Capacitors

Capacitors
A capacitor is a device used to store electric charge. It consists of two metal plates (conductors) separated by some insulating material called the dielectric which is the energy storage. There are two (2) types of Capacitors 1. Electrolytic (aka. Polarized caps) 2. Non-electrolytic

Application
Capacitors are used in a variety of applications in the electronics world. Examples of its usage can be found in: Tuning radio circuits Supercapacitors are replacing car batteries Rechargeable batteries Smoothing (rectification) Cameras (flash)

Capacitance (C)
The ratio of the charge (Q) on the plates of the capacitor to the potential difference (V) across them.

S.I Unit: 1 Farad (F) = 1 C/V 1 Farad is the charge required to increase the potential difference across the plates by 1 V.

Parallel-plate Capacitors

o = Permittivity of empty space ( air o)

= 8.854x10-12 C 2/N.m2 = 1/(4k)

= Permittivity of material between plates

A = Surface Area of one of the plates (SI: m 2) d = Separation of the plates (SI: m)

Table of Dielectric constants OR Relative Permittivity (K)

Relative Permittivity (r or K)
The relative permittivity of the dielectric is given by:
= ; where 0 C0 = Capacitance of capacitor with vacuum between the plates C = Capacitance with Dielectric between the plates But C0= 0A/d , C = A/d Thus, r= /0

Tips to Note
The amount of Capacitance that a Capacitor has depends on three (3) characteristics: 1. The distance (d) between the plates of the Capacitor (m) 2. The area (A) of the plates of the Capacitor (m2) 3. The insulating material (dielectric) placed in between the plates.

Batteries vs Capacitors
Batteries Capacitors

The voltage depends on the electrochemical reactions between the anode and cathode Eventually die out

The voltage is directly proportional to the charge stored Has the ability to be recharged many times before it loses its capacity.

Pq1
(a) A capacitor of capacitance 5 mF is connected to a 6 V supply. What charge is stored in the capacitor? Ans: Q =30C (b) A 400 pF capacitor carries a charge of 2.5 x 10-8 C. What is the potential difference across the plates of the capacitor? Ans: V= 62.5V

Pq2
A capacitor is charged such that there is a charge of +20 mC on the positive plate. What is the charge on the negative plate? Ans: -20mC

Pq3
A 4700 F capacitor is connected as shown in the circuit diagram. When it is fully charged: (a)What is the charge on the positive plate of the capacitor? (b) What is the potential difference across the capacitor? (c) How many additional electrons are on the negative plate?

Solution Pq3
C = 4700F V = 4.5V a) When the Capacitor is fully charged, the voltage across the plates is equal to the voltage of the source supplying the charge. Q = CV Q = 4700 x 10-6 x 4.5 Q = 0.021C or 21mC

Solution Pq3
b) the voltage across the plates is 4.5V as the capacitor is fully charged c) the charge on an individual electron is 1.6x10-19C and the current flowing is 0.021A. Therefore the number of additional electrons is given by, # of electrons = 0.021A / 1.6 x 10-19C = 1.3 x 1017 electrons

Why use a Dielectric?

The Dielectric is any insulating material that is placed in between the two plates of the capacitor that: 1. Reduce the potential difference across the plates 2. Reduce the Electric Field strength between the plates 3. Increase the Capacitance of the Capacitor, which allows for an increase in the storage of charge.

Action of the Dielectric

Tip to Note
The Capacitance (C) of a parallel-plate capacitor is directly proportional to the permittivity () of the material between the plates

Capacitors in Series

Let C1 , C2 and C3 be the Capacitances of three Capacitors in Series The charge(Q) supplied to each capacitor will be the same but the voltage(V) across each is what varies.

 V = V1 + V2 + V3 But V = Q/C from the definition of Capacitance, Thus, Q/CT = Q/C1 + Q/C2 + Q/C3 Therefore for Capacitors in Series we have, 1/CT = 1/C1 + 1/C2 + 1/C3 CT = total Capacitance

Capacitors in Parallel

Let C1 , C2 and C3 be the Capacitances of three capacitors in Parallel. In this setup, the voltage across each Capacitor is the same, however, the charge supplied to each will be different

 Q = Q1 + Q2 + Q3 But Q=CV from the definition of Capacitance Thus, CTV = C1V + C2V +C3V Therefore for Capacitors in Parallel we have, CT = C1 + C2 + C3

Energy storage in Capacitors

Energy Stored in a Capacitor

The energy of a charged capacitor is stored in the electric field between the plates. There are (3) equations that govern the energy stored in a capacitor: = = =
2 2 2 2 2

W = energy stored in capacitor(Joules, J) C = Capacitance of Capacitor, (Farad, F) V = Voltage across capacitor, V (volts, V) Q = Charge stored on the plates of capacitor (Coulomb, C)

Q-V Graphs
1. The area under a Charge (Q) vs Voltage (V) graph or vice versa, represents the energy stored by a capacitor. Area = bh = QV = W

Tip to Note
From W = CV2 , it can be seen that if the pd is doubled, the energy stored goes up by a factor of four; energy stored is proportional to the square of the pd. The gradient of a charge (Q) against voltage (V) plot is equal to the Capacitance (C) of the capacitor. The gradient of V/V against Q gives 1/C.

