21 Fall 2006 HW8 Solutions

1 Capacitor as an Energy-Storing Device

An air-lled parallel-plate capacitor has area A and plate separation d. The capacitor is connected to a
battery that creates a constant voltage V .
Part A. Find the energy U0 stored in the capacitor.

Solution: The energy stored in a capacitor is 2 CV 2 and for the parallel-plate capacitor, C = 0d . So, the
1 A

energy is U0 = 2d .
0 AV 2

Part B. The capacitor is now disconnected from the battery, and the plates are slowly pulled apart until
the separation reaches 3d. Find the new energy U1 .
Solution: First calculate the charge before the capacitance is changed: Q = CV = 0 d . Since the
AV

charge can't change in a disconnected capacitor, use this charge in the other energy formula for a capacitor,
(0 AV /d)2
U = 21 Q2 /C , using the new C = 3d
0A
. So, U1 = 2( 0 A/(3d))
AV 2
= 302d .
Part C. The capacitor is now reconnected to the battery, and the plate separation is restored to d. A
dielectric plate is slowly moved into the capacitor until the entire space between the plates is lled. Find
the energy U2 of the dielectric-lled capacitor. The capacitor remains connected to the battery, and the
dielectric constant is .
Solution: Since the voltage is connected, use 2 CV 2 with C = d0 , i.e. U2 = .
1 A 0 AV 2
d

2 SP 24.62: Capacitors
A 4.00 F capacitor and a 6.00 F capacitor are connected in series across a 660 V supply line.
Parts A thru D. Find the charges of and voltages across each capacitor.

Solution: We assume the charges on the series capacitors are the same. Then Kircho's Loop equation
says:
Q Q
660 = 0
4 F 6 F
5Q
= 660
12 106
Q = 1.584 103 C

This Q is the charge on each capacitor. The voltages are:

Q Q
V1 = = 396 V V2 = = 265 V
4 F 6 F
Parts E thru H. The charged capacitors are disconnectedfrom the line and from each other (without
removing the charge) and then reconnected to each other in parallel, with the terminals of like sign together.
The charge is then free to rearrange itself. Find the nal charges and voltages of each capacitor.
Solution. When the capacitors are connected in parallel, the charge will ow until their voltages are the
same. However, the total charge Qtot cannot change. Thus, there are two equations and two unknowns.
Q1 + Q2 = 3.17 mC V1 = V2
Q1 Q2
=
C1 C2
Q1 3.17 mC Q1
=
4 F 6 F
Q1
V1 = V2 = = 317 V Q1 = 1.27 mC Q2 = 3.17 mC Q1 = 1.90 mC
4 F

1
3 SP 26.22 Kircho's Law Problem
In the circuit shown in Figure 1, Parts A-C: nd the magnitude of the
current in the upper branch. Part D. Find the potential dierence Vab .
Solution: First label the currents like the blue arrows on the gure. (If
they are labeled in the wrong direction, it's okay, the number will just
come out negative.) Then write Kircho's Current Law for the junction.

Iin = Iout
I1 + I2 = I3 (1) Figure 1: Circuit for Problem SP
26.22
Now write Kircho's Voltage Laws for the two loops. (Optionally, use around the outside instead of one of
the loops.) Upper loop:

V = 0 = +10 2I1 + 1I2 5 + 4I2 3I1 = 5 5I1 + 5I2 0 = 1 I1 + I2 (2)
loop

Lower loop:
V = 0 = 5 1I2 10I3 4I2 = 5 5I2 10I3 0 = 1 I2 2I3 (3)
loop

Now solve for the currents I1 , I2 , and I3 . Substitute (1) into (3):
1 2
0 = 1 I2 2 (I1 + I2 ) = 1 2I1 3I2 I2 = I1
3 3

Substitute this into (2).

( )
1 2 5 4
0 = 1 I1 + I1 I1 = I1 = 0.8 A
3 3 3 3

And use this to nd the other currents.

1 2 1 8
I2 = I1 = = 0.2 A I3 = I1 + I2 = 0.6 A
3 3 3 15

For the potential dierence Vab = Va Vb , remember that this is Vnal Vinitial , so the path is from b to a.
Take any path using voltages as in Kircho's Loop Law, but for the path instead of a loop.

Vab = V = 4I2 3I1 = 4 (0.2) 3 (0.8) = 3.2 V
ba

2
4 SP 24.38 Eect of a Dielectric
A parallel-plate capacitor has a capacitance of C0 = 5.60 pF when there is air between the plates. The
separation between the plates is 2.00 mm.
Part A. What is the maximum charge that can be placed on each plate if the electric eld in the region
between the plates is not to exceed 3.00 104 V/m?
Solution:

The maximum voltage is found from the maximum E because it is just the integral: V = |V | =
~ d~s = Ed. The charge is then
E

Q = CV = C0 Emax d = 3.36 1010 C

Part B. A dielectric with a constant of = 3.10 is inserted between the plates of the capacitor, completely
lling the volume between the plates. Now what is the maximum magnitude of the charge on each plate if
the electric eld between the plates is not to exceed 3.00 104 V/m?
Solution: The method is the same, except now the capacitance is times greater.
Q = CV = C0 Emax d = 1.04 109 C

The reason the dielectric works is that it cancells out part of the E eld, allowing a larger charge to be
placed on the capacitor with the same voltage.