Connexions module: m42333

Capacitors and Dielectrics

OpenStax College
This work is produced by The Connexions Project and licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License

Abstract Describe the action of a capacitor and dene capacitance. Explain parallel plate capacitors and their capacitances. Discuss the process of increasing the capacitance of a dielectric. Determine capacitance given charge and voltage.
A

capacitor is a device used to store electric charge.

Capacitors have applications ranging from ltering

static out of radio reception to energy storage in heart debrillators. Typically, commercial capacitors have two conducting parts close to one another, but not touching, such as those in Figure 1. (Most of the time an insulator is used between the two plates to provide separationsee the discussion on dielectrics below.) When battery terminals are connected to an initially uncharged capacitor, equal amounts of positive and negative charge,

+Q

and

Q,

are separated into its two plates. The capacitor remains neutral overall,

but we refer to it as storing a charge

:

in this circumstance.

A capacitor is a device used to store electric charge.

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Figure 1: Both capacitors shown here were initially uncharged before being connected to a battery. They now have separated charges of +Q and Q on their two halves. (a) A parallel plate capacitor. (b) A rolled capacitor with an insulating material between its two conducting sheets.

The amount of charge

a capacitor can store depends on two major factorsthe voltage applied and the

capacitor's physical characteristics, such as its size.

:

The amount of charge

Q a capacitor

can store depends on two major factorsthe voltage applied

and the capacitor's physical characteristics, such as its size. A system composed of two identical, parallel conducting plates separated by a distance, as in Figure 2, is called a

parallel plate capacitor.

It is easy to see the relationship between the voltage and the stored

charge for a parallel plate capacitor, as shown in Figure 2. Each electric eld line starts on an individual positive charge and ends on a negative one, so that there will be more eld lines if there is more charge. (Drawing a single eld line per charge is a convenience, only. We can draw many eld lines for each charge,

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but the total number is proportional to the number of charges.) The electric eld strength is, thus, directly proportional to

Q.

Figure 2: Electric eld lines in this parallel plate capacitor, as always, start on positive charges and end on negative charges. Since the electric eld strength is proportional to the density of eld lines, it is also proportional to the amount of charge on the capacitor.

The eld is proportional to the charge:

E Q,
where the symbol

(1)

means proportional to.

From the discussion in Electric Potential in a Uniform Electric

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Field , we know that the voltage across parallel plates is

V = Ed.

Thus, (2)

V E.
It follows, then, that

V Q,

and conversely,

Q V.

(3)

This is true in general: The greater the voltage applied to any capacitor, the greater the charge stored in it. Dierent capacitors will store dierent amounts of charge for the same applied voltage, depending on their physical characteristics. We dene their is proportional to

capacitanceC

to be such that the charge

stored in a capacitor

C.

The charge stored in a capacitor is given by

Q = CV.
This equation expresses the two major factors aecting the amount of charge stored. the physical characteristics of the capacitor,
capacitance

(4) Those factors are

C,

and the voltage,

V.

Rearranging the equation, we see that

is the amount of charge stored per volt, or

C=

Q . V

(5)

Capacitance

is the amount of charge stored per volt, or

C=

Q . V

(6)

The unit of capacitance is the farad (F), named for Michael Faraday (17911867), an English scientist who contributed to the elds of electromagnetism and electrochemistry. voltage, we see that a farad is a coulomb per volt, or 1 C 1 V Since capacitance is charge per unit

1 F

(7)

A 1-farad capacitor would be able to store 1 coulomb (a very large amount of charge) with the application of only 1 volt. One farad is, thus, a very large capacitance. Typical capacitors range from fractions of a picofarad

1pF = 1012

to millifarads

1mF = 103

F .

