Capacitor

Capacitor
A capacitor is an electrical device having two plates separated by an insulating material
called the dielectric. The purpose of a capacitor is to store electric charge in the form of a
field called the electrostatic field. The ability of the capacitor to store electric charge is
called capacitance. A capacitor is sometimes refer to as condensers. A simple construction
of a capacitor is shown in Figure 52 below.

Fig 52
Charging a capacitor
When a capacitor has a potential difference between its plates, it is said to be charged.
To produce a potential difference, or in other words to charge a capacitor, free electrons
are made to accumulate on one plate, and at the same time free electrons are removed
from the other plate. One plate thus has an excess of free electrons, and the other plate
has a lack of them. Since electrons are negative, the plate with the excess electrons has an
overall negative charge, while the plate from which electrons are removed has an overall
positive charge. A difference of potential or a voltage exists between the plates. Figure
53a and b below show an uncharged and a charged capacitor plates.

Fig 53a

Fig53b

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Effect of the dielectric

The insulating material used between the plates of the capacitor is called a dielectric.
The dielectric can be air, glass, paper, or even a vacuum. In fact, any insulating material
will work, but some produce a high capacitance, and therefore, are good dielectric, while
others produce a low capacitance, and so are poor dielectrics.
Dielectric strength
Each material has a property called the dielectric strength. The dielectric strength
indicates the maximum voltage that can be applied across the dielectric without it being
damaged. If the voltage is exceeded the molecules of the dielectric material will break
down, and arcing (electric spark) occurs between the dielectric and the capacitor plates.
Dielectric strength is expressed as a maximum allowable voltage for a specific type of
material.
Energy stored
A charged capacitor stores electrical energy. The capacitance C of a capacitor measures
its charge-storing ability. It is 1 farad (F) if it stores a charge of 1 coulomb when the
voltage across it is 1 volt. If the charge is 6C when the voltage is 2 volts, then
C = 6/2V = 3F.
C=Q
or Q = VC
V
Types of capacitors
There are two main types of capacitors they are fixed and variable capacitors.
Fixed capacitors (Figure 54)
There are two types of fixed capacitors, and they are the polarized and non-polarized
capacitors. The polarize capacitor have a fixed negative and positive terminal, and must
be connected so that there is a dc flowing in the correct direction. The non-polarize
capacitor can be connected any way around. The diagrams below show different types of
fixed capacitors.

Fig 54

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Construction method of fixed capacitor (Figure 55)

The Swiss roll method of construction used for polarized capacitors is shown in the
diagram below. Some other types are made in this way, but a very thin metal film is
deposited on each side of a flexible strip of the dielectric to act as the plates. In mica and
ceramic capacitors the plates consists of a deposit of silver on a thin sheet of mica or
ceramic.

Fig 55
Capacitance codes
In one method, the value is marked on the capacitor in uF, nF or pF with the
submultiples abbreviation being used to indicate any decimal point. For example, 2.2 nF
is shown as 2n2 and 4.2 pF as 4p7.
In another method, a three digit code is used like the resistor colour code but the
numbers are printed on the capacitor rather than encoded in colours. The first two digits
are the first two numbers of the value and the third gives the number of zeroes (0) to be
added to the first two digits to give the value in Pico-farads.
For example, a capacitor marked 103 has a value of 10 plus 3 zeros, which is 10,000pF.
The table below gives more examples.

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Variable capacitor
A variable Capacitor is designed to allow its user to change its value (Figure 56). It is
usually used to tune radio by altering the overlap between a fixed set of metal plates and
a moving set, separated by a dielectric of air. Small variable capacitors called trimmers or
preset are used to make fine, in frequent changes to the capacitance of a circuit. The
diagram below shows a variable capacitor.

