CHAPTER SUMMARY ‘Capacitors and capacitance: capacitors any pair of conductors separated by an insulating material. When the capacitor i charged, there are charges of equal mag nitude Q and opposite sign onthe two conductors, and the potential Vy ofthe positively charged conductor with respect tothe negatively charged conductor is pro- portional to Q. The capacitance C is defined asthe ratio. ‘of Q to Vp. The SI unit of capacitance is the facad (F) 1F=10/V. ‘A parallel-plate capacitor consists of two parallel conducting plates, each with area A, separated by a dis- ‘anced If they are separated by vacuum, the capaci- tance depends only on A and d. For other geometries, the capacitance can be found by using the definition ‘QiNq, (See Examples 1-4.) [Capacitors in series and parallel: When capacitors with capacitances CC, Cs,-.- are connected in series, the reciprocal ofthe equivalent capacitance Ca, equals the ‘sum of the reciprocals ofthe individual capacitances. ‘When capacitors are connected in parallel, the equiva- lent capacitance Cyy equal the sum of the individual capacitances. (See Examples 5 and 6.) Energy in a capacitor: The energy U required to charge a capacitor Co a potential difference V and a charge Q is ‘equal tothe energy stored inthe capacitor. Tis energy can be thought of as residing inthe electric ld between the conductors; the energy density u (energy er unit volume) is proportional tothe square of the clecttic-ield magnitude. (See Examples 7-9.) Dielectrics: When the space between the conductors is filled witha dielectric material, the capacitance increases by a factor K, called the dielectric constant ‘f the material. The quantity € = Kep is called the per- rittivity ofthe dielectric, For a fixed amount of charge ‘on the capacitor plates, induced charges on the surface ofthe dielectric decrease the electric field and potential difference between the plates by the same factor K. The surface charge results from polarization, a microscopic rearrangement of charge in the dielectric. (See Example 10) Under sufficiently strong fields, dielectrics become conductors, a situation called dielectric breakdown, The ‘maximum field that a material can withstand without breakdown is called its dielectric strength. Ina dielectric, the expression forthe energy density {isthe same as in vacuum but with ep replaced by €~ Ke. (See Example 11.) Gauss law in a dielectric has almost the same form ‘as in vacuum, with two key differences: & is replaced bby KE and Qegc is replaced by Qsac-e» Which includes ‘only the fre charge (not bound charge) enclosed by the Gaussian surface. (See Example 12.) 8 (Capacitors in series) Cg Ft yt (Capacitors in parallel) tt @ -f-ie u-Z-t0 oie tate a (paralle-plate capacitor filled with dielectric) feoE? = feE* faded Qevc re ea, imi 895