Figure 3 shows some common capacitors. Capacitors are primarily made of ceramic, glass, or plastic, depending upon purpose and size. construction, as discussed below. Insulating materials, called dielectrics, are commonly used in their

1 "Electric Potential in a Uniform Electric Field" <http://cnx.org/content/m42326/latest/>

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Figure 3: Some typical capacitors. Size and value of capacitance are not necessarily related. (credit: Windell Oskay)

1 Parallel Plate Capacitor

The parallel plate capacitor shown in Figure 4 has two identical conducting plates, each having a surface area

A,

separated by a distance

capacitor, it stores a charge

d (with no material between the plates). When a voltage V is applied to the Q, as shown. We can see how its capacitance depends on A and d by considering

the characteristics of the Coulomb force. We know that like charges repel, unlike charges attract, and the force between charges decreases with distance. So it seems quite reasonable that the bigger the plates are, the more charge they can storebecause the charges can spread out more. Thus larger

should be greater for

A.

Similarly, the closer the plates are together, the greater the attraction of the opposite charges on

them. So

should be greater for smaller

d.

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Figure 4: Parallel plate capacitor with plates separated by a distance d. Each plate has an area A.

It can be shown that for a parallel plate capacitor there are only two factors (A and capacitance

d)

that aect its

C.

The capacitance of a parallel plate capacitor in equation form is given by

C=

A . d

(8)

C= A is the area of one plate in square meters,

A d

(9)

and d is the distance between the plates in meters. The constant 12 F/m. The units of 0 is the permittivity of free space; its numerical value in SI units is 0 = 8.85 10 2 2 F/m are equivalent to C /N m . The small numerical value of 0 is related to the large size of the farad. A parallel plate capacitor must have a large area to have a capacitance approaching a farad. (Note that the above equation is valid when the parallel plates are separated by air or free space. When another material is placed between the plates, the equation is modied, as discussed below.)

Example 1: Capacitance and Charge Stored in a Parallel Plate Capacitor

separated by 1.00 mm? (b) What charge is stored in this capacitor if a voltage of applied to it?

(a) What is the capacitance of a parallel plate capacitor with metal plates, each of area 1.00 m ,

3.00

3 10 V is

Strategy

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Finding the capacitance

is a straightforward application of the equation

C=

0 A/d. Once

is found, the charge stored can be found using the equation

Solution for (a)

Q = CV.

Entering the given values into the equation for the capacitance of a parallel plate capacitor yields

= =

A 0d

F = 8.85 1012 m
F

1.00 m2 1.00103 m

8.85 109

= 8.85nF.

(10)

Discussion for (a)

This small value for the capacitance indicates how dicult it is to make a device with a large capacitance. Special techniques help, such as using very large area thin foils placed close together.

Solution for (b)

The charge stored in any capacitor is given by the equation into this equation gives

Q = CV.

Entering the known values

Q = =

CV

= 8.85 109 C.

3.00 103

(11)

26.6

Discussion for (b)

This charge is only slightly greater than those found in typical static electricity. Since air breaks down at about voltage. Another interesting biological example dealing with electric potential is found in the cell's plasma membrane. The membrane sets a cell o from its surroundings and also allows ions to selectively pass in and out of the cell. There is a potential dierence across the membrane of about 70 mV. This is due to the mainly negatively charged ions in the cell and the predominance of positively charged sodium (Na ) ions outside. Things change when a nerve cell is stimulated. Na

3.00 106 V/m,

more charge cannot be stored on this capacitor by increasing the

ions are allowed to pass through the membrane into the

cell, producing a positive membrane potentialthe nerve signal. The cell membrane is about 7 to 10 nm thick. An approximate value of the electric eld across it is given by

E=

3 70 10 V V = = 9 106 V/m. 9 d 8 10 m

(12)

This electric eld is enough to cause a breakdown in air.

2 Dielectric
The previous example highlights the diculty of storing a large amount of charge in capacitors. If breakdown (since a

d is made

smaller to produce a larger capacitance, then the maximum voltage must be reduced proportionally to avoid

dielectric,
d

E = V /d).

An important solution to this diculty is to put an insulating material, called

between the plates of a capacitor and allow

to be as small as possible. Not only does the

smaller

make the capacitance greater, but many insulators can withstand greater electric elds than air

before breaking down. capacitance is greater than that given by the equation Depending on the material used, the A 0 d by a factor , called the dielectric constant. A parallel plate capacitor with a dielectric between its plates has a capacitance given by There is another benet to using a dielectric in a capacitor.

