JAIVINS ACADEMY
CBSE SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL
AMMAMPALAYAM, ATTUR -636141
GRADE XII
DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS
SUBMITTED BY
NAME :……………………………………
SECTION:……………
REG.NO :………………………………
UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF
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CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that ………………………………………
of Reg.No ……………………. from class XII of section
…….., Jaivins Academy, CBSE Senior Secondary
School, Ammampalayam, Attur. He/She has successfully
completed his/her PHYSICS Activities & Project report of
AISSCE as prescribed by CBSE in the academic year
2025-2026. Number of activities certified _____ out of
_____ in physics.
Signature of the Guide Signature of the Principal
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I am overwhelmed in all humbleness and gratefulness
to acknowledge my depth to all those who have helped me
to put these ides, well above the level of simplicity and into
something concrete.
I specially thanks our Principal Dr. Christobel Jermi K
who has given me this opportunity to complete my project
by providing me library reference, and computer lab for
internet reference etc.
I am very thankful to my guide ,my
Mathematics teacher for his valuable help by giving
valuable suggestions guidance and encouragement to
complete this project.
I would like to thank my friends who often helped and
gave me support at critical juncture during the making of
the project.
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INDEX
S.No Particulars Page No
1. Introduction 5
2. Capacitance 5
3. Key point about Capacitance 6
4. Alternative forms of formula 7
5. Capacitor losses 8
6. Type of capacitors 9
7. Capacitance of parallel plate capacitor 10
8. Capacitor in series 11
9. Capacitor in parallel 12
10. Mixed combination(series¶llel) 13
11. Energy stored in charged capacitor 14
12. Charging and discharging of capacitor 15
13. Applications of capacitors 17
14. Capacitive reactance 18
15. Capacitive reactance vs frequency 20
16. Bibliography 21
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INTRODUCTION :
Capacitors are devices that store electrical energy in an
electric field. They consist of two conductive plates separated
by an insulating material called a dielectric . When a voltage
is applied across the plates, an electric field is created, and
charge accumulates on the plates, leading to energy storage.
CAPACITANCE :
Capacitance is the ability of a body to store electric
charge. It is defined as the ratio of charge (Q) stored to
the potential difference (V) across it.
C=Q/V
SI Unit of capacitance is Farad (F).
1 Farad = 1 Coulomb/Volt.
Other units: microfarad (μF), nanofarad (nF), picofarad
(pF).
More capacitance means more charge stored for the same
voltage.
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Dimensional formula: [M⁻¹ L⁻² T⁴ A²]
Key Points About Capacitors:
1. Energy Stored in a Capacitor: The energy
stored in a capacitor is given by:
U=1/2*CV^2
This represents the energy stored in the electric field between
the plates.
2. Factors Affecting Capacitance:
Plate Area (A): Increasing the area of the plates increases
the capacitance.
Distance Between Plates (d): Decreasing the distance
between the plates increases the capacitance.
Dielectric Material: Introducing a dielectric material with
a higher dielectric constant, increases the capacitance.
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Alternative Forms of the Formula:
Depending on the known quantities (charge, capacitance, or
voltage), the energy stored in a capacitor can also be
expressed in other forms:
1. Using charge Q and capacitance C :
U=Q^2/2C
2. Using charge Q and voltage V :
U=1/2*CV^2
Explanation:
- The energy stored in a capacitor is proportional to the square
of the voltage applied and directly proportional to the
capacitance.
- This energy is stored in the electric field created between the
plates of the capacitor when it is charged.
- When the capacitor is connected to a circuit, this stored
energy can be released to power components.
The Farad:
The farad (symbol: F) is the SI unit of electrical
capacitance. It quantifies a capacitor's ability to store an
electrical charge.
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One farad is defined as the capacitance where a charge of
one coulomb is stored for each volt of electric potential
difference.
Capacitor losses:
Power loss in a capacitor may be attributed to dielectric
hysteresis and dielectric leakage. Dielectric hysteresis
may be defined as an effect in a dielectric material
similar to the hysteresis found in a magnetic material. It
is the result of changes in orientation of electron orbits in
the dielectric because of the rapid reversals of the
polarity of the line voltage.
The amount of power loss due to dielectric hysteresis
depends upon the type of dielectric used. A vacuum
dielectric has the smallest power loss.
Dielectric leakage occurs in a capacitor as the result of
LEAKAGE CURRENT through the dielectric. Normally
it is assumed that the dielectric will effectively prevent
the flow of current through the capacitor. Although the
resistance of the dielectric is extremely high, a minute
amount of current does flow.
Ordinarily this current is so small that for all practical
purposes it is ignored. However, if the leakage through
the dielectric is abnormally high, there will be a rapid
loss of charge and an overheating of the capacitor.
The power loss of a capacitor is determined by loss in the
dielectric. If the loss is negligible and the capacitor
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returns the total charge to the circuit, it is considered to
be a perfect capacitor with a power loss of zero.
Types of capacitors:
1. Parallel plate capacitor – two conducting plates separated
by a distance with air or dielectric in between.
2. Spherical capacitor – two concentric spherical shells.
3. Cylindrical capacitor – two concentric cylinders.
4. Variable capacitors – overlapping area or dielectric
thickness can be adjusted.
Symbol of Capacitor:
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Capacitance of parallel plate capacitor:
C = ε₀ × (A / d)
Where A = area of plates, d = separation between plates,
ε₀ = permittivity of free space = 8.85 × 10⁻¹² F/m
Capacitance increases with larger area and decreases
with more separation.
