Electrical Circuits I
Dr. Mohammad Monirujjaman Khan
Assistant Professor
Electrical and Computer Engineering
•Capacitor is a two-terminal device, but its characteristics
are totally different from those of a resistor.
•The capacitor displays its true characteristics only when a
change in the voltage or current is made in the network.
•All the power delivered to a resistor is dissipated in the
form of heat.
•An ideal capacitor, however, stores the energy delivered
to it in a form that can be returned to the system.
• Two parallel plates of a material such as aluminum (the
most commonly used metal in the construction of
capacitors) have been connected through a switch and a
resistor to a battery.
•If the parallel plates are initially uncharged and the switch
is left open, no net positive or negative charge exists on
either plate.
•The instant the switch is closed, however, electrons are
drawn from the upper plate through the resistor to the
positive terminal of the battery.
•There will be a surge of current at first, limited in magnitude by the
resistance present.
•The level of flow then declines.
•This action creates a net positive charge on the top plate.
•Electrons are being repelled by the negative terminal through the
lower conductor to the bottom plate at the same rate they are being
drawn to the positive terminal.
•This transfer of electrons continues until the potential difference
across the parallel plates is exactly equal to the battery voltage.
•The final result is a net positive charge on the top plate
and a negative charge on the bottom plate.
•it is important to note that the entire flow of charge is
through the battery and resistor—not through the region
between the plates.
•there is an open circuit
between the plates of
the capacitor.
•This element, constructed simply of two conducting surfaces
separated by the air gap, is called a capacitor.
•The unit of measure applied to capacitors is the farad (F),
•For the same voltage (V), the greater the charge (Q) on the plates (in
the numerator of the equation), the higher is the capacitance level (C)
Thank you