C=

C = 0
Values of the dielectric constant

A d

(parallel plate capacitor with dielectric).

(13)

for various materials are given in Table 1: Dielectric Constants and

Dielectric Strengths for Various Materials at 20C. Note that

for vacuum is exactly 1, and so the above

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equation is valid in that case, too. If a dielectric is used, perhaps by placing Teon between the plates of the capacitor in Example 1 (Capacitance and Charge Stored in a Parallel Plate Capacitor), then the capacitance is greater by the factor
:

which for Teon is 2.1. The plates will be the

How large a capacitor can you make using a chewing gum wrapper?

aluminum foil, and the separation (dielectric) in between will be the paper.

Dielectric Constants and Dielectric Strengths for Various Materials at 20C Material
Vacuum Air Bakelite Fused quartz Neoprene rubber Nylon Paper Polystyrene Pyrex glass Silicon oil Strontium titanate Teon Water

Dielectric constant Dielectric strength (V/m)

1.00000 1.00059 4.9 3.78 6.7 3.4 3.7 2.56 5.6 2.5 233 2.1 80 

3 106
24

106 106 106 106 106 106 106 106

8 106
12 14 16 24 14 15

8 106
60 

Table 1
Note also that the dielectric constant for air is very close to 1, so that air-lled capacitors act much like those with vacuum between their plates except that the air can become conductive if the electric eld strength becomes too great. strengths in V/m, called (Recall that

E = V /d

for a parallel plate capacitor.)

Also shown in Table

1: Dielectric Constants and Dielectric Strengths for Various Materials at 20C are maximum electric eld

dielectric strengths, for several materials.

These are the elds above which the

material begins to break down and conduct. The dielectric strength imposes a limit on the voltage that can be applied for a given plate separation. For instance, in Example 1 (Capacitance and Charge Stored in a Parallel Plate Capacitor), the separation is 1.00 mm, and so the voltage limit for air is

= = =

d 3
10

V/m

1.

00

(14)

10

3000 V.

However, the limit for a 1.00 mm separation lled with Teon is 60,000 V, since the dielectric strength of Teon is 60

106

V/m. So the same capacitor lled with Teon has a greater capacitance and can be Using the capacitance we calculated in the above example for the

subjected to a much greater voltage.

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air-lled parallel plate capacitor, we nd that the Teon-lled capacitor can store a maximum charge of

Q = = = =

CV

C air V ( 1.1mC. 2.1) ( 8.85nF ) 6.0

10

(15) V

This is 42 times the charge of the same air-lled capacitor.

:

The maximum electric eld strength above which an insulating material begins to break down

and conduct is called its dielectric strength. Microscopically, how does a dielectric increase capacitance? Polarization of the insulator is responsible. The more easily it is polarized, the greater its dielectric constant

Water, for example, is a

polar molecule

because one end of the molecule has a slight positive charge and the other end has a slight negative charge. The polarity of water causes it to have a relatively large dielectric constant of 80. The eect of polarization can be best explained in terms of the characteristics of the Coulomb force. Figure 5 shows the separation of charge schematically in the molecules of a dielectric material placed between the charged plates of a capacitor. The Coulomb force between the closest ends of the molecules and the charge on the plates is This attracts more charge onto the plates attractive and very strong, since they are very close together.

than if the space were empty and the opposite charges were a distance

away.

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Figure 5: (a) The molecules in the insulating material between the plates of a capacitor are polarized by the charged plates. This produces a layer of opposite charge on the surface of the dielectric that attracts more charge onto the plate, increasing its capacitance. (b) The dielectric reduces the electric eld strength inside the capacitor, resulting in a smaller voltage between the plates for the same charge. The capacitor stores the same charge for a smaller voltage, implying that it has a larger capacitance because of the dielectric.

Another way to understand how a dielectric increases capacitance is to consider its eect on the electric eld inside the capacitor. Figure 5(b) shows the electric eld lines with a dielectric in place. Since the eld lines end on charges in the dielectric, there are fewer of them going from one side of the capacitor to the other. So the electric eld strength is less than if there were a vacuum between the plates, even though the same charge is on the plates. The voltage between the plates is Thus there is a smaller voltage

for the same charge

Q;

since

V = Ed, so it too is reduced by the dielectric. C = Q/V , the capacitance C is greater.

