Lecture

Learning Target
1. Definition of Capacitance
2. Calculating Capacitance
3. Energy Stored in a Charged Capacitor
4. Capacitors with Dielectrics
1
Capacitors are commonly used in a
variety of electric circuits. For
instance, they are used to tune the
frequency of radio receivers, as
filters in power supplies, to
eliminate sparking in automobile
ignition systems, and as energy-
storing devices in electronic
Flash units.
A capacitor consists of two conductors separated by an

insulator. The capacitance of a given capacitor depends on its
geometry and on the material—called a dielectric— that
separates the conductors.
FCI
1 Definition of Capacitance
The capacitance C of a capacitor is defined as
the ratio of the magnitude of the charge
on either conductor to the magnitude of
the potential difference between the
conductors:
Note that by definition capacitance is always
a positive quantity. Furthermore, the
charge Q and the potential difference ΔV are
positive quantities. Because the potential
difference increases linearly with the stored
charge, the ratio Q / Δ V is constant for a
given capacitor. The SI unit of capacitance is the farad (F),
4
5
6
7
 Charge Q is measured in coulombs, C.
 Potential difference, V, is measured in volts, V.
 Capacitance, C, is measured in farads, F.
 1 farad is 1 coulomb per volt: 1 F = 1 C/V-1
 1 farad is a very large unit. It is much more
common to use the following:
 mF = 10-3 F, μF = 10-6 F, nF = 10-9 F,
pF = 10-12 F
21-10-2015 FCI 9
Parallel-Plate Capacitors
Two parallel metallic plates of equal area A are

separated by a distance d, One plate carries a charge
Q , and the other carries a charge -Q .
That is, the capacitance of a parallel-plate

capacitor is directly proportional to the area
of its plates and inversely proportional to
the plate separation.
21-10-2015 FCI 11
Capacitan Potential Charge
ce Difference
Increase Increase Increase Increase

Size
Decrease Decrease Decrease Decrease
Potential Increase Decrease Increase Increase

Difference
Decrease Increase Decrease Decrease
Increase Increase Increase Increase

Charge
Decrease Decrease Decrease Decrease
Formulas: Capacitor and Dielectrics
Q = CV
Capacitor
 Consider a parallel plate capacitor with capacitance C =
2.00 F connected to a battery with voltage V = 12.0 V
as shown. a. What is the charge stored in the
capacitor? b. calculate the area with a distance 1mm c.
what is the electric field between the plate?
 Consider a parallel plate capacitor with capacitance C =
2.00 F connected to a battery with voltage V = 12.0 V
as shown. a. What is the charge stored in the
capacitor? b. calculate the area with a distance 1mm c.
what is the electric field between the plate?
Capacitor with Dielectric

 Now insert a dielectric with dielectric constant  = 2.5
between the plates of the capacitor. What is the charge on the
capacitor?
C  Cair The capacitance of the capacitor is increased
The additional charge is provided by the battery.

Capacitor with Dielectric (2)
 We isolate the charged capacitor with a dielectric by
disconnecting it from the battery. We remove the
dielectric, keeping the capacitor isolated.
 What happens to the charge and voltage on the
capacitor?
 The charge on the isolated capacitor cannot change because there is

nowhere for the charge to flow. Q remains constant.
 The voltage on the capacitor will be
q 6.00 10  5 C
V  6
30.0 V V increases
C 2.00 10 F
 The voltage went up because removing the dielectric increased the

electric field and the resulting potential difference between the plates.
Capacitor with Dielectric (3)
 Does removing the dielectric from the isolated capacitor
change the energy stored in the capacitor?
Example 1.
A parallel plate capacitor has plates 2.00 m2 in area,
separated a distance of 5.00 mm. a potential
difference of 10,000 V is applied across the
capacitor.
Solution:
Given Find:
C=?
V = 10,000 V Q=?
A = 2.00 m2 E=?
d = 5.00 mm U=?
Q = CV= (3.54x10-9 nF)(10,000 V) = 35.4x10-6 μC
Example 2: Parallel-Plate Capacitor
A parallel-plate capacitor with 2.00x10 -4 m2 area

and has a plate separation of 1.00mm. find its:
a. Capacitance
b. the charge on the capacitor with 50 V battery.
And then;
c. the electric field between the plates.
Given: Find:
A = 2.00x10-4 m2 C=?
d = 1.00mm Q=?
V = 50V E=?
U=?
Question - part 1
A parallel-plate air-filled capacitor has a
capacitance of 50 pF.
a. If each of the plates has an area of A=0.35
m2, what is the separation?
b. calculate the total charge with a 20 v
connected in parallel plate capacitors. and
Find the electric field and energy between
the plates.
A) 12.5 10-1 m 0=8.85 x10-12 C2/Nm2

B) 6.2 10-2 m
C) 1.3 m
Practice Quiz!
a) Calculate the capacitance of a parallel plate

capacitor whose plates are 20 cm × 3.0 cm and
are separated by a 1.0 mm air gap.
b) What is the charge on each plate if a 12 V
battery is connected across the two plates?
c) What is the electric field between the plates?
d) Estimate the area of the plates needed to
achieve a capacitance of 1 F, given the same air
gap d.

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Learning Target

A capacitor consists of two conductors separated by an

Two parallel metallic plates of equal area A are

That is, the capacitance of a parallel-plate

Increase Increase Increase Increase

Potential Increase Decrease Increase Increase

Increase Increase Increase Increase

Capacitor with Dielectric

The additional charge is provided by the battery.

 The charge on the isolated capacitor cannot change because there is

 The voltage went up because removing the dielectric increased the

A parallel-plate capacitor with 2.00x10 -4 m2 area

A) 12.5 10-1 m 0=8.85 x10-12 C2/Nm2

a) Calculate the capacitance of a parallel plate

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