Capacitance and Capacitors

Learning Goals The nature of capacitors, and how to

calculate their ability to store charge.
How to analyze capacitors connected
in a network.
How to calculate the amount of energy
stored in a capacitor.
What dielectrics are, and how they make
capacitors more effective.

The Nature of Capacitance

Capacitance is a measure of the ability of a
component to store charge.
A capacitor is a device specially designed to
have a certain amount of capacitance.
The parallel-plate capacitor, shows two parallel
surfaces, or plates, made of conducting
material and separated by an insulator.

 The insulator between the plates is called the

dielectric.
There are many different kinds of capacitors, and
they are categorized by the type of dielectric
material used between the conducting plates.
Although any good insulator can serve as a
dielectric, each type has characteristics that make
it more suitable for particular applications.

Electrical capacitance
Defined as the amount of charge per
volt that an object can hold

Q
C
V

Some Capacitors

conductor
insulator

Capacitance : Definition
Take two chunks of conductor
Separated by insulator

Apply a potential V between

them
Charge will appear on the
conductors, with Q+ = +CV on
the higher-potential and Q - =
-CV on the lower potential
conductor
C depends upon both the
geometry and the nature of
the material that is the
insulator

Q+ = +CV
+++++++++++
+++++++++++
V
+++++++++++

V
- ---- ---------0--------

V
C
-=

V
A Capacitor Stores

CHARGE
Apply a Potential
Difference V

And a charge
found on the
plates

Q is

charge
Q
C

Potential V
Q CV

 Anything can be a capacitor

The capacitance is defined as Q/V, but it is also
solely dependent on the geometry of the
capacitor. There should be an equation for the
capacitance that is based only on the physical
dimensions of the capacitor.
The capacitance is measured in farads (F) after
Michael Faraday

Michael Faraday (1971-1867)

10

Capacitors
A capacitor consists of two conducting plates
separated by an insulator (or dielectric).
A
C
d
r 0

0 8.854 10 12 (F/m)

11

12

 A capacitor consists of two conducting plates

separated by an insulator (Dielectric).
The amount of charge stored, represented by q, is
directly proportional to the applied voltage V.
A is the surface area of each plate, d is the distance
between the plates.
Capacitors are used to block dc, pass ac, shift phase,
store energy, start motors, and suppress noise.

Three factors affecting the value of

capacitance:
1. Area: the larger the area, the greater the
capacitance.
2. Spacing between the plates: the smaller
the spacing, the greater the capacitance.
3. Material permittivity: the higher the
permittivity, the greater the capacitance.

A
C
d

14

Dielectric
Adding a material to the space between
the plates changes the capacitance of
the capacitor

C C0

Table 20-1
Dielectric Constants
Substance

Dielectric constant,

Water

80.4

Neoprene rubber

6.7

Pyrex glass

5.6

Mica

5.4

Paper

3.7

Mylar

3.1

Teflon

2.1

Air

1.00059

Vacuum

Capacitors with dielectrics

A dielectrics is an insulating material (rubber, glass, etc.)
Consider an insolated, charged capacitor

Q
V0

Insert a dielectric

Notice that the potential difference decreases (k = V0/V)

Q
Q0
Q0
Since charge stayed
(Q=Q
capacitance
increases
C the0same

0)
C0
V
V0
V0
dielectric constant: k = C/C0
18 Dielectric constant is a material
property
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Capacitors with dielectrics

Capacitance is multiplied by a factor k when the
dielectric fills the region between the plates completely
E.g., for a parallel-plate capacitor
The capacitance is limited from above by the electric
discharge that can occur through the dielectric material
separating the plates

C 0

A
d

In other words, there exists a maximum of the electric

field, sometimes called dielectric strength, that can be
produced in the dielectric before it breaks down

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Figure 20-15
The Effect of a Dielectric on the Electric Field of a Capacitor

Effect of Dielectric Material on Capacitance

The dielectric material in a capacitor is an insulator, electrons

are strongly bound to their parent atoms and are not free to
travel under the influence of an electric field.

When an electric field is established in the dielectric by charging

the capacitor plates.

Types of Capacitors

(a) Polyester capacitor, (b) Ceramic capacitor, (c) Electrolytic

capacitor
22

Variable capacitors

23

Voltage Limit on a Capacitor

Since q=CV, the plate charge increases as the
voltage increases. The electric field intensity
between two plates increases.
If the voltage across the capacitor is so large that
the field intensity is large enough to break down
the insulation of the dielectric, the capacitor is
out of work. Hence, every practical capacitor has
a maximum limit on its operating voltage.

Ch06 Capacitors and

Inductors

24

Q1a).Calculate the charge stored on a 3- PF capacitor with 20V across it.

b). Find the energy stored in the capacitor.

a).

Q = CV
Q = 3 x 10-12 x 20 = 60 PC

b). The energy stored is,

w = CV2 = x 3x10-12 x 400
= 600 PJ

Q2. A 6-V source is required to store 24 micro Coulomb of charge on a

certain capacitor.
a). What is the capacitance of the capacitor?
b). How much charge is stored on the capacitor when a 9-V source is
connected across it?
c). What is the voltage across the capacitor when 16 micro coulomb is
stored on it?
Solution:
a).

C = Q/V = (24 x 10-6 )/6

= 4 x 10 -6 F

b).

Q = CV =

(4 x 10 -6 F) x (9V) = 36 x 10-6 C

c).

V = Q/C =

16 x 10 -6 / 4 x 10 -6 F = 4 V.

A "charged" capacitor
can store charge.
When a capacitor is
being charged, negative
charge is removed from
one side of the
capacitor and placed
onto the other, leaving
one side with a negative
charge (-q) and the
other side with a
positive charge (+q).
Any two conductors insulated from one another form a
CAPACITOR.

Combinations of capacitors
It is very often that more than one capacitor is
used in an electric circuit
We would have to learn how to compute the
equivalent capacitance of certain combinations of
capacitors
C1

C5

C3

C3
C1

C2
C2

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C4

Two Types of Connections

SERIES

PARALLEL

Two parallel flat plates

that store CHARGE is
called a capacitor.
The plates have
dimensions >>d, the plate
separation.

The electric field in a

parallel plate capacitor
is normal to the plates.
The fringing fields
can be neglected.
Actually ANY physical
object that can store
charge is a capacitor.

Q = C V
where C = eo A / d

for a parallel plate capacitor,

where eo is the permittivity of
the insulating material
(dielectric) between plates.

A charged parallel
plate capacitor.

Recall that we used Gauss's Law

to calculate the electric field (E)
between the plates of a charged
capacitor:
E = s / eo where there is a
vacuum between the plates.

Vab = E d, so E = Vab /d

The unit of capacitance is called the Farad (F).

Series combination
Analogous formula is true for any
number of capacitors,
1
1
1
1

...
Ceq C1 C2 C3

(series combination)

It follows that the equivalent capacitance of a

series combination of capacitors is always
less than any of the individual capacitance in
the combination
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Series Capacitors
v(t ) v1 (t ) v2 (t ) ... v N (t )

The equivalent capacitance of seriesconnected capacitors is the reciprocal of

the sum of the reciprocals of the individual
capacitances.

1 1 1

Ceq C1 C2

C1C2
Ceq
C1 C2
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Capacitors in series
Adding capacitors in
series,
Vtot = V1 + V2, so

1
1
1

L
Ctot C1 C2
The charge on each capacitor must be the same when
they are connected in series Why?