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Chapter 13 Capacitor

13.1 Capacitance
13.2 Parallel plate capacitors
13.3 Dielectrics
13.4 Capacitors in series and in parallel
13.5 Energy stored in a charged capacitor
13.6 Charging and discharging of a capacitor

Introduction

Capacitors store small amounts of electric charge.

Figure 13 - 1

A capacitor is a can full of thin metal sheets held very close together but separated by an
insulator. You pump electrons in to charge up the plates, and then the capacitor can pump
electrons out again to power a circuit. A capacitor is much simpler than a battery, as it can't
produce new electrons -- it only stores them. Inside the capacitor, the terminals connect to two
metal plates separated by a non-conducting substance, or dielectric (insulator) .In theory, the
dielectric can be any non-conductive substance. However, for practical applications, specific
materials are used that best suit the capacitor's function. Mica, ceramic, cellulose, porcelain,
Mylar, Teflon and even air are some of the non-conductive materials used. The dielectric dictates
what kind of capacitor it is and for what it is best suited. Depending on the size and type of
dielectric, some capacitors are better for high frequency uses, while some are better for high
voltage applications. Capacitors can be manufactured to serve any purpose, from the smallest
plastic capacitor in your calculator, to an ultra-capacitor that can power a commuter bus. NASA
uses glass capacitors to help wake up the space shuttle's circuitry and help deploy space probes.
Here are some of the various types of capacitors and how they are used.
Air - Often used in radio tuning circuits
Mylar - Most commonly used for timer circuits like clocks, alarms and counters
Glass - Good for high voltage applications
Ceramic - Used for high frequency purposes like antennas, X-ray and MRI machines
Super capacitor - Powers electric and hybrid cars

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A battery is a can full of chemicals and metals. An electrochemical reaction produces voltage and
current.

13.1 Capacitance
(a) define capacitance;

A capacitor can be charged by connecting a battery across it. The higher the PD V, the greater
the charge Q stored. Experiments show that Q  V. Therefore, Q/V is a constant.
The capacitance C of a capacitor is defined as follows:
Charge,Q
Capacitance, C 
Potential Different, V

Q
C (Chap13.1)
V
The higher the capacitance, the more charge is stored for any given PD.
Capacitance is measured in C V-1, known as a farad (F). However, a farad is a very large unit,
and the F (10-6 F) is more commonly used for practical capacitors.

Example 13.1
Charges on a pair of parallel plates are 20 C, when 2 V potential differences are supplied.
Calculate
(a) Capacitance
(b) Charges stored when PD is 1.5 V?
Solution:
(a) Capacitance of the parallel plate is:
Q 2.0  10 5 C
C   0.1F
V 2V
(b) When the PD is reduce to 1.5V the charges left is :
Q  CV  0.1 10 6 F  1.5V  0.15C

13.2 Parallel Plate capacitors

(b) describe the mechanism of charging a parallel plate capacitor;
Q  A
(c) use the formula C  to derive C  0 for the capacitance of a parallel plate capacitor;
V d

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Electric field near a charged metal sphere

Figure 13 - 2. The charged metal sphere.

On the top, a metal sphere has a charge Q uniformly distributed over its surface. The electric
field, E near the surface is given by equation:
Q
E (Chap13.2)
4 0R 2
But the surface area of the sphere A = 4R2. So
Q
E (Chap13.3)
0A
The capacitance of the metal sphere is given by
Q
C
V
The electric potential of the charged metal sphere is
Q
V
4 0R
Q
 4 0R
V

C  4 0R (Chap13.4)

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Mechanism of charging a parallel plate capacitor

Q
This equation E  also applies to a flat charged metal plate of surface area A. The
0A
electronic device with two metal arrange in parallel is called capacitor. The simplest form of
capacitor is made up of two parallel metal plates, separated by an air gap.

Figure 13 - 3. The simplest Capacitor, the permittivity of space is 0 and the electric field strength is E.

The capacitor above has been connected to a battery so that the PD across its plates is V. As a
result, it is storing a charge Q. (This means that charge Q has been transferred, leaving -Q on
one plate and +Q on the other, when it is fully charge and current will not flow anymore)
Q
From equation chap13.2 above we know E 
0A
V
From equation E 
d
Q 0A
From these, it follows that 
V d
Q
But capacitance, C 
V
0A
So C 
d
0A
From this equation C 
d
we can conclude that capacitance in a parallel plate is only depend on area A and
distance d
• C  A , so a larger plate area gives a higher C.