Fig 56
Series capacitors
To obtain a desirable value of capacitance, capacitors are often connected in series. The
total capacitance of the series combination is less than the capacitance of any individual
capacitor. The reason is that the series combination acts like a single capacitor, with a
separation between the plates equal to the sum of the separations of the individual
capacitors. The larger the separation between the plates is the lower the capacitance.
Capacitance and capacitive reactance
The total capacitance of series capacitors is calculated the same way as the total
resistance of parallel resistors. The capacitive reactance is inversely proportional to
capacitance. Therefore, if the total capacitance of series capacitors is reduced then the
capacitive reactance will increase. Also if the capacitance is increased then the capacitive
reactance will be reduced. The capacitance is usually measured in Micro Farad (uF) while
the symbol for capacitive reactance is Xc.
Voltage drop across series capacitors
The voltage drop across each individual capacitor of a series combination is directly
proportional to the reactance of that capacitor. The voltage drop can be calculated by the
equation E = IXc, where I is the series circuit current, which is the same through each
capacitor of the combination, and Xc is the reactance of the particular capacitor. Since
voltage drop is directly proportional to capacitive reactance, which in turn, is inversely
proportional to the capacitance. Thus, in a series combination, the capacitor with the
lowest capacitance has the largest voltage drop across it.

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The diagrams in Figure 57 shows capacitors connected in series and the formula to find
capacitance and capacitive reactance.

Fig 57
Another way of writing the formula to find total capacitance is:
1 = 1 + 1 +
1
Ctot
C1
C2
C3
Example
If three capacitors have capacitance values of 100uF, 300uF, and 400uF connected in
series, calculate the total capacitance.
C1 = 100uF
C2 = 300uF
C3 = 400uF
1 =
Ctot

1
+
100uF
4
+

1
+
200uF
2
+
400

1
400uF
1

7
400

1 =
7
Ctot
400
Note - since one (1) is divided by the total capacitance (Ctot) and is
equal to 7 divided by 400, the fraction has to be removed. Therefore, the 1 divided by
Ctot has to be inverted and also the 7 divided by 400.
Inverting the fraction
Ctot
=
400
1
7
Ctot =

one divided into anything is the same. Ctot = 400

7

57uF

The symbol for capacitive reactance is Xc, and it is measured in ohms. The formula to
find capacitive reactance is:

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Xc =

1
2 fc

Example
If a capacitor has capacitance of 400uF, and it is connected in a circuit of source 110volts
and a frequency of 50hertz, what is the capacitive reactance?
Xc =

1
2 fc
2 x 3.14 x 50Hz x 400uF
400uF has to be converted to F. uF represents 1/1000000, therefore 400 has to be divided
by 1000000. 400uF then represents 0.0004F. In the formula 400uF has to be replaced by
0.0004F.
Xc =
1
2 x 3.14 x 50Hz x 0.0004
Xc =

Xc =

1
0.1256

Xc = 7.96 ohms

Parallel capacitors (Figure 58)

When capacitors are connected in parallel, the total capacitance is equal to the sum of
the individual capacitor. The reason for this is that parallel capacitors act as a single
capacitor having a plate area equal to the sum of the plate area of the individual capacitor.
With a large plate area, the capacitance is increased. As a result, the total capacitance of
capacitors is found by adding the individual capacitances, just as with series resistors.
The total reactance is found by adding individual reactance like parallel resistors.

Fig 58
Finding total capacitance in parallel
The formula to find total capacitance in a parallel circuit is:
Ctot = C1 + C2 + C3.etc

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Example, if three capacitors are connected in parallel and have capacitance values of
200uF, 1000uF, and 300uF respectively. Calculate the total capacitance.
C1 = 200uF C2 = 1000uF C3 = 300uF
Ctot = C1 + C2 + C3