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The dielectric constant is generally dened to be

= E0 /E ,

or the ratio of the electric eld in a vacuum

to that in the dielectric material, and is intimately related to the polarizability of the material.
:

The Submicroscopic Origin of Polarization

Polarization is a separation of charge within an atom or molecule. As has been noted, the planetary model of the atom pictures it as having a positive nucleus orbited by negative electrons, analogous to the planets orbiting the Sun. Although this model is not completely accurate, it is very helpful in explaining a vast range of phenomena and will be rened elsewhere, such as in Atomic Physics. The submicroscopic origin of polarization can be modeled as shown in Figure 6.

Figure 6: Artist's conception of a polarized atom. The orbits of electrons around the nucleus are shifted slightly by the external charges (shown exaggerated). The resulting separation of charge within the atom means that it is polarized. Note that the unlike charge is now closer to the external charges, causing the polarization.

We will nd in Atomic Physics that the orbits of electrons are more properly viewed as electron clouds with the density of the cloud related to the probability of nding an electron in that location (as opposed to the denite locations and paths of planets in their orbits around the Sun). This cloud is shifted by the Coulomb force so that the atom on average has a separation of charge. Although the atom remains neutral, it can now be the source of a Coulomb force, since a charge brought near the atom will be closer to one type of charge than the other. Some molecules, such as those of water, have an inherent separation of charge and are thus called polar molecules. Figure 7 illustrates the separation of charge in a water molecule, which has two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom

(H2 O).

The water molecule is not symmetricthe hydrogen atoms are repelled to one

side, giving the molecule a boomerang shape. The electrons in a water molecule are more concentrated around the more highly charged oxygen nucleus than around the hydrogen nuclei. This makes the oxygen end of the molecule slightly negative and leaves the hydrogen ends slightly positive. The inherent separation of charge in polar molecules makes it easier to align them with external elds and charges. Polar molecules therefore exhibit greater polarization eects and have greater dielectric constants. Those who study chemistry will nd that the polar nature of water has many eects. For example, water molecules gather ions much more eectively because they have an electric eld and a separation of charge to attract charges of both signs. Also, as brought out in the previous chapter, polar water provides a shield or screening of the electric elds in the highly charged molecules of interest in biological systems.

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Figure 7: Artist's conception of a water molecule. There is an inherent separation of charge, and so water is a polar molecule. Electrons in the molecule are attracted to the oxygen nucleus and leave an excess of positive charge near the two hydrogen nuclei. (Note that the schematic on the right is a rough illustration of the distribution of electrons in the water molecule. It does not show the actual numbers of protons and electrons involved in the structure.)

Explore how a capacitor works! Change the size of the plates and add a dielectric to see the Change the voltage and see charges built up on the plates. Observe the

eect on capacitance.

electric eld in the capacitor. Measure the voltage and the electric eld.

Figure 8: Capacitor Lab2

3 Section Summary

A capacitor is a device used to store charge. The amount of charge The capacitance

a capacitor can store depends on two major factorsthe voltage applied and

the capacitor's physical characteristics, such as its size.

is the amount of charge stored per volt, or

C=
2 http://cnx.org/content/m42333/latest/capacitor-lab_en.jar

Q . V

(16)

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13

The capacitance of a parallel plate capacitor is space.

C=

A 0 d , when the plates are separated by air or free

0 is called the permittivity of free space.

A parallel plate capacitor with a dielectric between its plates has a capacitance given by

C=
where

A , d

(17)

is the dielectric constant of the material.

The maximum electric eld strength above which an insulating material begins to break down and conduct is called dielectric strength.

4 Conceptual Questions
Exercise 1
it? Does the capacitance of a device depend on the applied voltage? What about the charge stored in

Exercise 2
Use the characteristics of the Coulomb force to explain why capacitance should be proportional to the plate area of a capacitor. Similarly, explain why capacitance should be inversely proportional to the separation between plates.

