Capacitors

Distribution of charges

Uncharged capacitor Overall uncharged

Charged capacitor Overall charged

Capacitors in circuits:

Capacitors can be used to construct two different circuits.

(i) Charging circuit (ii) Discharging circuit

*The easiest way to identify whether a circuit is changing or discharging is to look for a
power supply in the circuit. A circuit with a power supply is always a charging circuit.

Charging and discharging can be done either gradually/slowly or instantly.

*When there is no resistor in a circuit, the capacitor charges up or discharges instantly.

*When there is a resistor in a circuit, the capacitor charges up or discharges slowly/

gradually.
Circuit A Circuit B Circuit C Circuit D

When switch is closed, the circuit:

• A -> charges up instantly with opposite charges on each plate

• B -> charges up gradually with opposite charges on each plate

• C -> discharges instantly

• D -> discharges gradually

The charging process

*Initially as the capacitor is uncharged, the charge

stored in it is zero and therefore, the voltage
across it is also zero. Since capacitor is
connected in series with the resistor, the e.m.f is
equal to the sum of the voltage across the
capacitor and the voltage across the resistor.

Mathematically,

E.m.f = VC + VR

As the initial voltage across the capacitor is zero, initially, the voltage across the resistor is
equal to the e.m.f. Gradually as the capacitor charges up, according to Q = CV, the voltage
across it increases. Therefore, the voltage across the resistor decreases.

Finally, when the capacitor is fully charged, it cannot take in any more charges. The flow of
charge stops and therefore the current becomes zero.


Discharging process

When the switch is closed, the charges

re-distribute by flowing from one plate to the other until each

plate has an equal number of positive and negative charges.

Double circuits

When connected to A, the circuit becomes

a charging circuit and when connected to Y,
the circuit becomes a discharging circuit.

Graphs
Equations for charging and discharging

For discharging:

y = yoe −x where y0 = 1

∴ y = e −x

−t
Q = Q0e RC
RC = Time constant
−t
V = V0e RC

−t
I = I0e RC

For charging:

Q = Q0 (1 − e RC )

−t

V = V0 (1 − e RC )

−t

I = I0 (1 − e RC )

−t

Key points for graphs

Charging and discharging are both exponential process. In either process, the current
exponentially decreases. The area under the I-t graph gives the charge stored in the capacitor.
The gradient of the charge-time graph at a specific time gives the current at that instant.

Time constant

Time constant is represented with the Greek letter τ, tau.

Mathematically, τ = RC

This time constant determines the rate at which a capacitor charges or discharges.
Numerically, time constant is the time taken for an associated quantity to drop down to 37% or
drop down by 63%.

This time constant can be thought of as analogous to half life in radioactive decay. Just as half
life is the time taken for the value to decrease by 50%, similarly, time constant is the time taken
for the value to decrease by 63%.

Accessing time constant through an analogy