Basic competence: 3.

4 Describe the working principle of the circuit and power equipment direct current (DC) and alternating (AC) in ever da life Learning Outcome !. "nderstanding work principle of capacitor #. $%plain the circuit directcurrent of capacitor when charging and discharging 3. Calculating Capacitance of plates capacitor Essential Concept CAPACITOR: &t is a device which has abilit to store huge amount of electrical charge and energ . &t is also called as condenser. And used to slow down the rate of electricit and their main purpose is to provide the initial start to the device. A capacitor is composed of two conductors separated b an insulating material called a D&$'$C()&C. (he dielectric can be paper* plastic film* ceramic* air or a vacuum. (he plates can be aluminum discs* aluminum foil or a thin film of metal applied to opposite sides of a solid dielectric. (he C+,D"C(+) - D&$'$C()&C - C+,D"C(+) sandwich can be rolled into a c linder or left flat CAPACITANCE (he potential of a conductor is directl proportional to the charge present on the conductor. it is the abilit to receive the electricit . +r store the electrical charge in it is known as capacitance of a capacitor. &f A capacitor have high storage value of the electrical charge it has high value of the capacitance otherwise &f A capacitor have low storage value of the electrical charge it has low value of the capacitance .o* / a 0 +r 0 a /

0 1 (constant) / 0 1 (C/) C 102/ 3here C is equals to the capacitance of capacitor* 0 is equal to the charge present in between the plates of the capacitor and / is the 4otential or the potential difference . And the value depends upon5 !) Dimension of the conductor. #) ,ature of the medium in which the conductor is placed. &t is .calar 0uantit and its ..&. unit is 6arad (f). WORKING PRINCIPLE OF CAPACITOR: 'et us consider a metallic plate placed on an insulating stand. when the charge is given to this plate the potential increases and if we keep on giving the charge then its potential become ma%imum then after this it stops the accepting the charge. 3hen an uncharged similar plate is kept closer to it a negative charge is induced on the front phase of the plate and positive charge on the back phase of the plate. (his negative charge will tr to decrease the potential and positive charge will tr to increase the potential. .ince the negative charge is closer the decrease in the potential is more than increase. &f an uncharged plate is grounded then there will be more decrease in the potential and hence it can accept more charge. .o therefore similar and parallel plate out of which one plate grounded makes a capacitor. A capacitor consists of two conductors separated b a non-conductive region. (he non-conductive region is called the dielectric. &n simpler terms* the dielectric is 7ust an electrical insulator. $%amples of dielectric media are glass* air* paper* vacuum* and even a semiconductor depletion region chemicall identical to the conductors. A capacitor is assumed to be selfcontained and isolated* with no net electric charge and no
Charge separation in a parallel-plate capacitor causes an internal electric field. A dielectric (orange) reduces the field and increases the capacitance.

influence from an e%ternal electric field. (he conductors thus hold equal and opposite charges on their facing surfaces* and the dielectric develops an electric field. &n .& units* a capacitance of one farad means that one coulomb of charge on each conductor causes a voltage of one volt across the device. (he capacitor is a reasonabl general model for electric fields within electric circuits. An ideal capacitor is wholl characteri8ed b a constant capacitance C* defined as the ratio of charge 90 on each conductor to the voltage / between them5

C anging t e !ielectric (he effects of var ing the characteristics of the dielectric can also be used for sensing and measurement. Capacitors with an e%posed and porous dielectric can be used to measure humidit in air. Capacitors are used to accuratel measure the fuel level in airplanes: as the fuel covers more of a pair of plates* the circuit capacitance increases. "#!raulic analog# &n the h draulic analog * charge carriers flowing through a wire are analogous to water flowing through a pipe. A capacitor is like a rubber membrane sealed inside a pipe. 3ater molecules cannot pass through the membrane* but some water can move b stretching the membrane. A capacitor is analogous to a rubber membrane sealed inside a pipe. (his animation illustrates a membrane being repeatedl stretched and un-stretched b the flow of water* which is analogous to a capacitor being repeatedl charged and discharged b the flow of charge. (he analog clarifies a few aspects of capacitors5

The current alters the charge on a capacitor* 7ust as the flow of water changes the position of the membrane. ;ore specificall * the effect of an electric current is to increase the charge of one plate of the capacitor* and decrease the charge of the other plate b an equal amount. (his is 7ust like how* when water flow moves the rubber membrane* it increases the amount of water on one side of the membrane* and decreases the amount of water on the other side.

The more a capacitor is charged, the larger its voltage drop: i.e.* the more it <pushes back< against the charging current. (his is analogous to the fact that the more a membrane is stretched* the more it pushes back on the water.

Charge can flow "through" a capacitor even though no individual electron can get from one side to the other. (his is analogous to the fact that water can flow through the pipe even though no water molecule can pass through the rubber membrane. +f course* the flow cannot continue the same direction forever: the capacitor will e%perience dielectric breakdown* and analogousl the membrane will eventuall break.

(he capacitance describes how much charge can be stored on one plate of a capacitor for a given <push< (voltage drop). A ver stretch * fle%ible membrane corresponds to a higher capacitance than a stiff membrane.

A charged-up capacitor is storing potential energ * analogousl to a stretched membrane.

C anging t e !istance $et%een t e plates A capacitor with a fle%ible plate can be used to measure strain or pressure or weight. &ndustrial pressure transmitters used for process control use pressure-sensing diaphragms* which form a capacitor plate of an oscillator circuit. Capacitors are used as the sensor in condenser microphones* where one plate is moved b air pressure* relative to the fi%ed position of the other plate. .ome accelerometers use micro electro mechanical s stems (;$;.) capacitors etched on a chip to measure the magnitude and direction of the acceleration vector. (he are used to detect changes in acceleration* e.g. as tilt sensors or to detect free fall* as sensors triggering airbag deplo ment* and in man other applications. .ome fingerprint sensors use capacitors. Additionall * a user can ad7ust the pitch of a (heremin musical instrument b moving his hand since this changes the effective capacitance between the user=s hand and the antenna. C anging t e e&&ecti'e area o& t e plates Capacitive touch switches are now used on man consumer electronic products.

(et o! &or t e )etection t e Positi'e An! Negati'e Leg O& T e Capacitors: (here are certain methods b which we can easil detect the positive and the negative leg of the capacitors which are e%plained as below5 !) (he bigger leg of the capacitor is known as the 4ositive leg whereas the shorter leg of the capacitor is known as the ,egative leg of the capacitor. #) A Capacitor is covered with the covering sheet* And this Covering sheet in which the capacitor is covered contains a strip. And the leg which is much close to that strip is known as the positive leg and the leg which is far from that strip is known as the positive leg.

Capacitance o& plates capacitor

(he capacitance (C) of the plates capacitor is equal to the permittivit () times the plate area (A) divided b the gap or distance between the plates (d)5

C > A d

5 is the capacitance of the capacitor* in farad (6). 5 is the permittivit of the capacitor=s dialectic material* in farad per meter (62m). 5 is the area of the capacitor=s plate in square meters (m#?. 5 is the distance between the capacitor=s plates* in meters (m).

Student science %or*ing

!. (eacher e%plain about the capacitor

2. Demonstrating an animation about a capacitors charging with analogue of

h draulic

analog