Exercise 3
Give the reason why a dielectric material increases capacitance compared with what it would be with air between the plates of a capacitor. What is the independent reason that a dielectric material also allows a greater voltage to be applied to a capacitor? permits a greater (The dielectric thus increases

and

V .)

Exercise 4
How does the polar character of water molecules help to explain water's relatively large dielectric constant? (Figure 7)

Exercise 5
Sparks will occur between the plates of an air-lled capacitor at lower voltage when the air is humid than when dry. Explain why, considering the polar character of water molecules.

Exercise 6
Water has a large dielectric constant, but it is rarely used in capacitors. Explain why.

Exercise 7
Membranes in living cells, including those in humans, are characterized by a separation of charge across the membrane. Eectively, the membranes are thus charged capacitors with important functions related to the potential dierence across the membrane. Is energy required to separate these charges in living membranes and, if so, is its source the metabolization of food energy or some other source?

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Figure 9: The semipermeable membrane of a cell has dierent concentrations of ions inside and out. Diusion moves the K+ (potassium) and Cl (chloride) ions in the directions shown, until the Coulomb force halts further transfer. This results in a layer of positive charge on the outside, a layer of negative charge on the inside, and thus a voltage across the cell membrane. The membrane is normally impermeable to Na+ (sodium ions).

5 Problems & Exercises

Exercise 8
(Solution on p. 16.)
What charge is stored in a 180

capacitor when 120 V is applied to it?

Exercise 9
Find the charge stored when 5.50 V is applied to an 8.00 pF capacitor.

Exercise 10
Plate Capacitor)?

(Solution on p. 16.)

What charge is stored in the capacitor in Example 1 (Capacitance and Charge Stored in a Parallel

Exercise 11
Calculate the voltage applied to a

2.00 F

capacitor when it holds

3.10 C

of charge.

Exercise 12 Exercise 13
What capacitance is needed to store

(Solution on p. 16.)

What voltage must be applied to an 8.00 nF capacitor to store 0.160 mC of charge?

3.00 C

of charge at a voltage of 120 V?

Exercise 14
mC of charge at a voltage of 12.0 MV?

(Solution on p. 16.)

What is the capacitance of a large Van de Graa generator's terminal, given that it stores 8.00

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Exercise 15
Find the capacitance of a parallel plate capacitor having plates of area by 0.100 mm of Teon.

5.00 m2

that are separated

Exercise 16
to it?

(Solution on p. 16.)
2
that are

(a)What is the capacitance of a parallel plate capacitor having plates of area 1.50 m

separated by 0.0200 mm of neoprene rubber? (b) What charge does it hold when 9.00 V is applied

Exercise 17 Integrated Concepts

A prankster applies 450 V to an 80.0F capacitor and then tosses it to an unsuspecting victim. The victim's nger is burned by the discharge of the capacitor through 0.200 g of esh. What is the temperature increase of the esh? Is it reasonable to assume no phase change?

Exercise 18 Unreasonable Results

this result? (c) Which assumptions are responsible or inconsistent?

(Solution on p. 16.)
2

(a) A certain parallel plate capacitor has plates of area 4.00 m , separated by 0.0100 mm of nylon, and stores 0.170 C of charge. What is the applied voltage? (b) What is unreasonable about

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Solutions to Exercises in this Module

Solution to Exercise (p. 14) Solution to Exercise (p. 14) Solution to Exercise (p. 14) Solution to Exercise (p. 14) Solution to Exercise (p. 15)
(a) 667 pF 20.0 kV 80.0 mC 21.6 mC

Solution to Exercise (p. 15)

(a) 14.2 kV (b) The voltage is unreasonably large, more than 100 times the breakdown voltage of nylon. (c) The assumed charge is unreasonably large and cannot be stored in a capacitor of these dimensions.

(b)

4.4 F 4.0 105

Glossary
Denition 1: capacitor
a device that stores electric charge

Denition 2: capacitance
amount of charge stored per unit volt

Denition 3: dielectric
an insulating material

Denition 4: dielectric strength

the maximum electric eld above which an insulating material begins to break down and conduct

Denition 5: parallel plate capacitor

two identical conducting plates separated by a distance

Denition 6: polar molecule

a molecule with inherent separation of charge

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