All Flashcards
What is the effect of increasing the distance (d) between the plates of a parallel plate capacitor?
Decreases the capacitance (C).
What is the effect of increasing the plate area (A) of a parallel plate capacitor?
Increases the capacitance (C).
What happens to the energy stored in a capacitor if the voltage across it is doubled?
The energy stored is quadrupled (since ).
What happens when a capacitor is connected to a battery?
Charge accumulates on the plates, creating an electric field and storing energy.
What happens to capacitance when a dielectric material is inserted between the plates of a capacitor?
Capacitance increases.
What is the definition of capacitance (C)?
Capacitance (C) is the constant of proportionality between the charge (Q) stored on a capacitor and the potential difference (V) between its plates:
What is a capacitor?
A capacitor is a device that stores electrical charge and potential energy in an electric field.
What is a Farad (F)?
The Farad (F) is the unit for capacitance, where 1 F = 1 C/V.
What is a dielectric?
A dielectric is an insulating material placed between the plates of a capacitor to increase its capacitance.
Define potential difference (V) in the context of capacitors.
The potential difference (V) is the voltage between the plates of the capacitor, proportional to the charge stored.
What are the steps to find the capacitance of spherical or cylindrical capacitors?
- Find the electric field using Gauss's Law. 2. Calculate the potential difference using . 3. Use to find the capacitance.
Describe the process of charging a capacitor.
Connecting a capacitor to a battery moves charge, creating an electric field between the plates. This continues until the potential difference across the capacitor equals the battery voltage.
What is the process to calculate energy stored in a capacitor?
Imagine moving a tiny bit of charge (dq) from one plate to the other, and integrating the voltage with respect to charge to find the total energy.