Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
by
William F. Faissler
1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
a. Why We Study Capacitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
b. Capacitance Defined . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
c. A Summary of What Follows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
2. Capacitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
a. The Parallel Plate Capacitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
CAPACITANCE AND CAPACITORS b. The Cylindrical Capacitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
c. A Generalization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
d. The Units of Capacitance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
e. Capacitors Are Neutral . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
f. The Voltage-Current Relation in a Capacitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
g. The Symbol for a Capacitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
+++ +++ A
+ 3. Useful Relationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
--- --- B a. The Energy Stored in a Charged Capacitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
b. Capacitors in Parallel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
- + + C
c. Capacitors in Series . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
- - D
4. [
4. a ........................................................9
b. Electric Fields in Dielectrics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
c. An Atomic Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
d. Dielectric Breakdown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
1
ID Sheet: MISN-0-135
Output Skills (Knowledge): New authors, reviewers and field testers are welcome.
S1. Calculate the capacitance of a given series and/or parallel combi- c 2001, Peter Signell for Project PHYSNET, Physics-Astronomy Bldg.,
°
nation of capacitors. Mich. State Univ., E. Lansing, MI 48824; (517) 355-3784. For our liberal
use policies see:
http://www.physnet.org/home/modules/license.html.
3 4
MISN-0-135 1 MISN-0-135 2
by dV
i=C (4)
William F. Faissler dt
5 6
MISN-0-135 3 MISN-0-135 4
7 8
MISN-0-135 5 MISN-0-135 6
9 10
MISN-0-135 7 MISN-0-135 8
QT
Q
+
C1 V1
- Q
Q
Q1 Q2 Q3 QT +
C2 V2 V
V - C EQ
Q
+
C1 C2 C3 C EQ C3 V3
-
so V = V 1 + V2 + V3 .
CEQ = C1 + C2 + C3
If the same charge were put on the equivalent capacitor, then the voltage
If n capacitors are connected in parallel, this derivation can be generalized across it would be
to show that the equivalent capacitance is given by: Q
V =
CEQ
CEQ = C1 + C2 + . . . + Cn .
Since this is the equivalent capacitor, one that can replace the three capac-
itors, then the two voltages must be the same. Combining these equations
11 12
MISN-0-135 9 MISN-0-135 10
gives:
Q Q Q Q
= + + +Q
CEQ C1 C2 C3
so
1 1 1 1
= + +
CEQ C1 C2 C3 Dielectric d
From the derivation above, it should be clear that if n capacitors are put
in series, the equivalent capacitance would be
-Q
1 1 1 1
= + + ... +
CEQ C1 C2 Cn
Figure 6. A parallel plate capacitor with dielectric between
the plates.
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MISN-0-135 11 MISN-0-135 12
Glossary
• capacitance: the charge-storing capability of a capacitor, dependent
on the geometrical configuration of the capacitor.
15 16
MISN-0-135 PS-1 MISN-0-135 PS-2
a.
PROBLEM SUPPLEMENT
b.
ke = 8.99 × 109 N m2 C−2
L
A particular cylindrical capacitor consists of two coaxial cylindrical e.
metal shells with the dimensions given in the figure above. Compute
the capacitance of the system.
4. In Sec. 2d of the text a statement was made that the unit of capaci-
tance, the farad, is a very large unit. In order to begin to get a feeling
for how large one farad is, suppose you had a parallel plate capacitor
with square plates separated by a 1 mm air gap. If the capacitance
is 1 F, how wide must the plates be? Also, calculate the width of the
plates for 1 µF, 1 nF, and 1 pF capacitors.
5. Compute the equivalent capacitances for the following arrangements
of four capacitors, each of 8.0 pF capacitance:
17 18
MISN-0-135 PS-3 MISN-0-135 PS-4
C1 C2
19 20
MISN-0-135 PS-5 MISN-0-135 AS-1
5. Ceq = (a) 2.0 pF; (b) 32.0 pF; (c) 8.0 pF; (d) 8.0 pF; (e) 3.2 pF; (f)
6.0 pF; (g) 10.7 pF; (h) 4.8 pF
SPECIAL ASSISTANCE SUPPLEMENT
6.
(6.00 m2 )
µ ¶
W = ×
(2)(4π)(8.99 × 109 N m2 C−2 )
(144 V)2 (120 V)2
µ ¶
−
1.50 × 10−3 m 1.25 × 10−3 m
7. U = 3.06 × 10−4 J; U 0 = 3.67 × 10−4 J; W = 6.1 × 10−5 J Help: [S-2] ;
= 6.1 × 10−5 J .
the increase in energy stored is equal to the work done on the capac-
itor.
8. a. 34 pF
b. increases
c. decreases; Q is now constant while C increases, and
1 Q2
µ ¶
U= .
2 C
9. 6.6 × 10−11 F = 66 pF
C1 C2
10. CEQ = + C3 + C4
C1 + C 2
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MISN-0-135 ME-1
MODEL EXAM
C1 C2
C3
C4
Brief Answers:
23 24