Please send (in seven minutes)

QUIZ #13 your answers as an email text

John BROWN, st. #391245  to: [email protected]
 cc: [email protected]
1. D
2. C
3. E
4. A

Makeup of a Capacitor
Capacitors
 Capacitors are devices that store electric  A capacitor consists of two
conductors
charge
 These conductors are called
 Examples of where capacitors are used plates
include:  When the conductor is
charged, the plates carry
 radio receivers charges of equal magnitude
and opposite directions
 filters in power supplies
 A potential difference exists
 to eliminate sparking in automobile ignition between the plates due to
systems the charge
 energy-storing devices in electronic flashes
3 4
Demo
Definition of Capacitance
 The capacitance, C, of a capacitor is
defined as the ratio of the magnitude of the
charge on either conductor to the potential
difference between the conductors
𝑄𝑄
𝐶𝐶 ≡
∆𝑉𝑉
 The SI unit of capacitance is the farad (F)
1 F = 1C/V
 The farad is a large unit; typically you will
5
see microfarads (µF) and picofarads (pF) 6

More About Capacitance Parallel Plate Capacitor

𝑄𝑄
𝐶𝐶 ≡
∆𝑉𝑉
 Each plate is connected to a terminal
 Capacitance will always be a positive quantity of the battery which is the source of
 The capacitance of a given capacitor is constant potential difference
 The capacitance is a measure of the capacitor’s  If the capacitor is initially uncharged,
the battery establishes an electric
ability to store charge field in the connecting wires
 The capacitance of a capacitor is the amount of charge  This field applies a force on electrons
the capacitor can store per unit of potential difference in the wire just outside of the plates
 The force causes the electrons to
move onto the negative plate
 This continues until equilibrium is
achieved
 The plate, the wire and the terminal are all
7 at the same potential 8
Parallel Plate Capacitor Capacitance – Isolated Sphere

 At this point, there is no field present  Assume a spherical charged conductor with radius a
in the wire and the movement of the
electrons ceases  The sphere will have the same capacitance as it would if
 The plate is now negatively charged there were a conducting spherical shell of infinite radius,
concentric with the original sphere
 A similar process occurs at the other
plate, electrons moving away from the  Assume V = 0 at infinity
plate and leaving it positively charged 𝑄𝑄 𝑄𝑄 𝑎𝑎
𝐶𝐶 = = = = 4πε0 𝑎𝑎
 In its final configuration, the potential ∆𝑉𝑉 𝑘𝑘𝑒𝑒 𝑄𝑄/𝑎𝑎 𝑘𝑘𝑒𝑒
difference across the capacitor plates
is the same as that between the  Note, this is independent of the charge and the potential
terminals of the battery difference

9 10

Capacitance – Parallel Plates Parallel Plate Assumptions

 The charge density on the plates is σ = Q/A

 A is the area of each plate, which are equal
 Q is the charge on each plate, equal with
opposite signs
 The electric field is uniform between the
plates and zero elsewhere
σ 𝑄𝑄 𝑄𝑄𝑑𝑑
𝐸𝐸 = = ∆𝑉𝑉 = 𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸 =  The assumption that the electric field is uniform is valid in
ε0 ε0 𝐴𝐴 ε0 𝐴𝐴
ε 𝐴𝐴
the central region, but not at the ends of the plates
𝑄𝑄 𝑄𝑄 0
𝐶𝐶 = = 𝐶𝐶 =  If the separation between the plates is small compared
∆𝑉𝑉 𝑄𝑄𝑄𝑄/ε0 𝐴𝐴 𝑑𝑑
with the length of the plates, the effect of the non-uniform
 The capacitance is proportional to the area field can be ignored
of its plates and inversely proportional to
the distance between the plates 11 12
 Capacitance of a Cylindrical Capacitor

 Demo: parallel-plate capacitor with variable A  A solid cylindrical conductor of radius a

and charge Q is coaxial with a
 Demo: parallel-plate capacitor and electroscope (∼1/d)
cylindrical shell of negligible thickness,
Film: 18-19
radius b > a, and charge −Q
𝑏𝑏 𝑏𝑏
𝑉𝑉𝑏𝑏 − 𝑉𝑉𝑎𝑎 = − � 𝐄𝐄⋅𝑑𝑑𝐬𝐬 = − � 𝐸𝐸𝑟𝑟 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
𝑎𝑎 𝑎𝑎
λ
𝐸𝐸𝑟𝑟 = 2𝑘𝑘𝑒𝑒
𝑟𝑟
𝑏𝑏
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑏𝑏
𝑉𝑉𝑏𝑏 − 𝑉𝑉𝑎𝑎 = −2𝑘𝑘𝑒𝑒 λ � = −2𝑘𝑘𝑒𝑒 λ ln � �
𝑎𝑎 𝑟𝑟 𝑎𝑎

