Calculating Energy Stored in a Capacitor Recall the electric potential energy is the area under a potential-charge graph This is equal to the work done in charging the capacitor to a particular pot...
Area Under a Potential–Charge Graph When charging a capacitor, the power supply pushes electrons from the positive to the negative plate It therefore does work on the electrons, which increase thei...
Capacitors in Series & Parallel Recall the formula for the combined capacitance of capacitors in series: In parallel: Ctotal = C1 + C2 + C3 ... Worked Example Three capacitors with capacitance ...
Derivation of C = Q/V The circuit symbol for a parallel plate capacitor is two parallel lines Circuit symbol for a capacitor Capacitors can be combined in series and parallel circuits The combined ...
Defining Capacitance Capacitors are electrical devices used to store energy in electronic circuits, commonly for a backup release of energy if the power fails They can be in the form of: An isolate...
Electric Potential Energy of Two Point Charges The electric potential energy Ep at point in an electric field is defined as: The work done in bringing a charge from infinity to that point The elect...
Potential Gradient An electric field can be defined in terms of the variation of electric potential at different points in the field: The electric field at a particular point is equal to the negati...
Electric Potential In order to move a positive charge closer to another positive charge, work must be done to overcome the force of repulsion between them Energy is therefore transferred to the cha...
Coulomb's Law All charged particles produce an electric field around it This field exerts a force on any other charged particle within range The electrostatic force between two charges is defined b...
