📚 Capacitance Fundamentals 🔌

Brief Overview
This note covers Capacitance and was created from a 37-page PDF. It covers charge
storage, electric field, energy, dielectrics, and practical applications.

Key Points
Definition of a capacitor and its key property.
Relationship between charge, voltage, and capacitance.
How the energy stored in the electric field is quantified.
The impact of dielectrics on capacitance.

Introduction to Capacitance ⚡
Capacitor: A device that stores charge and energy in an electrostatic field. The
property that determines how much charge it can store is called capacitance.

Key Properties of Capacitance

Property Description
Geometrical dependence Capacitance depends on size, shape, and
separation of the plates
Material dependence Depends on the dielectric material
between plates
Independence Does NOT depend on electric field E or
potential ΔV

Applications of Capacitors
Flash bulbs: Store energy slowly, release rapidly (milliseconds)
Laser systems: Produce short pulses for thermonuclear fusion research
Electron beam deflection: Create uniform electric fields in TVs and
oscilloscopes
Voltage smoothing: Protect computer memories from power fluctuations
Radio/TV tuning: Vary capacitance to tune circuits

📐
Defining Capacitance 📐
The Capacitor Structure
A capacitor consists of two conductors (called plates) that are:
Totally isolated from their surroundings
Carrying equal and opposite charges: +q and –q

Important: q represents the magnitude of charge on either plate. The net charge on
the capacitor is zero.

The diagram illustrates how electric field lines emanate from the positive conductor and
terminate on the negative conductor, establishing the electric field in the region between
the plates.
Charging Process
When connected to a battery with potential difference ΔV:
1. The battery pumps electrons from the positive plate to the negative plate
2. After transferring charge q: positive plate has +q, negative plate has –q
3. The potential difference between plates equals the battery's ΔV = V⁺ – V⁻
The circuit diagram demonstrates how a battery maintains constant potential difference
across the capacitor plates when the switch is closed.
The Capacitance Equation
The charge q on a capacitor is directly proportional to the potential difference ΔV:
$q \propto \Delta V$

Capacitance (C): The constant of proportionality relating charge and potential

difference.

$q = C ,\Delta V \qquad \text{--- eqn. 30-1}$

Key Properties of C
Property Description
Depends on Size, shape, separation of plates; material
between plates
Independent of ΔV and q
Symbol Two parallel lines (representing the
plates)
Units of Capacitance
Unit Definition Common Submultiples
Farad (F) $1 \text{ F} = 1 \text{ µF (microfarad): $10^{-6}$
C/V}$ F
​ ​ pF (picofarad): $10^{-12}$
F

Physical capacitors come in diverse forms—cylindrical, oval, and rectangular—each

designed for specific circuit applications based on their capacitance values and voltage
ratings.

Energy Storage in Electric Fields 🔋

Purpose of Capacitors
Capacitors store electrostatic energy with applications including:
Flash lamps
Laser systems (charging/discharging cycles)
Electric Potential Energy
 The electric potential energy of any charge configuration equals the work done by an
external agent to assemble the configuration from individual components originally
infinitely far apart.

$U = W ; (\text{work done by external agent})$

This is analogous to:
Compressed spring: stores elastic potential energy
Earth-moon system: stores gravitational potential energy

Charging a Capacitor: Energy Buildup

Example: Work is done when separating two equal and opposite charges. This energy is
stored as electric potential energy and can be recovered as kinetic energy if charges
reunite.
Similarly, a charged capacitor stores: $U = W ; \text{(work done during charging)}$
Alternative visualization: An external agent (or battery) pulls electrons from the positive
plate and pushes them onto the negative plate, creating charge separation.

Deriving the Energy Equation

At time t, with charge q′ already transferred:
Quantity Expression
Potential difference $\Delta V' = \frac{q'}{C}$
Small energy change $dU = \Delta V' , dq' = \frac{q'}{C} , dq'$
Integrating from 0 to q:
$U = \int_0^q \frac{q'}{C} , dq' = \frac{q^2}{2C} \qquad \text{--- eqn. 30-24}$
Using $q = C\Delta V$:
$U = \frac{1}{2} C (\Delta V)^2 \qquad \text{--- eqn. 30-25}$
The mathematical derivation shows how integrating the incremental work done during
charging leads to the fundamental expression $U = \frac{q^2}{2C}$ for energy stored in a
charged capacitor.
Where Does the Energy Reside?
Equations 30-24 and 25 don't directly answer this. We use thought experiment:
Step Action Result
1 Start with isolated charged Initial energy $U_i =
capacitor (charge q, \frac{q^2}{2C}$
separation d)
2 Pull plates apart to Capacitance halves: $C' =
separation 2d (charge q \frac{C}{2}$
unchanged)
3 Calculate new energy $U_f = \frac{q^2}{2C'} =
\frac{q^2}{C} = 2U_i$
Conclusion: Energy doubles while charge stays constant. Since we only changed the
volume between plates (doubled it), and energy also doubled:

Energy is stored in the electric field that occupies the volume between the capacitor
plates.

