CHAPTER 12 Capacitance

Learning Outcomes
y Describe the nature of an electric field. y Explain the relationships among electric field, electric flux, electric flux density, and potential difference. y Explain how the electric charges in a dielectric behave in the presence of an electric field. y Describe the construction of various capacitors.

Learning Outcomes
y Define capacitance in terms of the charge on the plates of a capacitor and the voltage across it. y Calculate the capacitance of a capacitor given the dielectric and the area and spacing of the plates. y Calculate the total capacitance of capacitors in parallel and the equivalent capacitance of capacitors in series.

12-1 Electric Fields

y An electric field is that region in which a charge is acted upon by an electric force. y The strength (intensity) of an electric field is the force the field exerts on a unit of charge. y The symbol for electric field strength is E. y The units for electric field strength are newtons per coulomb, which are equivalent to volts per metre.

12-1 Electric Fields

Thus,
F E! QF E!

where E is the strength of the electric field in newtons per coulomb, F is the force in newtons, and Q is the charge in coulombs.

12-1 Electric Fields

electric line of force (electric flux line) the path along which a massless, electrically charged particle would move in an electric field

Figure 12-1 Electric fields surrounding point electric charges

Note that the lines of force are directed away from the positive charge and toward the negative charge.

12-1 Electric Fields

Fig 12-2 shows the electric fields around two parallel conductors and between two concentric (coaxial) conductors; these configurations have numerous applications in radio, television, and computer telecommunications.

Figure 12-2 Electric field between (a) parallel conductors; (b) coaxial conductors

12-1 Electric Fields

electric flux (= ) the electric field passing through a given surface (defined as equivalent to electric charge) electric flux density (D) the electric flux per unit area y If an electric field is uniform over a given area, A, then the flux density for that area is
Q D! ! A A

Key Terms
dielectric an electrical insulator dielectric strength the electric field strength required to break down a dielectric dielectric absorption a small potential difference that remains across some dielectrics after the removal of an electric field

12-2 Dielectrics
The atoms in a dielectric become polarized when the electrons in each atom are displaced toward the positive plate and are no longer centered on the nucleus.
Figure 12-4 Effect of an electric field on a dielectric

12-3 Capacitance
capacitor a component that can store electric charge capacitance (C) the property of an electric circuit that opposes any charge in the voltage across that circuit

12-3 Capacitance
farad (F) the SI unit of capacitance y A farad is equal to one coulomb per volt. y A circuit has a capacitance of 1 F when a charge of 1 C raises the potential difference by 1 V: 1 F = 1 C/V. Q C! V
where C is the capacitance, Q is the charge, and V is the potential difference.

12-4 Capacitors
y Parallel-plate capacitors are made of two metal plates with air between them, or of a ceramic disc coated with metal (Fig 12-7(a)). y Some capacitors consist of interleaved parallel plates with air or mica dielectric (Fig 12-7(b)). y Some capacitors consist of two long strips of aluminum foil interleaves with strips of a dielectric, rolled up (Fig 12-7(c)).

12-4 Capacitors

Figure 12-7 Construction of capacitors

12-4 Capacitors
y Capacitors are rated with a working voltage, the maximum voltage that can be applied across a capacitor without risk of damaging it. y An electrolytic capacitor has aluminum foil plates with an electrolyte between them, and a thin aluminum oxide coating for the dielectric.

12-5 Factors Governing Capacitance y The capacitance of parallel plates is directly proportional to their area and inversely proportional to their spacing. y The capacitance of parallel plates depends on the type of dielectric between plates. y The permittivity ( ) of a material is the capacitance between opposite faces of a unit length and cross section of the material, measured in farads per metre.

12-5 Factors Governing Capacitance

For parallel plates,
C A I D

where C is the capacitance in farads, is the permittivity in farads per metre, A is the area of each plate in square metres, and d is the distance between plates in metres.

12-6 Dielectric Constant

relative permittivity (dielectric constant) the ratio of the permittivity of a material to the permittivity of free space y The equation for the capacitance of any parallel-plate capacitor is
C kI 0 A d

where C is the capacitance in farads, k is the dielectric constant, A is the area of each plate, and d is the distance between plates.

12-7 Capacitors in Parallel

The total capacitance of capacitors in parallel is the sum of all the individual capacitances. CT = C1 + C2 + C3 +

Figure 12-9 Capacitors in parallel

12-8 Capacitors in Series

y When we connect capacitors in series, the plates that are connected directly to each other are charged by electrostatic induction. electrostatic induction separation of charge on a body in an electric field
Figure 12-10 Capacitors in series

12-8 Capacitors in Series

y The equivalent capacitance of series capacitors is
C eq 1 1 / C1  1 / C 2  1 / C 3  .

y This is the same form as the equation for the equivalent resistance of resistors in parallel. y To simplify calculations for parallel resistors we considered conductance; for capacitors in series we can use elastance.

12-8 Capacitors in Series

y Elastance (S) is the opposition of material to the setting up of electric lines of force in an electric insulator or dielectric, measured in reciprocal farads (F1). y It is the reciprocal of permittivity.

1 S! C
where S is elastance in reciprocal farads and C is capacitance in farads.

Summary
y An electric field is that region in which an electric charge is acted upon by an electric force. y The strength of an electric field at a certain point is the electric force acting on a charge at that point divided by the quantity of the charge. y The flux density of an electric field is the electric flux per unit area.

Summary
y The electric field between parallel conductive plates is uniform except near the edges. y Dielectric strength indicates the electric field strength that a dielectric can withstand. y Capacitance opposes change and can store charge.

Summary
y The maximum voltage that a capacitor can withstand is expressed as its working voltage. y Capacitance is the ratio of the charge on the plates of a capacitor to the voltage across it. y Capacitance is proportional to the area of the plates and inversely proportional to the spacing fo the plates of a capacitor.

Summary
y Capacitance is dependent on the type of dielectric in the capacitor. y Permittivity is the capacitance of a unit length and cross section of a material. y The total capacitance of capacitors connected in parallel is the sum of all the individual capacitances.

Summary
y The equivalent capacitance of capacitors connected in series is the reciprocal of the sum of the reciprocals of the individual capacitances.