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1
• C , so a smaller plate separation gives a higher C.
d

Example 13.2
The capacitance of parallel-plate capacitor is 8.4 pF. It consists of two parallel plates separated
by a distance of 2.0 mm. the capacitor is charged to 6.0 V.
(a) calculate the area of each plate
The charged capacitor is then disconnected from the charging voltage. The separation
between the plates is reduced to 0.50 mm.
(b) what is the new capacitance of the capacitor
(c) Calculate the PD between the plates.

Solution:
(a) The Area of each plate is :
0A
C
d
Cd
A
0
8.4  10 12 F (2.0  10 3 m )

8.854  10 12
 1.897  10 3 m
(b)The new capacitance when the separation between plates is 0.50mm is :
0A
C' 
d'
 0  Cd 
  
d '   0 
8.4  10 12 F (0.5  10 3 m )

2.0  10 3 m
 2.1 10 12 F

(c) The capacitor has the same amount of charges, but now only the separation of the
plate is reducing.
The amount of charges is:
Q
C
V
Q  CV  8.4  10 12 F (6.0V )  5.04  10 11C
The PD for the new capacitance is :

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Q
C
V
Q 5.04  10 11C
V  ' 
'
 24V
C 2.1 10 12 F
13.3 Dielectrics
(d) define relative permittivity  r (dielectric constant);
(e) describe the effect of a dielectric in a parallel plate capacitor
r0A
(f) use the formula C 
d

Dielectric

Figure 13 - 4

1. If the gap between the capacitor plates is filled with a material such as polythene, the
capacitance is increased. Any insulating material which has this effect is called a dielectric. In
practice, this is achieved by rolling up two long strips of foil with a thin dielectric between them.
2. Placing the dielectric in between foil have three functions:
(a) to make sure the plate do not actually contact with each other, even though the
gap is very small.
(b) Increasing the potential different between capacitor plates. Insulting material can
withstand larger electric field without experiencing the dielectric breakdown. So the
capacitors will store great amount of energy. Dielectric breakdown is a partial
ionization that allowed conduction through it.
(c) Increasing the capacitance of the capacitor. From the experiment its shows that,
the ratio of the capacitance with dielectric C and capacitance without inserting
dielectric C 0 is constant, the constant named as dielectric constant,  .

C

C0
The total charge in the capacitor is always the same with or without the dielectric.

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Figure 13 - 5
3. The dielectric constant,  also called the relative permittivity  r , indicates how easily a
material can become polarized by imposition of an electric field on an insulator (dielectric).

4. The capacitance of the parallel plate capacitor when inserted with dielectric is
 0 A
C or C  C0
d
The dielectric constant  , of the dielectric is the factor by which the capacitance is increased.

5. In electrolytic capacitors, the dielectric is formed by the chemical action of a current. This
gives a very thin dielectric, and a very high capacitance. But the capacitor must always be
used with the same plate positive, or the chemical action is reversed. Capacitors have a
maximum working voltage above which the dielectric breaks down and starts to conduct.

Example 13.3
A capacitor parallel plate with surface area is 0.40 m2 and separated by 0.20 cm
(a) Calculate the capacitance if the space between plates is filled with
i. vacuum
ii. insulator with dielectric constant 2.3
(b) When there is insulator (dielectric) inside the plates, the insulation is decrease,
electric field become 1.8 x 105 V cm-1. What is the maximum PD can be supplied
to the capacitor?

Solution:
(a) Capacitance of the capacitor when the gap between plates
(i) Filled with vacuum, C 0

0A 8.55  10 12 (0.4m 2 )

C0    1.77  10 9 F
d 0.20  10 2
(ii) Filled with insulator with dielectric constant, C

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C  C0  2.3(1.77  10 9 F )  4.07  10 9 F

(b) The maximum PD can be supplied the Electric Field inside the capacitor is
1.8 x 105 V cm-1
V
E
d
V  Ed
 1.8  10 5Vcm 1 (0.2cm)
 3.6  10 4 V

13.4 Capacitor in series and parallel

(g) Derive and use the formulae for effective capacitance of capacitors in series and in parallel;

Capacitors in series

Figure 13 - 6
1. If C1, and C2 have a total capacitance of C, then C is the single capacitance which could
replace them (C is the effective capacitance).
2. Two capacitors in series store only the same amount of charge Q each ,
Q Q
So, V1  and V2  . But the total PD, V  V1  V2
C1 C2

