MySecretAlias said:What exactly is the reasoning behind deciding to use parallel vs series? What is the value behind capacitance, really, as opposed to a general electric circuit? Thanks.
davenn said:Normally you wouldn't see series capacitors in a circuit, unless they were part of say a filter circuit that had inductors going from the junction of the two capacitors to ground.
euquila said:Vs(DC) ---------||-------- ground
In direct current, electricity cannot flow through a capacitor (it is actually a discontinuity in the circuit).
Vs(~) ---------||-------- ground
In alternating current, the capacitor acts as a kind of resistor (it has an associated impedance).
MySecretAlias said:What exactly is the reasoning behind deciding to use parallel vs series? What is the value behind capacitance, really, as opposed to a general electric circuit? Thanks.
phinds said:Which, of course would mean that the caps are NOT in series.
It would be described by a circuit schematic. phinds is correct, the capacitors would not be in series; series elements have the same current because the wire that connects them is not connected to anything else.davenn said:Wellllll... ;) Would almost be tempted to dispute that. Haha.
My thoughts are always in the RF field. I don't do much with filters etc in audio work.
If I have a "T" filter with 2 caps in series and an inductor in parallel from the junction of the 2 caps, for all intents those 2 caps are still in series. How else can we describe it ?
A common use of series capacitors is to allow polarised capacitors to work with AC. (Polarised means they have a positive end and a negative end, and these polarities must be respected when connecting the capacitor to any circuit. Electrolytic capacitors are inherently polarised.)MySecretAlias said:What exactly is the reasoning behind deciding to use parallel vs series? What is the value behind capacitance, really, as opposed to a general electric circuit? Thanks.
Parallel capacitance is when two or more capacitors are connected side by side, with each capacitor having its own branch. Series capacitance is when two or more capacitors are connected end to end, with each capacitor sharing the same branch.
Parallel capacitance has a higher total capacitance compared to series capacitance. This is because in parallel, the individual capacitances of each capacitor are added together, whereas in series, the total capacitance is reduced due to the inverse relationship between capacitance and voltage.
In parallel capacitance, the voltage across each capacitor is the same as the applied voltage. In series capacitance, the voltage is divided among the capacitors based on their individual capacitances, with the total voltage being equal to the applied voltage.
Parallel capacitance is better for storing charge compared to series capacitance. This is because in parallel, the capacitors are able to store more charge due to their combined capacitances, whereas in series, the total charge is divided among the capacitors.
In a parallel configuration, the total capacitance decreases when a capacitor is removed, as there is one less capacitor contributing to the total capacitance. In a series configuration, the total capacitance increases when a capacitor is removed, as there is now less capacitance to reduce the overall total.