Capacitors and Inductors

Passive Elements
Capacitors
 Capacitor
Is consists of two conducting plates separated by an

A
insulator (dielectric).

C
d
Where: A - -surface
permittivity of the dielectric material
area of each plates
d - distance between the plate
1 Farad = 1 Coulomb/Volt

A capacitor is a passive element designed to store

energy in its electric field. (Electro static energy)
The voltage is the work per unit charge necessary
to transfer a charged particle from one conducting
body to other.

q = Cv
Where: q- charge stored
C- Capacitance
v- applied voltage

CAPACITANCE – It is the ratio of the charge on one plate

of a capacitor to the voltage difference between the two
plates and measured in Farads
Voltage and Current Relation

VC  
CAPACITORS oppose changes in voltage by
icdt
drawing or supplying current as they charge  V (t 0 )
or discharge to the new voltage level.
C

The flow of electrons “through” a capacitor is

dV C
iC  C
directly proportional to the rate of change of
voltage across the capacitor.
dt
Energy

The energy stored in the capacitor is:

1 2
W  Cv
2
Where: C - Capacitance
v - Voltage
Important Properties of Capacitor
The capacitor is an open circuit to DC.
Important Properties of Capacitor

The voltage on capacitor cannot change abruptly.

Waveform of the Voltage across the capacitor:

(a) is ALLOWED (b) NOT ALLOWED

( an abrupt change is not possible)
Capacitors in Series

The equivalent capacitance of series-connected capacitors is

the reciprocal of the sum of the reciprocal of the individual
capacitance.
Capacitors in Parallel

The equivalent capacitance of N-parallel connected

capacitors is the sum of the individual capacitance.
Inductors
Inductor
It is consists of coil of conducting wires.

N A 2
L
l
where: N – number of turns
- permeability of the core
A – cross-sectional area
l - length

It is a passive element designed to store energy in

its magnetic field. (Electro magnetic energy)
Voltage and Current Relation
INDUCTOR oppose changes in current
through them, by dropping a voltage
directly proportional to the rate of
change of current.

di
VL  L
dt

iL   VL dt  it (t 0)
1
L
Energy

The energy stored in the inductor is:

1 2
W  Li
2
Where: L - Inductance
i - current
Important Properties of Inductor
The inductor is a short circuit to dc.
Important Properties of Inductor
The current through an inductor cannot change
instantaneously.

Current though an inductor:

a) Allowed b) Not allowable

(an abrupt change is not possible)
Inductors in Series

The equivalent inductance of series-connected inductors is

the sum of the of the individual inductance.
Inductors in Parallel

The equivalent capacitance of N-parallel connected inductors

is the reciprocal of the sum of the reciprocal individual
inductance.