Q Q Q 1 1 1
So   Or  
C C1 C2 C C1 C2

The Effective Capacitance is given by

1
C
1 1

C1 C2

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Example 13.4
Three capacitors 6.0 F, 3.0 F and 2.0 F are connected in series with 12 V. Determine
(a) Effective capacitance
(b) Charges for every capacitor
(c) PD for every capacitor
Solution:
(a) The Effective capacitance, CR

1 1 1 1
  
CR 6.0F 3.0F 2.0F
 1.0F
(b) Three capacitors in series stores the same charges as a single capacitor.
Q  CRV  (1.0F )12.0V  12C
(d) PD for every capacitor’s.
Capacitor 6.0F:
Q 12C
V6.0    2.0V
C6.0 6.0F
Capacitor 3.0F:
Q 12C
V3.0    4.0V
C3.0 3.0F
Capacitor 2.0F:
Q 12C
V2.0    6.0V
C2.0 2.0F

Capacitors in parallel

Figure 13 - 7
1. If C1, and C2 have a total capacitance of C, then C is the single capacitance which could
replace them (C, is the effective capacitance).
Capacitors in parallel each have the same PD, V across them.
So ,the total charges, Q  CV

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And Q1  C1V and Q2  C2V

Together, the capacitors act like a single capacitor with a larger plate area.
So Q  Q1  Q2
In parallel the total charges is conserve.
CV  C1V  C2V
and C  C1  C 2

Example 13.5

Figure 13 - 8
In the circuit above, calculate
(a) Charges for every capacitor
(b) Effective capacitance
Solution:
(a) Inside the parallel capacitors the shared the same PD, then charges will not the
same.
Charges in C1 :

Q1  C1V  1F(50V )  50C

Charges in C 2 :

Q2  C2V  2F(50V )  100C

(b) The resultant capacitance
C  C1  C2  1F  2F  3F

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The effect of capacitance for variation of dielectric arrangement inside the capacitor

Figure 13 - 9. The dielectric can be align in series or parallel inside the capacitor.

13.5 Energy stored by a capacitor

1 1 Q2 1
(h) use the formulae U  QV ,U  and U  CV 2 (derivations are not required);
2 2 C 2

Work must be done to charge up a capacitor. Electrical potential energy is stored as a result.
If a charge of 2 C is moved through a steady PD of 10 V, then, using equation
W
Electrical potential, V  ,
Q
work done W = QV = 2 x 10 = 20 J.

So the stored energy is 20 J, numerically, this is the area under the graph below.

Figure 13 - 10

Energy stored in Capacitor

When a capacitor is being charged, Q and V are related as in the graph below. As before, the
1 Q
energy stored is numerically equal to the area under the graph, which is QV . As C  ,
2 V
this can be expressed in three ways:
1 1 2 1 Q2
Energy stored, Estored  QV  CV 
2 2 2C

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Figure 13 - 11
Example 13.6
A capacitor 6.0 F is connected in series to the capacitor 10 F. The charges stored in every
capacitor is 40 C. Calculate the electric potential energy that is stored in both capacitor.

Solution:
Energy stored in 6 F capacitor :

1 1 2 1 Q 2 (40C )2
E6 F  QV  CV    133 J
2 2 2C 2(6F )
Energy stored in 10 F capacitor :

1 1 2 1 Q 2 ( 40C )2
E10 F  QV  CV    80J
2 2 2 C 2(10F )
Total Energy = 133 F  80 F  213 F

13.6 Charging and discharging

(i) describe the charging and discharging process of a capacitor through a resistor;
(j) define the time constant, and use the formula   RC ;
t t t
  
(k) derive and use the formulae Q  Q 0 (1  e  ) , V  V0 (1  e ) and I  I0e
  for charging a
capacitor through a resistor;
t t t
  
(l) derive and use the formulae Q  Q0e  , V  V0e  , and I  I0e  for discharging a
capacitor through a resistor;
(m) solve problems involving charging and discharging of a capacitor through a resistor.

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Charging a capacitor

1. The capacitor below is ready to be charged through a resistance R.

Figure 13 - 12
The figure shows a simple circuit for charging a capacitor. A circuit such as this has a
resistor and a capacitor in series is called an R-C circuit. During this time, the switch is
opened.
- The idealize the battery (or power supply) to have a maximum e.m.f V0 and
zero internal resistance (r = 0), and we neglect the resistance of all the
connecting conductors.
- The capacitor is uncharged.
- There is no current flow
- Resistance is R
2. When the switch is on at time t = 0, the current, I begins at the same instant in every conducting
part of the circuit, and at each instant the current is the same in every part.

