Book Reference : Pages 98-101

1. 2. 3.

To qualitatively understand how a capacitor discharges through a resistor To derive the equation which defines this rate of discharge To be able to solve capacitor discharge problems

When a charged capacitor is allowed to discharge through a fixed resistor it does so gradually until it reaches 0
Charge Discharge Switch C

V0

Fixed resistor R

We can compare this discharge with water leaving a tank through a pipe at the bottom, initially the flow rate is high because of the pressure. At the level falls so does the pressure reducing the flow rate

Look at the shape of the graphs qualitatively. They both show curves which starts at the Y axis and decay asymptotically towards the X axis
The first graph shows charge from Q=CV
[Virtual Physics Lab]

The second graph shows current from I = V/R

Consider charge, if we start at a charge of Q0, then after a certain time t the charge will decay to say only 0.9Q0 (arbitrary choice) Experimentally, we can show that after a further time t the charge has decayed to 0.9 x 0.9 Q0 after 2 t and 0.9 x 0.9 x 0.9Q0 after 3 t and 0.9n Q0 after time nt The decay is exponential

Exponential decays.... If a quantity decreases at a rate which is proportional to the quantity (left) then the decay is exponential Explaining the decrease

Consider one small step in the decay process where Q decays to Q - Q in a time t
The current at this time is given by I = V/R I = Q/CR from Q=CV, V = Q/C so

From I = Q/t if t is very small then the drop in charge Q can be rewritten as -It and I is therefore -Q/t Substituting into our earlier equation for I = Q/CR Q/t = -Q/CR

For infinitely short time intervals as t tends to 0 (t0)

Q/t represents the rate of change of charge & is written as the first differential dQ/dt hence dQ/dt = -Q/CR Solution by integration :

Q = Q0 et/RC

Where Q0 is the initial charge & e is the exponential function

From Q=CV voltage is proportional to charge, similarly from Ohms law Current is proportional to voltage. All three quantities decay in exactly the same way : Charge Q = Q0 et/RC

Voltage
Current

V = V0 et/RC
I = I0 et/RC

The quantity RC is called the time constant & is the time for the initial charge/voltage/current to fall to 0.37 of the initial value (0.37 = e-1) The units for RC are the second

A 2200F capacitor is charged to a pd of 9V and then allowed to discharge through a 100k resistor. Calculate The initial charge on the capacitor The time constant for the circuit The pd after a time equal to the time constant The pd after 300s

The initial charge on the capacitor

Using Q=CV, the initial charge Q0 is 2200F x 9V

= 0.02 C

The time constant for the circuit Time constant = RC = 100,000 x 2200F = 220s The pd after a time equal to the time constant By definition t = RC when V = V0e-1 = 0.37 x 9V = 3.3V

The pd after 300s

Using V = V0 et/RC
-t/RC = 300/220 = 1.36 (no units) V = 9 e-1.36 V = 2.3V

A 50F capacitor is charged by connecting it to a 6V battery & then discharging it through a 100k resistor. Calculate : The initial charge stored [300C]

The time constant for the circuit [5.0s]

Estimate how long the capacitor would take to discharge to about 2V [5s] Estimate the size of the resistor required in place of the 100k if 99% of the discharge is to be complete in about 5s [20k]

A 68F capacitor is charged by connecting it to a 9V battery & then discharging it through a 20k resistor. Calculate : The initial charge stored [0.61C]

The initial discharge current [0.45mA]

The pd and the discharge current 5s after the start of the discharge [0.23V, 11A]