Capacitance

Capacitance

+q q

A set of conductors can store electric charge. The net charge Q=0=qq, but the magnitude of
charge on each conductor is |q|.

This charge q is proportional to the potential difference between the conductors:

The constant of proportionality between charge and potential difference is Ccapacitance. Unit is
Farad (F)  Coulomb/Volt.

To set up a potential difference between 2 conductors requires an electric “pump”, such as a

battery (see next chapter).

+ +q
V C
 q

A larger capacitance implies that a large charge q is stored for the same potential difference V.

Capacitance depends only on the geometry of the conductors, not the charge q or voltage V.

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 Capacitance

Parallel Plate Capacitor

d

+
A
V


Consider the top view of the 2 plates:

Create a Gaussian surface (box) that extends inside and outside one of the conductor surfaces.
Gauss’ Law
inside a conductor
on left/right edges
on front outside face only

The electric potential difference between the 2 plates is given by:

+
E ds


So for parallel plates:

Cylindrical Capacitor (Cable)

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 Capacitance

Let inner conductor have radius a, and outer radius b.

Take Gaussian surface as cylinder between conductors (E=0 inside conductors).

Spherical Capacitor

Let inner sphere have radius a, and outer radius b.

Take Gaussian surface as sphere between conductors (E=0 inside conductors).

Gauss’ Law

Capacitors in Parallel

Consider N capacitors all connected in parallel to the same source of potential difference V.
Across each capacitor i the charge on one of the plates is:

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 Capacitance

The total charge on all the plates with the same electric potential is:

So we can write the equivalent capacitance Cequiv as:

In other words, the equivalent capacitance of N capacitors in parallel is the sum of the individual
capacitances. Considering the example of parallel plate capacitors, adding several in parallel is
equivalent to extending the area of the plates. Since the capacitance is proportional to the area, it
increases in direct proportion.

Capacitors in Series
For N capacitors in series, the magnitude of the charge q on each plate must be the same. Consider
the electric conductor connecting any 2 capacitors, and suppose that a charge +q is on the plate of
one of the capacitors the conductor is connected to. Since the conductor was originally uncharged,
a charge –q must exist on the plate of the second capacitor. Now a capacitor has the same charge
magnitude on each plate, so by inference we can determine that the magnitude of charge on each
plate in the series of capacitor must be the same.
The potential difference across any capacitor is given by
The total potential difference must add up to electric potential supplied by the battery or power
supply:

So the equivalent capacitance of capacitors connected in series is given by:

The potential difference across any capacitor can be determined by:

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 Capacitance

Energy Stored in a Capacitor

Let’s calculate the work required of a battery or power supply to move an infinitesimal charge
onto the plate of a capacitor already containing a charge . This is the same as finding the
change in the potential energy of the capacitor.

Recall that the electric potential difference across a device is equal to the potential energy
difference per unit charge:

The potential energy difference is equal to the negative of the work done by the electric field to set
up the configuration, or in other words equal to the work done by the power supply or battery to
move the charge (the charge must move against the direction of the electric field):

So the work done to move an infinitesimal charge onto the plate of a capacitor is given by:

If the capacitor already has a charge , then

So

So to charge up a capacitor initially uncharged to a total charge q will require integrating over the
above expression:

Since for a capacitor, the electric potential energy stored in a capacitor can be
expressed in 2 ways:

This potential energy can be used to perform work if the capacitor is disconnected from the power
supply and connected to an electrical circuit. For example, a flash bulb on a camera works in this
way.

Using both forms of the relation for the energy in a capacitor, we can see which capacitor has a
greater energy when two are connected in series or parallel. When two capacitors are in series,

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 Capacitance

each has the same charge q on one of the plates. Thus by , the smaller capacitance has
the greater energy stored. For two capacitors in parallel, both capacitors have the same voltage
across the plates. Thus by , the larger capacitance stores the greater energy.

Energy Stored in an Electric Field

Let’s apply the expression for the potential energy to the specific example of a parallel plate
capacitor with plate area A and plate separation V. The capacitance is given by:

The magnitude of the electric field between the plates is given by . So the potential energy
stored in the capacitor is

and per unit volume V=Ad, The energy density is given by

This result is more general—it applies to any capacitor. Even more, one can interpret the result as
saying the potential energy of the capacitor is stored in the electric field of the capacitor. The
electric field has a reality to it, and contains an energy density given by the above expression. The
field is able to do work on electric charges by expending this potential energy.

Dielectrics
If a material (matter) is inserted between the plates of a capacitor the capacitance increases:

where  is called the dielectric constant of the material. For air, =1.00054, other materials have
higher dielectric constants.

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