Figure 13 - 13
- The potential difference across capacitor, Vc is zero. The voltage VR across the resistor
R is equal to the battery e.m.f, V0.
- The initial current through the resistor, which we will call I0, is given by Ohm's law:
𝑉𝑅 𝐸
𝐼 = 𝐼0 = =
𝑅 𝑅
- The charge on the capacitor is zero

3. Suppose that at time t (sometime after the switch S is closed), the current I is in the circuit.
- As the capacitor being charges, its voltage Vc increases and the potential difference
VR across the resistor decreases, corresponding to a decrease in current. The sum of

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these two voltages is constant and equal to E. After a long time the capacitor becomes
fully charged, the current decreases to zero, and the potential difference VR across the
resistor becomes zero. Then the entire battery e.m.f E appears across the capacitor and
Vc = E.
Note: Capacitor cannot be charged if it’s not connected to a resistor.
From Kirchhoff's loop law, Then we can say that :
𝑉𝑜 = 𝑉𝐶 + 𝑉𝑅
∴ 𝑉𝑅 = 𝑉0 − 𝑉𝐶
where V0 is the EMF,E.
If Q is the charge that is filled in the capacitor then
𝑄
𝑉𝑐 =
𝐶
and
𝑉𝑅 = 𝐼𝑅

𝑄
𝐼𝑅 = 𝑉0 −
𝐶
This is the general equation for the circuit above.
4. At the instant the switch S is closed, that is t = 0 and Q = 0 and the initial value of current is
given by
𝑄
𝑉0 = 𝐼𝑅 +
𝐶
= 𝐼𝑅 + 0
Then
𝑉0
𝐼0 =
𝑅
It’s the initial value for the current in the circuit.
𝑄
5. Now we can differentiate 𝑉0 = 𝐼𝑅 + toward time to find the current at any instant.
𝐶
𝑑 𝑑 𝑄
𝑉0 = [𝐼𝑅 + ]
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡 𝐶
𝑑𝐼 1 𝑑𝑄
0= 𝑅+
𝑑𝑡 𝐶 𝑑𝑡
𝑑𝑄
Here we know that 𝑑𝑡
is current I. then
𝑑𝐼 1
0= 𝑅+ 𝐼
𝑑𝑡 𝐶
𝑑𝐼
𝑑𝑡 = −𝑅𝐶
𝐼
𝑡 𝐼
𝑑𝐼
∫ 𝑑𝑡 = −𝑅𝐶 ∫
0 𝐼0 𝐼

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𝑡 = −𝑅𝐶(𝑙𝑛𝐼 − 𝑙𝑛𝐼0 )
𝐼
𝑡 = −𝑅𝐶𝑙𝑛 ( )
𝐼0
𝐼
= 𝑒−𝑡/𝑅𝐶
𝐼0

𝐼
6. From this equation 𝐼0
= 𝑒−𝑡/𝑅𝐶 we can conclude that :

Figure 13 - 14
7. The time constant in charging capacitor ,   CR is the time taken for the current to drop to
1
or 37% of its initial value.
e

Example 13.7
A Capacitor 2 F charged with PD 1.5 V , then it is discharge through a resistor 60k .
(a) What is the time constant for the discharge circuit.
(b) Determine time for the charge to decrease into :
1
i. from initial
e
1
ii. from initial
100
Solution:
(a) The time constant,  for this capacitor is:

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  RC  60k(2F )  0.12s
(b) Time for the charge to decrease into :
1
i. from initial
e
1
The charge to decrease into from initial would mean :
e
t
Q 1 
 from the equation Q  Q0e RC we can rearrange the equation
Q0 e
into:
t
Q 
 e RC
Q0
t
1 
e 
e
t
 1
ln e  ln( )

e
t 1
  ln( )
 2.718281828
t  [ln(0.367879441)]( 0.12s )
 1( 0.12s )
 0.12s

1
ii. from initial
100

1
The charge to decrease into from initial would mean :
100
t
Q 1 
 from the equation Q  Q0e RC we can rearrange the equation
Q0 100
into:

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t
Q 
 e RC
Q0
t
1 
e 
100
t
 1
ln e 
 ln( )
100
t
  ln( 0.01)

t  [ 4.605170186 ](0.12s )
 0.553s

Discharge of a capacitor

Figure 13 - 15
1. The capacitor above is charged from a battery and then discharged through a resistance R.
The charge on the capacitor, Q and the potential difference across the capacitor, Vc will
decrease by time. Meaning that the quantity of PD and Charge are depending on time. To
explain what happen to the quantities we need to analyze through time frame.

