Thea Angela Marie M.

Garcia

SSC X- EINSTEIN

1. Describe a capacitor through an investigation of its structure and

components.
Take two electrical conductors (things that let electricity flow through them) and
separate them with an insulator (a material that doesn't let electricity flow very
well) and you make a capacitor: something that can store electrical energy. Adding
electrical energy to a capacitor is called charging; releasing the energy from a
capacitor is known as discharging.
A capacitor is a bit like a battery, but it has a different job to do. A battery uses
chemicals to store electrical energy and release it very slowly through a circuit;
sometimes (in the case of a quartz watch) it can take several years. A capacitor
generally releases its energy much more rapidlyoften in seconds or less. If you're
taking a flash photograph, for example, you need your camera to produce a huge
burst of light in a fraction of a second. A capacitor attached to the flash gun charges
up for a few seconds using energy from your camera's batteries. (It takes time to
charge a capacitor and that's why you typically have to wait a little while.) Once the
capacitor is fully charged, it can release all that energy in an instant through
the xenon flash bulb.
Capacitors come in all shapes and sizes, but they usually have the same basic
components. There are the two conductors (known as plates, largely for historic
reasons) and there's the insulator in between them (called the dielectric). The two
plates inside a capacitor are wired to two electrical connections on the outside
called terminals, which are like thin metal legs you can hook into an electric circuit.
You can charge a capacitor simply by wiring it up into an electric circuit. When
you turn on the power, an electric charge gradually builds up on the plates. One
plate gains a positive charge and the other plate gains an equal and opposite
(negative) charge. If you disconnect the power, the capacitor keeps hold of its
charge (though it may slowly leak away over time). But if you connect the capacitor
to a second circuit containing something like an electric motor or a flash bulb,
charge will flow from the capacitor through the motor or lamp until there's none
remaining on the plates.
Although capacitors effectively have only one job to do (storing charge), they
can be put to all sorts of different uses in electrical circuits. They can be used as
timing devices (because it takes a certain, predictable amount of time to charge
them), as filters (circuits that allow only certain signals to flow), for smoothing the
voltage in circuits, for tuning (in radios and TVs), and for a variety of other
purposes. Large supercapacitors can also be used instead of batteries.
2. Discuss the function of different capacitors.

Capacitors store electric energy when they are connected to a battery or some
other charging circuit. They are commonly placed in electronic components and are
used to maintain a power supply while the device is unplugged and without a
battery for a short time. The energy within the capacitor prevents the loss of data,
with an example being the RAM of a computer.
The capacitor contains two metallic plates that are separated by some form of
insulation. The plates store the energy until it is needed.
The capacitance refers to the amount of storage capacity available. Capacitance
is usually measured in the farad unit, which is the equivalent of one coulomb per
volt. A coulomb is the unit of electrical charge. Both farad and coulomb are
identified as standards by the International System of Units. For the capacitors in
household electrical components, the capacitance can be measured in microfarad.

Different types:

Electrolytic type- these are used abundantly in all electronic circuits. An

electrolytic capacitor contains a dielectric material inside; this material has a
break down voltage. This voltage is represented on label. This is the
maximum operating voltage for that capacitor. If any voltage higher than
labeled voltage applied across that capacitor, it gets damaged permanently.
For a higher voltage the dielectric material breaks down.

Polyester type- they are available in low capacitances only. But the operating
voltages for these capacitors are high. The capacitances for these capacitors
are found the same way as ceramic type capacitors. Polyester type
capacitors have no polarity and so these can be connected in any way.
These can be operated in both AC circuit and DC circuits.

Tantalum type- these capacitors are used in low capacitance applications.

Ceramic type- these are mainly used for noise suppression and filtering
purposes. Ceramic type capacitors have no polarity and so these can be
connected in any way. These can be operated in both AC circuit and DC
circuits.

3. Compute for the total capacitance in the capacitors connected in

series and in parallel circuit.
When capacitors are connected in series, the total capacitance is less than
any one of the series capacitors individual capacitances. If two or more
capacitors are connected in series, the overall effect is that of a single
(equivalent) capacitor having the sum total of the plate spacings of the individual

capacitors. As weve just seen, an increase in plate spacing, with all other factors
unchanged, results in decreased capacitance.

Thus, the total capacitance is less than any one of the individual capacitors
capacitances. The formula for calculating the series total capacitance is the same
form as for calculating parallel resistances:

When capacitors are connected in parallel, the total capacitance is the sum
of the individual capacitors capacitances. If two or more capacitors are connected
in parallel, the overall effect is that of a single equivalent capacitor having the
sum total of the plate areas of the individual capacitors. As weve just seen, an
increase in plate area, with all other factors unchanged, results in increased
capacitance.

Thus, the total capacitance is more than any one of the individual
capacitors capacitances. The formula for calculating the parallel total capacitance
is the same form as for calculating series resistances:

As you will no doubt notice, this is exactly opposite of the phenomenon

exhibited by resistors. With resistors, series connections result in additive values

while parallel connections result in diminished values. With capacitors, its the
reverse: parallel connections result in additive values while series connections
result in diminished values.