PHYS 1444 – Section 501

Lecture #8
Monday, Feb. 13, 2006
Dr. Jaehoon Yu
• Capacitors and Capacitance
• Capacitors in Series or Parallel
• Electric Energy Storage
• Electric Energy Density
• Dielectric
• Effect of Dielectric Material

Monday, Feb. 13, 2006 PHYS 1444-501, Spring 2006 1

Dr. Jaehoon Yu
 Announcements
• Distribution list
– Did you all receive my e-mail on a video
clip?
– Raise your hand if you didn’t.
• 1st term exam Wednesday, Feb. 22
– Covers CH21 – CH25 or whichever we
finish
• Reading assignments
– CH24 – 6

Monday, Feb. 13, 2006 PHYS 1444-501, Spring 2006 2

Dr. Jaehoon Yu
 Capacitor Cont’d
• A single isolated conductor can be said to
have a capacitance, C.
• C can still be defined as the ratio of the
charge to absolute potential V on the
conductor.
– So Q=CV.
• The potential of a single conducting sphere
of radius rb Vcan Qbe obtained
1 1 Qas
     where r  
4 0  rb ra  4 0 rb a

Q
C is  4 0 rb
• So its capacitance V
• Single conductor alone is not considered
as aFeb.capacitor.
Monday, 13, 2006 There
PHYS must
1444-501, Spring 2006be another 3
Dr. Jaehoon Yu
Capacitors in Series or Parallel
• Capacitors are used in may electric circuits
• What is an electric circuit?
– A closed path of conductors, usually wires
connecting capacitors and other electrical
devices, in which
• charges can flow
• And includes a voltage source such as a battery
• Capacitors can be connected in various
ways.
– In parallel and in Series or in
combination

Monday, Feb. 13, 2006 PHYS 1444-501, Spring 2006 4

Dr. Jaehoon Yu
 Capacitors in Parallel
• Parallel arrangement provides
the same voltage across all
the capacitors.
– Left hand plates are at Va and
right hand plates are at Vb
– So each capacitor plate acquires
charges given by the formula
• The•total charge
Q1=C1V, Q2=C2V, Q that
and Q3=Cmust
3V leave battery is
then
– Q=Q1+Q2+Q3=V(C1+C2+C3)
• Consider that the three capacitors behave like
an equivalent one Ceq  C1  C2  C3
– Q=C
Monday, Feb.V= V(C
13, 2006
What is the net effect?
eq 1+C
PHYS+C
The Dr.
2 3 )
1444-501, Spring 2006
capacitance increases!!!
5
Jaehoon Yu
 Capacitors in Series
• Series arrangement is more
interesting
– When battery is connected, +Q flows
to the left plate of C1 and –Q flows to
the right plate of C3.inducing opposite
sign charges on the other plates.
–– So thethe
Since charge on each
capacitor capacitor
in the middleisisthe same value, Q. (Same
charge)
originally neutral, charges get induced
• Consider that the
to neutralize theinduced
three capacitors
charges behave like an
equivalent one
– Q=CeqV  V=Q/Ceq
• The total voltage V across the three capacitors in
series must be equal to the sum of the voltages across
each capacitor.
1 1 1 1
– V=V1+V2+V3=(Q/C1+Q/C2+Q/C3)  
Ceq C1 C2 C3
• Putting all these together,
Monday, Feb. 13, 2006
we obtain:
PHYS 1444-501, Spring 2006 6
What is the=Q(1/C
• V=Q/C net effect?
The capacitance
+1/C Dr. Jaehoon Yu smaller than the smallest
+1/C )
 Example 24 – 4
Equivalent Capacitor:
Determine the capacitance of
a single capacitor that will
have the same effect as the
combination shown in the
We should do
figure. Take C1=C2=C3=C.
Hthese These
first!! are in parallel so the equivalent
ow?
C capacitance
C  C  2Cis:
eq1 1 2

Now the equivalent capacitor is in series with

C1.
1 1 1 1 1 3 2C
     Solve for C eq C
eq 
Ceq Ceq1 C2 2C C 2C 3
Monday, Feb. 13, 2006 PHYS 1444-501, Spring 2006 7
Dr. Jaehoon Yu
 Electric Energy Storage
• A charged capacitor stores energy.
– The stored energy is the work done to charge it.
• The net effect of charging a capacitor is
removing one type of charge from a plate
and put them on to the other.
– Battery does this when it is connected to a
capacitor.
• Capacitors do not charge immediately.
– Initially when the capacitor is uncharged, no
work is necessary to move the first bit of charge.
Why?
• Since there is no charge, there is no field that the
Monday,external work PHYS
Feb. 13, 2006 needs to overcome.
1444-501, Spring 2006 8
Dr. Jaehoon Yu
– When some charge is on each plate, it requires
 Electric Energy Storage
• The work needed to add a small amount of
charge, dq, when a potential difference
across the plate is V: dW=Vdq.
Q Q
• Since V=q/C, the work
1 needed
Q 2 to store total
WQ isVdq 
charge 0
qdq 
C 
0 2C
2
Q
• Thus, the energy storedUin a capacitor when
2C+Q and –Q is
the capacitor carries charges
Q2 1 2 1
• SinceU 
Q=CV,  can
we  QV
CV rewrite
2C 2 2
Monday, Feb. 13, 2006 PHYS 1444-501, Spring 2006 9
Dr. Jaehoon Yu
 Example 24 – 7
Energy store in a capacitor: A camera
flash unit stores energy in a 150µF
capacitor at 200V. How much electric
energy can be stored?
Use the formula for stored Umm.. Which
energy. one?
What do we know from the C and
problem? 1V 2
So we use the one with U  CV
C and V: 2
1 1
U  CV  150  106 F
2
2
2
   200V  2
 3.0 J
2  C  2 CV   J  J
How do we get J FV   V  C  
 V  C
from FV2?
Monday, Feb. 13, 2006 PHYS 1444-501, Spring 2006 10
Dr. Jaehoon Yu
 Electric Energy Density
• The energy stored in a capacitor can be
considered as being stored in the electric
field between the two plates
• For a uniform field E between two plates,
V=Ed and1 C=ε 1  0 A 
A/d 1
 2