Energy Density
For a parallel-plate capacitor, E is uniform between plates. The energy density (u) —
energy per unit volume — is:
$u = \frac{U}{Ad} = \frac{\frac{1}{2}C(\Delta V)^2}{Ad}$
Using $C = \frac{\varepsilon_0 A}{d}$ and $\Delta V = Ed$:
$u = \frac{1}{2}\varepsilon_0 E^2 \qquad \text{--- eqn. 30-28}$

Key insight: If E exists at any point in empty space (vacuum), that point is a site of
stored energy with density $u = \frac{1}{2}\varepsilon_0 E^2$ per unit volume.

Scenario Energy Density Behavior

E varies with location u becomes a function of coordinates
Parallel-plate capacitor E and u are uniform between plates

The derivation demonstrates how energy density $u = \frac{1}{2}\varepsilon_0 E^2$

emerges from combining the capacitance formula, energy storage equation, and the
relationship between potential difference and electric field in a parallel-plate
configuration.

Capacitors with Dielectrics 🧪

Effect of Dielectric Materials
Dielectric constant (κₑ): A dimensionless factor that characterizes how a material
reduces electric field strength.
When a dielectric is inserted:
Electric field reduces from E₀ (vacuum) to E = E₀/κₑ
κₑ > 1 for all materials
Therefore: E_dielectric < E_vacuum
Historical Context: Faraday's 1837 Experiment
Michael Faraday investigated dielectric effects using two identical capacitors:
One filled with dielectric material
One with air between plates
Result: When connected to batteries with the same potential difference, the dielectric-
filled capacitor stored more charge.

Conclusion: The presence of a dielectric enhances a capacitor's ability to store charge.

Two Critical Scenarios

The effect of dielectrics depends on whether the battery remains connected or
disconnected:
Scenario Condition Key Constraint
1. Battery connected Switch closed, battery ΔV = constant (maintained
remains attached by battery)
2. Battery disconnected Switch opened, battery q = constant (charge
removed trapped on plates)

Scenario 1: Battery Connected 🔌

The comparison shows how inserting a dielectric while maintaining constant potential
difference leads to increased charge storage as the battery delivers additional charge to
compensate for the dielectric's field-reducing tendency.
Setup and Process
Stage Configuration State
Initial Capacitance C, connected Fully charged, charge q on
to battery ΔV plates
Final Battery still connected, Potential difference
dielectric (κₑ) inserted maintained at ΔV

Key Analysis
Since ΔV remains constant, the electric field must remain the same inside the capacitor.
However, the dielectric tends to reduce the electric field strength. This reduction is
exactly balanced by additional charge delivered by the battery.
Mathematical Derivation
Quantity Without Dielectric With Dielectric
Electric field $E = \frac{\sigma} $E' = \frac{q'}{\kappa_e
{\varepsilon_0} = \frac{q} \varepsilon_0 A}$
{\varepsilon_0 A}$
Condition — $E' = E$ (constant ΔV)
Setting $E' = E$:
$\frac{q'}{\kappa_e \varepsilon_0 A} = \frac{q}{\varepsilon_0 A}$
$\boxed{q' = \kappa_e , q}$
Since κₑ > 1, the capacitor stores more charge with the dielectric present.
Additional Charge Transfer
As the dielectric is inserted, the battery moves additional charge:
$\Delta q = q' - q = q(\kappa_e - 1)$
from the negative to the positive plate.
New Capacitance
$C' = \frac{q'}{\Delta V'} = \frac{\kappa_e , q}{\Delta V} = \kappa_e , \frac{q}{\Delta V}$
$\boxed{C' = \kappa_e , C} \qquad \text{--- eqn. 30-30}$

Fundamental Result: The presence of a dielectric increases capacitance by factor

κₑ.