13 14

Capacitance of a Spherical Capacitor

 Demo: damaged cylindrical capacitor  A spherical conducting shell of radius b

and charge −Q concentric with a smaller
sphere of radius a and charge Q

15 16
 Capacitance of a Spherical Capacitor
Circuit Symbols

 If the radius b of the outer sphere  A circuit diagram is a simplified

approaches infinity, representation of an actual circuit
 Circuit symbols are used to
represent the various elements
 Lines are used to represent wires
 The battery’s positive terminal is
indicated by the longer line

17 18

Capacitors in Parallel Capacitors in Parallel

 When capacitors are first connected in the  The capacitors reach their maximum
circuit, electrons are transferred from the left charge when the flow of charge ceases
plates through the battery to the right plate,  The total charge stored by the two
leaving the left plate positively charged and capacitors is equal to the sum of the
the right plate negatively charged charges on the individual capacitors
 The flow of charges ceases when the voltage
across the capacitors equals that of the
 The capacitors can be replaced with one
battery
capacitor with a capacitance of Ceq
 The capacitors reach their maximum charge
 The equivalent capacitor must have exactly
when the flow of charge ceases
the same external effect on the circuit as the
 The potential difference across the capacitors original capacitors (it must store charge Qtot
is the same when connected to the battery)
 And each is equal to the voltage of the battery
 ∆V1 = ∆V2 = ∆V 19 20
 Capacitors in Series
Capacitors in Parallel

 For three or more capacitors connected in parallel,  When a battery is connected to the
circuit, electrons are transferred
from the left plate of C1 to the right
 The equivalent capacitance of a parallel combination of plate of C2 through the battery
capacitors is always greater than any of the individual
capacitances  As this negative charge
accumulates on the right plate of
C2, an equivalent amount of
negative charge is removed from
the left plate of C2, leaving it with
an excess positive charge
 All of the right plates gain charges
of −Q and all the left plates have
21
charges of +Q 22

Capacitors in Series Capacitors in Series

 The charges on capacitors  For three or more capacitors connected in series,

connected in series are the same,
Q1 = Q 2 = Q
 The potential differences add up to
the battery voltage,  The equivalent capacitance of a series combination of
 The equivalent single capacitor has capacitors is always less than any individual capacitance
the same effect on the circuit as the in the combination
series combination when it is  The potential differences add up to the battery voltage,
connected to the battery

23 24
 Equivalent Capacitance, Example

 Film 18-23 (Exploding Capacitor)

 The 1.0-µF and 3.0-µF capacitors are in parallel as are the

6.0-µF and 2.0-µF capacitors
 These parallel combinations are in series with the
capacitors next to them
 The series combinations are in parallel and the final
equivalent capacitance can be found 25 26

Energy in a Capacitor – Overview Energy Stored in a Capacitor

 Before the switch is closed, the  Assume the capacitor is being

energy is stored as chemical charged and, at some point, has a
energy in the battery charge q on it
 When the switch is closed, the  The work needed to transfer a
energy is transformed from
chemical to electric potential charge from one plate to the other is
energy
 The electric potential energy is  The total work required is
related to the separation of the
positive and negative charges on
the plates
 A capacitor can be described as a
device that stores energy as well
as charge 27 28
 Energy Energy 1
𝑈𝑈𝐸𝐸 = 𝐶𝐶 (∆𝑉𝑉 )2
2

 The work done in charging the capacitor appears as  The energy can be considered to be stored in the electric
electric potential energy UE : field created between the plates as the capacitor is charged
 For a parallel-plate capacitor,

 This applies to a capacitor of any geometry  Because the volume occupied by the electric field is Ad, the
 For a given capacitance, the energy stored increases energy per unit volume uE = UE/Ad, known as the energy
as the charge increases and as the potential difference density, is
increases
 In practice, there is a limit to the maximum energy that
can be stored because, at sufficiently large values of  The above expression is generally valid regardless of the
∆V, discharge ultimately occurs between the plates source of the electric field: uE ∼ E2
29 30

Some Uses of Capacitors

 Defibrillators  Demo: Parallel-plate capacitor, textbook, electroscope

 When fibrillation occurs, the heart
produces a rapid, irregular pattern of beats
 A fast discharge of electrical energy
through the heart can return the organ to
its normal beat pattern
 In general, capacitors act as energy
reservoirs that can be slowly charged
and then discharged quickly to provide
large amounts of energy in a short
pulse (for example, in camera flash
units or in lasers used for fusion
experiments) 31 32
Capacitors with Dielectrics
Dielectrics

 A dielectric is a nonconducting  For a parallel-plate capacitor,

material that, when placed  For a parallel-plate capacitor filled with a dielectric,
between the plates of a  In theory, d could be made very small to create a very large
capacitor, increases the capacitance
capacitance
 Dielectrics include rubber, plastic,
 In practice, there is a limit to d
and waxed paper  d is limited by the electric discharge that could occur through the
 Because ∆V < ∆V0, κ > 1 dielectric medium separating the plates
 The dimensionless factor κ is  For a given d, the maximum voltage that can be applied to a
called the dielectric constant capacitor without causing a discharge depends on the
of a material dielectric strength (maximum electric field) of the dielectric

33 34

Dielectric breakdown in air. Sparks are produced when the

high voltage between the wires causes the electric field to
exceed the dielectric strength of air. Sparks are due to
ionization of atoms and recombination with electrons in air,
similar to the process that produces corona discharge.

