Chapter 25

Chapter 25.
Capacitance
25.1. What is Physics?
25.2. Capacitance
25.3. Calculating the Capacitance
25.4. Capacitors in Parallel and in Series
25.5. Energy Stored in an Electric Field
25.6. Capacitor with a Dielectric
25.7. Dielectrics: An Atomic View
25.8. Dielectrics and Gauss' Law
What is Physics?
• A capacitor is electric
element to store electric
charge .
• It consists of two conductors

of any shape placed near one
another without touching.
Capacitance
The magnitude q of the charge

on each plate of a capacitor

is directly proportional to
the magnitude V of the
potential difference between
the plates:
q
C

V
where C is the capacitance
SI Unit of Capacitance: coulomb/volt= farad (F)
1 F = 103 mF = 106 μF = 1012 pF
THE CAPACITANCE OF A PARALLEL PLATE
CAPACITOR
(1) Calculate q:
(2) Calculate V:

(3) Calculate C:
q  0 EA
C 
V Ed
Only the geometry of the plates (A and d) affect the
capacitance.

THE CAPACITANCE OF A Cylindrical

Capacitor

A cylindrical capacitor of length L

formed by two coaxial cylinders
of radii a and b

THE CAPACITANCE OF A Spherical
Capacitor
A capacitor that consists of two

concentric spherical shells, of
radii a and b.
For An Isolated Sphere, a=R and b=∞

Capacitors in Parallel
• When a potential difference V is applied
across several capacitors connected in
parallel, that potential difference V is
applied across each capacitor.
• The total charge q stored on the capacitors

is the sum of the charges stored on all the
capacitors.
• Capacitors connected in parallel can be

replaced with an equivalent capacitor that
has the same total charge q and the same
potential difference V as the actual
capacitors.
Capacitors in Series
• When a potential difference V is applied across
several capacitors connected in series, the
capacitors have identical charge q.

• The sum of the potential differences across all
the capacitors is equal to the applied potential
difference V.
• Capacitors

that are connected in series can be
replaced with an equivalent capacitor that has the
same charge q and the same total potential
difference V as the actual series capacitors.

Sample Problem 1

(a) Find the equivalent capacitance for the combination of

capacitances shown in Fig. 25-10 a, across which potential

difference V is applied. Assume

(b) The potential difference applied to the input terminals

in Fig. 25-10 a is V = 12.5 V. What is the charge on C1?

Energy Stored in an Electric Field
The potential energy of a charged capacitor may be viewed
as being stored in the electric field between its plates.
Suppose that, at a given instant, a charge q′ has
been transferred from one plate of a capacitor
to the other. The potential difference V′ between

the plates at that instant will be q′/C. If an extra
increment of charge dq′ is then transferred, the
increment of work required will be,
The work required to bring the total capacitor charge up to a final value q
is
This work is stored as potential energy U in the capacitor, so

that
or
Energy Density
The potential energy per unit volume between parallel-

plate capacitor is
V/d equals the electric field magnitude E due to

Sample Problem 2
An isolated conducting sphere whose radius R is 6.85 cm

has a charge q = 1.25 nC.
(a) How much potential energy is stored in the electric
field of this charged conductor?
(b) What is the energy density at the surface of the
sphere?
Sample Problem 3
In Fig. 25-45 , C1 = 10.0 μF, C2 = 20.0 μF, and C3 =
25.0 μF. If no capacitor can withstand a potential
difference of more than 100 V without failure, what
are (a) the magnitude of the maximum potential
difference that can exist between points A and B
and (b) the maximum energy that can be stored in
the three-capacitor
arrangement?

Capacitor with a Dielectric
THE DIELECTRIC CONSTANT

The surface charges on the dielectric reduce the electric field
inside the dielectric. This reduction in the electric field is
described by the dielectric constant k, which is the ratio of
the field magnitude E0 without the dielectric to the field
magnitude E inside the dielectric:
Every dielectric material has a characteristic dielectric strength,

which is the maximum value of the electric field that it can
tolerate without breakdown
Some Properties of Dielectrics
Material Dielectric Constant Dielectric Strength (kV/mm)
Air (1 atm) 1.00054 3

Polystyrene 2.6 24
Paper 3.5 16
Transformer
oil 4.5
Pyrex 4.7 14
Ruby mica 5.4
Porcelain 6.5
Silicon 12
Germanium 16
Ethanol 25
Water (20°C) 80.4
Water (25°C) 78.5
Titania
ceramic 130
Strontium
titanate 310 8
For a vacuum, .
Capacitance with a Dielectric
q q
Cair  
V E0 d
q q
Cair     E0 / E
V E0 d
Cair 
q

q 1 q
 ( )
C
C   Cair
E0 d  Ed  Ed 
The capacitance with the dielectric present is increased
by a factor of k over the capacitance without the
dielectric.
Example 4
An empty parallel plate capacitor (C0 = 25 mF) is
charged with a 12 V battery. The battery is
disconnected and the region between the
plates of the capacitor is filled with pure
water. What are the capacitance, charge, and
voltage for the water-filled capacitor?
Example 5
Figure 25-48 shows a parallel-plate capacitor with a plate
area A = 5.56 cm2 and separation d = 5.56 mm. The left
half of the gap is filled with material of dielectric
constant κ1 = 7.00; the right half is filled with
material of dielectric constant κ2 = 12.0. What is the
capacitance?

Example 6
Figure 25-49 shows a parallel-plate capacitor with a
plate area A = 7.89 cm2 and plate separation d = 4.62
mm. The top half of the gap is filled with material of
dielectric constant κ1 = 11.0; the bottom half is filled
with material of dielectric constant κ2 = 12.0. What is
the capacitance?

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Chapter 25.

• It consists of two conductors

The magnitude q of the charge

THE CAPACITANCE OF A Cylindrical

A cylindrical capacitor of length L

A capacitor that consists of two

For An Isolated Sphere, a=R and b=∞

• The total charge q stored on the capacitors

• Capacitors connected in parallel can be

difference V is applied. Assume

(b) The potential difference applied to the input terminals

in Fig. 25-10 a is V = 12.5 V. What is the charge on C1?

This work is stored as potential energy U in the capacitor, so

The potential energy per unit volume between parallel-

V/d equals the electric field magnitude E due to

An isolated conducting sphere whose radius R is 6.85 cm

THE DIELECTRIC CONSTANT

Every dielectric material has a characteristic dielectric strength,

Air (1 atm) 1.00054 3

Water (25°C) 78.5

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