Ctot = 1500uF

Ctot = 200uF + 1000uF + 300uF

Finding total capacitive reactance in parallel
The formula to find total capacitive reactance in parallel:
1=
1
+
1
+
1
Xctot
Xc1
Xc2
Xc3
Example, if three capacitors of values 200uF, 300uF, and 400uF are connected in parallel
in a circuit of 24volts and a frequency of 50 hertz, calculate the total capacitive reactance.
Xc1 =
1
Xc1 =
1
2 fc
2 x 3.14 x 50Hz x 0.0002F
Xc1 =

1
0.0628

Xc2 =

1
2

Xc1 = 15.92ohms

Xc2 =
fc

1
2 x 3.14 x 50Hz x 0.0003F

Xc2 =

1
0.0942

Xc2 = 10.6Ohms

Xc3 =

1
2 fc

Xc3 =

Xc3 =

1
0.1256

Xc3 = 7.96Ohms

1=
Xctot

1
+
Xc1

1
= 1
Xctot
15.92

1
+
Xc2
1
10.6

1
2 x 3.14 x 50Hz x 0.0004F

1
Xc3
1
7.96

1
Xctot = 0.0628 + 0.09433 + 0.1256

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1
Xctot = 0.28273Ohms
Xctot =

1
Xctot = 3.536Ohms
0.28273
The total capacitive reactance in the parallel circuit is 3.536Ohms.
Capacitor in a dc circuit (Figure 59)
As electrons flow into the negative plate of a capacitor and out of the positive plate, the
increasing electrostatic field causes a voltage to be built up across the capacitor. This
voltage starts from zero when the circuit is first closed, and increases as more and more
electrons enter the negative plate and a like number leave the positive plate. The voltage
built up across the capacitor has a polarity opposite to that of the battery supplying the
current. As a result, the voltage across the capacitor opposes the battery voltage. The total
circuit voltage, therefore, consist of two series opposing voltages.
As the voltage across the capacitor increases, the effective circuit voltage, which is the
difference between the battery voltage and the capacitor voltage, decreases. This in turn
causes a decrease in circuit current. When the voltage across the capacitor equals the
battery voltage, the effective voltage in the circuit is zero, and so current flow stops. At
this point the capacitor is fully charged, and no further current can flow in the circuit. The
current that flows in the circuit while the capacitor is charging is called the charging
current. The diagrams below show the charging of a capacitor.

Fig 59
Capacitor time constant
When a capacitor is connected to a source of dc voltage, it charges very rapidly. If there
was no resistance in the charging circuit, the capacitor would become fully charged
almost instantly. Resistance has the effect of causing a delay in the time required for
charging. However, since every circuit has some resistance, it takes some definite amount
of time for a capacitor to become charged. The exact amount of time required is
dependent on both the resistance (R) in the charging circuit, and the capacitance (C) of
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the capacitor. The relationship between these two quantities and the charging time is
expressed by the equation:
t = RC
The t is the capacitive time constant, representing the time required for the capacitor to
charge to 63.2 percent of its fully charged voltage. In each succeeding time constant, the
voltage across the capacitor increases an additional 63.2 percent of the remaining voltage.
Thus, after the second time constant the capacitor has charged to 86.4 percent of its
maximum voltage. This continues to the fifth time constant adding 63.2 percent for each
time constant. The fifth time constant will record a voltage of more than 99 percent of the
source voltage. The capacitor is considered to be fully charged after a period of five time
constant. The diagrams in figure 60a and b show the rising and falling of the capacitor
voltage during five time constant.

Fig 60a

Fig 60b

Questions:
1. What is a capacitor?
2. What are the parts of a capacitor?
3. What happens when a capacitor is being charged?
4. How does the dielectric affect the operation of a capacitor?
5. What are the types of capacitors?
6. What is capacitive reactance?
7. What is the effect on capacitance when capacitors are connected in series?
8. What is the effect on capacitance when capacitors are connected in parallel?
9. Calculate the capacitive reactance of a capacitor of capacitance 100 uF connected
in a circuit of 12 volts with a frequency of 60 Hz.
10. Explain the effect of charging a capacitor in a dc circuit.

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