Figure 13 - 16
2. At instant the switch is closed, time, t = 0
- The charge on the capacitor 𝑄0 = 𝐶𝑉0
- The PD across capacitor V0
- The PD across the resistor, 𝑉𝑅 = 𝐼0 𝑅 = 𝑉0
𝑉0
- The current, 𝐼0 =
𝑅

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3. After a time, t
-The PD across the capacitor is V
- The charge on the capacitor, 𝑄 = 𝐶𝑉
𝑑𝑄 𝑑𝑉
- The current in the circuit 𝐼 = − = −𝐶
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡

(-ve is added because of the decreasing charge in circuit.)

- The PD across the resistor
𝑑𝑉
𝑉𝑅 = 𝐼𝑅 = 𝑉 = (−𝐶 )𝑅
𝑑𝑡
Rearrange
𝑑𝑉
𝑉 = −𝐶𝑅
𝑑𝑡
𝑑𝑉 1
=− 𝑑𝑡
𝑉 𝐶𝑅
𝑉 𝑡
1 1
∫ 𝑑𝑉 = ∫ 𝑑𝑡
𝑉0 𝑉 0 𝐶𝑅

1
ln[𝑉]𝑉𝑉0 = − [𝑡]𝑡
𝐶𝑅 0
𝑡
𝑉 = 𝑉0 𝑒−𝐶𝑅
So PD across the resistor at time, t is
𝑡
𝑉𝑅 = 𝑉 = 𝑉0 𝑒−𝐶𝑅
This voltage also flow through the capacitor.
-The Charge, Q on the capacitor
𝑡
𝑄 = 𝐶𝑉 = 𝐶𝑉0 𝑒−𝐶𝑅
𝑡
𝑄 = 𝑄0 𝑒−𝐶𝑅
-The current, I in the circuit
𝑑𝑄
𝐼=−
𝑑𝑡
𝑑 𝑡
= − 𝑄0 𝑒−𝐶𝑅
𝑑𝑡
𝑡
= 𝐼0 𝑒−𝐶𝑅
4. Graphically this can be summarize as

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Figure 13 - 17
5. The time constant, 𝜏 is the time that the charge (PD or Current) to become 37% percent of it
original value. That time is 𝜏 = 𝐶𝑅 of R-C circuit.

Example 18.8
The circuit shows a 3F charged by a battery of e.m.f 6V with the switch at P. The switch is
then connected to Q. The charge is the shared with 6F capacitor with the switch at Q.

What is the charge remains in the 3F ?

Solving Problem strategy
1. when P is connected, the 3F is charged by 6V potential different, the charge inside the
3F is Q0.
2. then the switch is connected to Q, the positive charge of Q0 (+Q0) is distributed over the
upper plate of both capacitor 3F and 6F, together with the negative charge of Q0 (-Q0) is
distributed over a lower plates of both capacitor. This is the chemical process and it’s known as
the Conservation of the charge.
3. In the final state, when the charge are no longer moving, both upper plate are the same
potential, because they are connected with the same wire, so they form a single equipotential
surface. Both lower plates are also at the same potential, different from that of the upper plate.

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 SMK PAHI – PRA U
Physic 960
amimo edu
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The final potential difference V between the plates is therefore the same for both capacitors. So
this is a parallel connection.

Solution:
1. The charge, Q0 on 3F is
𝑄0 = 𝐶𝑉0 = 3𝜇𝐹(6𝑉) = 18𝜇𝐶
2. Both capacitor will have the sum of charges as Q0.
Q 0 = Q1 + Q 2
3. Both capacitor will form the same potential different, V (this is the parallel connection)
𝑄1 = 𝐶1 𝑉 And 𝑄2 = 𝐶2 𝑉
From these three concept we can solve the problem given :
𝐶1
𝑄1 = ( )𝑄
𝐶1 + 𝐶2 0

3𝜇𝐹
𝑄1 = ( ) 18𝜇𝐶 = 6𝜇𝐶
3𝜇𝐹 + 6𝜇𝐹

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