0
U
• Thus the
CV 2
   Ed   2
0 E Ad
2 stored2energy
 d  is 2

• Since Ad is the gap1 volume V, we can obtain

Valid for any
u  stored
the energy density, 0E
2
energy per unit
space that is
volume, as 2
vacuum
Electric energy stored per unit volume in any region of space is
proportional to 13,
Monday, Feb. the2006
square PHYS
of E 1444-501,
in that region.
Spring 2006 11
Dr. Jaehoon Yu
 Dielectrics
• Capacitors have an insulating sheet of
material, called dielectric, between the
plates to
– Increase breakdown voltage than that in
the air
– Higher voltage can be applied without the
charge passing across the gap
– Allow the plates get closer together
without touching
C  KC 0
• Increases capacitance ( recall C=ε0A/d)
– Also increases the capacitance by the
dielectric
Monday, Feb. 13, 2006 constant
PHYS 1444-501, Spring 2006 12
Dr. Jaehoon Yu
 Dielectrics
• The value of dielectric constant varies
depending on material (Table 24 – 1)
– K for vacuum is 1.0000
– K for air is 1.0006 (this is why permittivity
of air and vacuum are used
interchangeably.)
• Maximum electric field before
breakdown occurs is the dielectric
strength. What is its unit?
– V/m A
C  KC0  K  0
• The capacitance of a parallel plate d
Monday, Feb. 13, 2006 PHYS 1444-501, Spring 2006 13
capacitor with aDr.dielectric
Jaehoon Yu (K) filling
 Dielectrics
• A new quantity, the permittivity of
dielectric, is defined as ε=Kε 0
• The capacitance of a parallel plate
with a dielectric medium filling the gap
is A
C 
d

• The energy density

1 stored
1 in an
u E inK a 0dielectric
electric field E   Eis
2 2
2 2
Valid for any
Monday, Feb. 13, 2006 PHYS 1444-501, Spring 2006 14
space w/ dielectric
Dr. Jaehoon Yu
w/ permittivity ε.
 Effect of a Dielectric
Material
• Let’s consider the two cases below:
Case #1
:
constant
V

Case #2
:
constant
Q
• Constant voltage: Experimentally observed that
the total charge on the each plate of the
capacitor increases by K as the dielectric
material is inserted between the gap  Q=KQ0
– The capacitance increased to C=Q/V0=KQ0/V0=KC0
• Constant charge: Voltage found to drop by a
factor
Monday, K13,2006
Feb. V=V0PHYS
/K 1444-501, Spring 2006 15
Dr. Jaehoon Yu
 Effect of a Dielectric
Material on Field
• What happens to the electric field
within a dielectric? V0
E0 
• Without a dielectric, the fieldd is
– What are V0 and d?
• V0: Potential difference between the two plates
• d: separation between the two plates
• For the constant voltage, the electric
field remains the same
• For the constant charge: the V V0
voltage E0
E  ED   
drops to V=V E/K, thus the fieldd indK
the K
ED  0 0
K 1444-501, Spring 2006
dielectric is
Monday, Feb. 13, 2006 PHYS
Dr. Jaehoon Yu
16
 Example 24 – 8
Dielectric Removal: A parallel-plate capacitor,
filled with a dielectric with K=3.4, is connected to
a 100-V battery. After the capacitor is fully
charged, the battery is disconnected. The plates
have area A=4.0m2, and are separated by
d=4.0mm. (a) Find the capacitance, the charge
on the capacitor, the electric field strength, and
the energy stored in the capacitor. (b) The
dielectric is carefully removed, without changing
the plate separation nor does any charge leave 2
 A K0 A
(a) C  Find
the capacitor.
d d
 3.4
the 8.85
new 10 12
value  4.0m
C 2ofN capacitance,
m 2 3
 10 m
4.0plates
 3.0  10 8
F  30nF
electric field strength, voltage between the
and the
Q  energy 
CV  3.0stored
 108 F in the
 100V capacitor.
3.0  106 C  3.0 C
V 100V 4
E  3
 2.5  10 V m
d 4.0  10 m
1
U  CV 2 
2
1
2
 
3.0  108 F  100V   1.5  104 J
2

Monday, Feb. 13, 2006 PHYS 1444-501, Spring 2006 17

Dr. Jaehoon Yu
 Example 24 – 8 cont’d
(b Since the dielectric has been removed, the
) effect of dielectric constant must be removed
2
Cas well. 12 2
K

C0   8.85  10 C N m 2
4.0
m
3
4.0  10 m
 8.8  10 9
F  8.8nF

Since charge is the Q 0  Q(

same ) before
and after the removal of the dielectric, we
Vobtain
0  Q C  KQ C
0 KV  3.4  100V  340V
V0 340V 4
E0   3
 8.5  10 V m  84 kV m
d 4.0  10 m
1 1C 1
U 0  C0V02   KV   KCV 2  KU  3.4  1.5  104 J  5.1  104 J
2

2 2K 2
Wron
The energy conservation law is violated Wron
g!
Where did the Wron
in electricity??? g!
extra energy
Monday, Feb. 13, 2006
ExternalPHYS has done the work of 3.6x10-4J g!
1444-501, Spring 2006
force 18
on the
come from?. Dr. Jaehoon Yu
system to remove dielectric!!