Pq
The graph shows the relation between the charge on a capacitor and the pd across it.

Use the graph to find the capacitance of the capacitor.

2. Use the graph to find the energy stored, first when the pd across the capacitor is 4.0 V and again when the pd is 6.0 V.

Solution
1) The gradient of the graph gives the Capacitance (C), Gradient = (25 x 10-3 0/6 0) = 4.2mF 2) When the pd is 4.0V the charge stored is 17mC, thus the energy stored is, W = QV = x 17 x10-3 x4.0 = 0.034J Likewise, when p.d is 6.0V the charge stored is 25mC, thus energy = x25x 10-3x6.0 = 0.075J

Charging & Discharging Capacitors

Charging a Capacitor

As the capacitor charges:

charge Q flows onto the plate connected to the negative terminal of the supply

charge Q flows off the plate connected to the positive terminal of the supply, leaving it with charge +Q

the capacitor plates always have the same quantity of charge, but of the opposite sign

no charge flows between the plates of the capacitor.

Example: Discharging through a Lamp

With the switch at A, the Capacitor starts to charge until the voltage across it equals the supply voltage. At this point, that capacitor cannot contain any more charge and the current flowing is zero. Moving the switch to B, The capacitor now discharges through the lamp causing it to be brightly lit at first then grow dimmer over time.

Graphs of Charge(Q) vs time (t)

Graphs of voltage(V) against time (t)

Graphs of Current (I) vs time(t)

This graph shows that:

the charging current falls as the charge on the capacitor, and the voltage across the capacitor, rise the charging current decreases by the same proportion in equal time intervals.

Time Constant (, tau or T)

The time taken for a Capacitor to drop to 1/e or 37% of the supply voltage, charge and current is known as the time constant of the capacitor. It depends on the resistance (R) and Capacitance (C) in the circuit. = ; or T = time constant(s) R = Resistor value() C = Capacitor value (F)

Half-life of a Capacitor (t1/2)

The half-life of a RC circuit is the time taken for the charge or potential difference (p.d) across it or the discharge current through it to drop to half on any initial value.

Half-life of capacitor

Tips to Note
All graphs vary exponentially with time After: 1 time constant we have 1/e of Q, V and I 2 time constants 1/e2 (e-2) 3 time constants 1/e3 (e-3) etc. Time constant is just an indication of how quickly the capacitor discharges. The greater the time constant the longer it will take to discharge Time constant can be compared to the concept of half-life in radioactivity as they both undergo an exponential decay( the equations are similar).

Time Constant comparison

Equations for Charging & Discharging Capacitors

Charging Discharging

Q = Q0 (1- e t/RC ) = ( = (

Q = Q0 e t/RC = =

Pq1
a) Calculate the current through the resistor when the switch is first closed. b) What is the current after the switch has been closed for a long time? Explain your answer. c) Calculate the current through the resistor when the pd across the capacitor is 2.0 V.

Solution (Pq1)
a) I = V/R = 6/ 470 x 103 I = 1.3 x 10-5 A

b)When the switch is first closed, the current flowing in the circuit is a maximum. As the capacitor charges up to the p.d of the battery, the current gradually drops to zero. This happens because the p.d in the circuit is now zero (5V across battery 5V across capacitor = 0V).

Solution (Pq1)
c) when the p.d across the capacitor is 2.0V, the potential difference across the resistor is (6V 2V = 4V). So the current flowing at this time is, I = V/R I = 4/ 470 x 103 I = 8.5 x 10-6A

Pq2
A student sets up the circuit shown in the diagram.

Pq2 cont
(a) (i) She moves the switch from X to Y. Explain what happens to the capacitor. (ii) Sketch a graph to show how current varies with time from the moment the switch touches Y. Indicate typical values of current and time on the axes of your graph. (b) Calculate the maximum energy stored on the capacitor in this circuit. (c) The student wants to produce a time delay equal to the time it takes for the potential difference across the capacitor to fall to 0.07 of its maximum value. Calculate this time delay.

Solution Pq2
a) i) When the switch is moved from X to Y the capacitor starts to discharge exponentially. ii)

Solution Pq2
b) Max energy stored = CV2 = (10 x 10-6) x (10)2 = 5.0 x 10-4J c) V =V0e-t/RC ;V = 0.07V0 & V0 = 10V, RC = 0.05s 0.7 = 10 e-t/(0.05) 0.07 = e-t/(0.05) Taking the natural log (ln) of both sides, ln (0.07) = -t / 0.05 -2.7 = -t /0.05; t = 0.13s

Web links
http://www.splung.com/content/sid/3/page/ca pacitors http://www.physics.sjsu.edu/becker/physics51/ capacitors.htm