series, the
capacitors have identical charge q.

 
• The sum of the potential differences across all
the capacitors is equal to the applied potential
difference V.

• Capacitors that are connected in series can be

 replaced
    with an equivalent capacitor that has the
same charge q and the same total potential
difference V as the actual series capacitors.
                                          

                        
 Series Combination
• VT = V1 + V2
• The charge, Q, on each capacitor is
the same.

• Apply Q = CV to each capacitor.

VT = Q/C1 + Q/C2
VT / Q = 1/C1 + 1/C2

1/CT = 1/C1 + 1/C2

 Worked Example
Calculate:

a) the capacitance between points B and C

100 μF

b) the capacitance between points A and C 500 μF

C
250 μF

c) the charge on the 500 μF capacitor

A B

d) the p.d across A and B

6V