If a dielectric of dielectric constant K is inserted between
the plates, then capacitance becomes:
C = K × ε₀ × (A / d)
K is always greater than 1 for real dielectrics.
Common dielectrics: glass, mica, paper.
Dielectric reduces the electric field and increases the
ability to store charge.
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Capacitors in series:
1 / Ceq = 1 / C₁ + 1 / C₂ + 1 / C₃ + ...
Charge is same on all capacitors.
Voltage divides among capacitors.
Equivalent capacitance is less than the smallest capacitor.
- Charge: In a series circuit, the charge Q on each capacitor is
the same because the same current flows through all the
capacitors.
- Voltage: The total voltage across the series combination is
the sum of the individual voltages across each capacitor.
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Capacitors in parallel:
C_eq = C₁ + C₂ + C₃ + ...
Voltage is same across all capacitors.
Charge divides among capacitors.
Equivalent capacitance is more than the largest capacitor.
-Voltage: In a parallel circuit, the voltage across each
capacitor is the same.
-Charge: The total charge stored by the combination is
the sum of the charges on each capacitor.
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Mixed (Series-Parallel) Combination:
In more complex circuits, capacitors may be connected in
both series and parallel combinations. To find the equivalent
capacitance in such circuits:
1. Reduce the parallel groups into a single capacitance using
the parallel formula.
2. Reduce the resulting series groups using the series formula.
3. Repeat the process until the entire circuit is simplified to a
single equivalent capacitance.
Applications:
- Series Combination: Used where higher voltage handling is
needed, like in high-voltage circuits, as the total voltage is
distributed across the capacitors.
- Parallel Combination: Used to increase the total capacitance
in circuits where more charge storage is required, such as in
power supply filters.
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Energy stored in a charged capacitor:
U = (1 / 2) × C × V²= Q² / 2C = (1 / 2) × Q × V
Energy is stored in the electric field between plates.
Units: Joules (J)
Key Factors Affecting Capacitance:
1. Plate Area (A): Increasing the area of the plates
increases the capacitance because more charge can be
stored.
2. Distance Between Plates (d): Decreasing the distance
between the plates increases the capacitance because the
electric field becomes stronger.
3. Dielectric Material: Inserting a dielectric with a higher
dielectric constant, increases the capacitance.
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Energy density of electric field:
u = (1 / 2) × ε₀ × E²
Where u = energy per unit volume, E = electric field
strength.
This helps in understanding how energy is spatially
stored in a capacitor.
Charging and discharging of capacitor in RC circuit:
Time constant τ = R × C
During charging:
q(t) = Q × (1 – e^(–t / RC))
V(t) = V₀ × (1 – e^(–t / RC))
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During discharging:
q(t) = Q × e^(–t / RC)
V(t) = V₀ × e^(–t / RC)
After time t = 5RC, capacitor is considered fully charged or
discharged.
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Electron motion during charge in capacitor:
Applications of capacitors:
* Energy storage (camera flash, defibrillators)
* Smoothing circuits in power supplies
* Coupling and decoupling in amplifiers
* Timing elements in RC circuits
* Tuned circuits in radios
* Filters in communication systems
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Important concepts and tips:
* Capacitance depends only on geometry and dielectric.
* Not dependent on charge or voltage directly.
* Inserting dielectric always increases capacitance.
* Capacitance in series decreases, in parallel increases.
* For series: same charge, voltage divides.
* For parallel: same voltage, charge divides.
Numerical conversions and tips:
1 μF = 10⁻⁶ F
1 nF = 10⁻⁹ F
1 pF = 10⁻¹² F
Always convert mm to meters and cm² to m² when using
formulas.
In energy-related questions, use correct form of U = ½
CV² or Q² / 2C.
In combination problems, check units before applying
formula.
Capacitive Reactance:
Capacitive Reactance is the complex impedance value of
a capacitor which limits the flow of electric current
through it. Capacitive reactance can be thought of as a
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variable resistance inside a capacitor being controlled by
the applied frequency.
Unlike resistance which is not dependent on frequency,
in an AC circuit reactance is affected by supply
frequency and behaves in a similar manner to resistance,
both being measured in Ohms.
Reactance affects both inductors and capacitors with
each having opposite effects in relation to the supply
frequency. Inductive reactance (XL) rises with an
increase in frequency, whereas capacitive reactance (XC)
falls.
In the RC Network tutorial we saw that when a DC
voltage is applied to a capacitor, the capacitor itself
draws a charging current from the supply and charges up
to a value equal to the applied voltage. Likewise, when
the supply voltage is reduced the charge stored in the
capacitor also reduces and the capacitor discharges.
But in an AC circuit in which the applied voltage signal
is continually changing from a positive to a negative
polarity at a rate determined by the frequency of the
supply, as in the case of a sine wave voltage. For
example, the capacitor is either being charged or
discharged on a continuous basis at a rate determined by
the supply frequency.
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Capacitive reactance against frequency:
Capacitive reactance is inversely proportional to the frequency
of the AC signal passing through the capacitor. This means
that as the frequency of the AC signal increases, the capacitive
reactance decreases, and as the frequency of the AC signal
decreases, the capacitive reactance increases.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY:
1. https://www.google.com/
2. Capacitance: Physics of Capacitance by Priyanka
Jangid
3. Capacitors Unveiled by Klemens Nguyen
4. Electrostatics: Current and Capacitors by Neetin
Agrawal
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