35 36
 Types of Capacitors – Tubular
Dielectrics
 Dielectrics provide the following  Metallic foil may be
advantages: interlaced with thin sheets
 Increase in capacitance of paper or Mylar
 Increase the maximum operating voltage  The layers are rolled into a
 Possible mechanical support between the cylinder to form a small
plates package for the capacitor
 This allows the plates to be close together
without touching
 This decreases d and increases C

37 38

Types of Capacitors – Oil Filled Types of Capacitors – Electrolytic

 Common for high-voltage  Used to store large amounts of charge

at relatively low voltages
capacitors
 The electrolyte is a solution that
 A number of interwoven conducts electricity by virtue of motion
metallic plates are of ions contained in the solution
immersed in silicon oil  When a voltage is applied between
the foil and the electrolyte, a thin layer
of metal oxide is formed on the foil
 This layer serves as a dielectric
 Large values of capacitance can be
obtained because the dielectric layer
is very thin and the plate separation is
very small
39 40
 Types of Capacitors – Variable How to Locate a Wooden Stud?

 Variable capacitors consist of A carpenter’s stud finder is a capacitor

two interwoven sets of metallic with its plates arranged side by side
plates instead of facing each other. When the
 One plate is fixed and the device is moved over a stud, its
other is movable capacitance increases.
 These capacitors generally
vary between 10 and 500 pF
 Used in radio tuning circuits

41 42

Dielectrics – An Atomic View Dielectrics – An Atomic View

 An external electric field is applied

 Experimental finding:
 This produces a torque on the
molecules
 The molecules that make up  The molecules partially align with the
the dielectric are modeled as electric field
 The degree of alignment of the
dipoles
molecules with the field depends on
 The molecules are randomly temperature and the magnitude of the
oriented in the absence of an field
electric field  In general,
 the alignment increases with decreasing
temperature
 the alignment increases with increasing field
43 strength 44
 Dielectrics – An Atomic View Dielectrics – An Atomic View

 An external field can polarize the

 If the molecules of the dielectric are dielectric whether the molecules are
nonpolar molecules, the electric field polar or nonpolar
produces some charge separation  The charged edges of the dielectric
act as a second pair of plates
 This produces an induced dipole producing an induced electric field in
moment the direction opposite the original
electric field
 The effect is then the same as if the  The net effect on the dielectric is the
molecules were polar formation an induced surface charge
that results in an induced electric field
 The net electric field E in the dielectric
45 has the magnitude 46

Induced Charge and Field

 If no dielectric is present, then κ = 1

and σind = 0 as expected
 If the dielectric is replaced by an
electrical conductor for which E = 0,
however, equation E = E0 − Eind
indicates that E0 = Eind, which
corresponds to σind = σ. That is, the
surface charge induced on the
conductor is equal in magnitude but
 The charge density σind induced on the opposite in sign to that on the plates,
dielectric is less than the charge density resulting in a net electric field of zero in
σ on the plates the conductor.
47 48
A parallel-plate capacitor is charged with a battery to a charge Q0. The nonuniform electric field near the edges of a parallel-plate
The battery is then removed and a slab of material that has a capacitor causes the dielectric to be pulled into the capacitor. The
dielectric constant κ is inserted between the plates. Find the energy electric field acts on the induced surface charges on the dielectric,
stored in the capacitor before and after the dielectric is inserted. which are nonuniformly distributed.
The negative work is done by an external agent inserting the dielectric
into the capacitor. This, in turn, implies that a force must be acting on
the dielectric that draws it into the capacitor. This force originates from
the nonuniform electric field of the capacitor near its edges. The
Nonuniform E near the edges of a parallel-plate capacitor causes a
horizontal component of this fringe field acts on the induced charges
dielectric to be pulled into the capacitor: Wc > 0, Wc = −∆U → ∆U = of the surface of the dielectric, producing a net horizontal force
−Wc < 0 49
directed into the space between the capacitor plates. 50

Demo: Leyden Jar

 Film 18-24 (Force on Dielectric)

51 52
  M2-8, 10, 11
 F-7, 26, 27

53 54