slammer said:Homework Statement
A circuit composed of 2 capacitors of .40MF and .50MF are connected in series to a 9V battery. Calculate the charge on each
I just have a general question. I know that capacitors in parallel have the same charge.
I found Q to be 1.8MC and I was wondering if 1.8MC is the charge on both caps or is it .9MC charge on both caps.
slammer said:Oops sorry my bad i mean capacitors in series have same charge. But I can't solve for V w/o finding out the capacitance on each capacitor. So what I am trying to say is does the both of the capacitors get 1.8mC of charge or do they each get .9mC?
LowlyPion said:What voltage do you get across each capacitor for both of those possibilities?
Which possibility adds up to 9 v adding the voltages of both capacitors? Because that's the one that's your answer.
Btw, where did the 1.8 mC come from? Didn't you calculate the equivalent capacitance and multiply by the voltage?
slammer said:round errors and I figured it out. 1.8mC gets dumped on both of the caps.
A capacitor stores charge by using two conductive plates separated by a dielectric material. When a voltage is applied across the capacitor, electrons from one plate are attracted to the other plate, creating a build-up of charge on each plate.
The amount of charge a capacitor can hold is affected by its capacitance, which is determined by the surface area of the plates, the distance between the plates, and the dielectric constant of the material between the plates. A larger surface area, smaller distance, and higher dielectric constant will result in a higher capacitance and therefore a higher charge holding capacity.
A capacitor discharges its stored charge when a circuit is completed between the two plates. This allows the electrons to flow from one plate to the other, equalizing the charge on both plates.
No, a capacitor has a maximum charge holding capacity determined by its capacitance. If too much charge is applied, the dielectric material can break down and the capacitor can fail.
Capacitors are used in a variety of electronic devices, such as power supplies, audio equipment, and computers. They are also used in energy storage systems, like batteries, and in filters to remove unwanted frequencies from electronic signals.