CAPACITORS

CONTENT

1. Definition of a Capacitor
2. Energy Stored in a Capacitor
3. Arrangement of Capacitors
4. Solved Questions

Definition of a Capacitor

A capacitor can be defined as a device which can store electrical energy. It consist essentially  of two metal plate separated by an insulator. The insulator is called dielectric material. When  the capacitor is connected to a pd source, opposite charges are gradually built up on each of the plates.

Capacitor

The ratio of the charge Q stored on the capacitor to the potential difference between the plates is called the capacitance of the capacitor. The unit of capacitance is called farad.

\(C = \frac{Q}{V}\) ——–(i)

Q is the charge and V is the pd between the plate.

The most common type of capacitor is the parallel plate capacitor. The capacitance of a  parallel plate capacitor depends on the following factors:

(i) Area of overlap of the plates: the capacitance of a parallel plate capacitor is directly  proportional to the area of overlap of the plates.