Do you have a particular set-up in mind? In general, if the total charge on a system is zero, then the positively charged components must have equal and opposite charge in total to the negatively charged components.Kashmir said:Suppose we have two conductors ( can be of different shapes) and connect them to battery.
Why would equal amounts of charge appear on the two conductors?
Maybe the two plates of capacitor have unequal charges. The excess goes to battery somehow.Ibix said:What was the initial net charge in the system? Can charge be created or destroyed?
Yes that should be true for the whole system. Battery, wires and plates of capacitor.PeroK said:Do you have a particular set-up in mind? In general, if the total charge on a system is zero, then the positively charged components must have equal and opposite charge in total to the negatively charged components.
IMO, you asked the wrong question. Your question should have been: how does a battery work?Kashmir said:Yes that should be true for the whole system. Battery, wires and plates of capacitor.
Charge conservation doesn't necessarily imply equal amounts of charges on the two plates of capacitor.
Well, it does and it doesn't. Shove an amp-hour through the battery and you will later be able to get nearly an amp-hour back. That's charge storage. Not quite the same as sticking "pure charge" into a storage bottle, of course.PeroK said:
We know that both plates of a capacitor have the same charge because of the principle of charge conservation. When a capacitor is charged, electrons are transferred from one plate to the other, creating an equal but opposite charge on each plate. This ensures that the net charge of the system remains zero.
The dielectric material in a capacitor does not directly ensure that both plates have equal charge. Instead, it increases the capacitor's ability to store charge by reducing the electric field between the plates, allowing for a higher charge to be stored at a given voltage. The equal and opposite charges on the plates are due to the conservation of charge during the charging process.
External influences such as nearby electric fields or physical disturbances can temporarily affect the distribution of charges on the capacitor plates. However, under normal operating conditions and in a closed system, the charges on the plates will remain equal and opposite due to the conservation of charge.
When a capacitor is connected to a voltage source, electrons are pushed from the negative terminal of the source to one plate of the capacitor and pulled from the other plate to the positive terminal. This movement of electrons results in one plate gaining a negative charge and the other plate gaining an equal positive charge, ensuring that the charges are equal in magnitude but opposite in sign.
Under ideal conditions, a capacitor will always have equal and opposite charges on its plates. However, in practical scenarios, factors such as leakage currents, imperfections in the dielectric material, or physical damage to the capacitor can cause slight imbalances. These imbalances are typically very small and do not significantly affect the overall behavior of the capacitor.