ELECTROSTATICS

It is the study of the behaviour of charges at rest. A charge is the amount of electricity
contained in a body. There are 2 types basically known as
 Positive charge(proton)
 Negative charge(electron)
Characteristics of Charges
 It is a basic quantity with magnitude 1.6 ×10−19 C
 The unit is coulomb (C)
 A charge is quantized (discrete quantized)
 Like charges repel, unlike charges attract (law of charges)
A Charged Body
A body is said to be charged when there are:
 More electrons than protons
 Fewer electrons than protons
Methods of Charging Bodies
 Friction method
 Conduction Method
 Induction Method
 Contact Method
Charging a Body by Friction
This method is used to charge insulators by rubbing them against each other. Examples are:
 If you rub an ebonite rod with fur, the rod becomes negatively charged and the fur
positively charged.
 If you rub a glass rod with silk the glass rod becomes positively charged and the silk
negatively charged.
 If you rub a cellulose acetate rod with a duster the rod becomes positively charged
and the duster becomes negatively charged.
 If you rub a polythene rod with hair the rod becomes negatively charged and the hair
positively charged.
Applications of Charging by Friction
 Used in electrostatic paint spraying mechanism
 Used in prevention of fire during petrol off loading
Charging a Body by Conduction
 This method is used to charge conductors by electrical means using a DC source.

 The conductor is mounted on an insulator. The positive terminal cell is connected to

the conductor and the negative terminal is earthed. When the key is closed for a short
time the current flows into the conductor while electrons flow from the conductor to
the earth making the conductor acquire positive charges.
Charging a Body by Contact
The process of giving one object a net electric charge by placing it in contact with another
object that is already charged is known as charging by contact.

When a negatively charged ebonite rod is rubbed on a metal object, such as the sphere in
Figure “a”, some of the excess electrons from the rod are transferred to the object. Once the
electrons are on the metal sphere, where they can move readily, they repel one another and
spread out over the sphere’s surface. The insulated stand prevents them from flowing to the
earth, where they could spread out even more. When the rod is removed, as in part figure “b”
of the picture, the sphere is left with a negative charge distributed over its surface. In a
similar manner, the sphere would be left with a positive charge after being rubbed with a
positively charged rod. In this case, electrons from the sphere would be transferred to the rod.

(a) Electrons are transferred by rubbing the negatively charged rod on the metal sphere.

(b) When the rod is removed, the electrons distribute themselves over the surface of the
sphere.
Charging a Body by Induction

The process of giving one object a net electric charge without touching the object to a second
charged object is called charging by induction.

It is also possible to charge a conductor in a way that does not involve contact. In Figure
below, a negatively charged rod is brought close to, but does not touch, a metal sphere. In the
sphere, the free electrons closest to the rod move to the other side, as part ‘a’ of the drawing
indicates. As a result, the part of the sphere nearest the rod becomes positively charged and
the part farthest away becomes negatively charged. These positively and negatively charged
regions have been “induced” or “persuaded” to form because of the repulsive force between
the negative rod and the free electrons in the sphere. If the rod were removed, the free
electrons would return to their original places, and the charged regions would disappear.

Under most conditions the earth is a good electrical conductor. So when a metal wire is
attached between the sphere and the ground, as in Figure ‘b’, some of the free electrons leave
the sphere and distribute themselves over the much larger earth. If the grounding wire is then
removed, followed by the ebonite rod, the sphere is left with a positive net charge, as part ‘c’
of the picture shows. The process could also be used to give the sphere a negative net charge,
if a positively charged rod were used. Then, electrons would be drawn up from the ground
through the grounding wire and onto the sphere.

If the sphere in Figure above were made from an insulating material like plastic, instead of
metal, the method of producing a net charge by induction would not work, because very little
charge would flow through the insulating material and down the grounding wire. However,
the electric force of the charged rod would have some effect, as Figure 18.9 illustrates. The
electric force would cause the positive and negative charges in the molecules of the insulating
material to separate slightly, with the negative charges being “pushed” away from the
negative rod. Although no net charge is created, the surface of the plastic does acquire a
slight induced positive charge and is attracted to the negative rod. For a similar reason, one
piece of cloth can stick to another in the phenomenon known as “static cling,” which occurs
when an article of clothing has acquired an electric charge while being tumbled about in a
clothes dryer.

The Gold Leaf Electroscope

This is an instrument for detecting and testing small electric charges.

It consist of an earthed metal case with a glass window. Inside the metal is a metal rod joined
to a metal (brass) cap outside the case and with brass plate and a thin gold leaf attached. The
metal rod is supported by a non-electrical block so that it cannot conduct electrical charges to
the outer metal case. The electroscope is earthed with a wire connection, but usually there is
enough contact through the bench to the ground. The cap of the electroscope can be earthed

by touching it.
It can be used to: Detect small charges on bodies, Test the sign of charges, Test the
magnitude of charges, Measure electric potential, Study distribution of potentials in fields,
Detect whether a body is a conductor or an insulator.

Experiments with a Gold-Leaf Electroscope

1. To detect the presence of charge on a body: If a rod of some suitable material is

charged by friction and then brought near to the cap of a gold-leaf electroscope the
leaf is seen to diverge from the plate. A charge has been induced on the leaf and plate,
and consequently repulsion occurs between them. On removing the charged rod, the
leaf collapses, showing that the induced charge on the electroscope is only
temporary. Very small charges may be detected by this method.
2. To Charge a Gold-Leaf Electroscope by Contact
Generally speaking, it is not always easy to charge an electroscope by contact with a
charged rod, but usually it can be done after a few attempts. An ebonite rod is given a
small charge by rubbing with fur, and is then rolled over the cap of an electroscope.
The leaf will be seen to diverge, and then the rod is removed. If the leaf does not stay
diverged the process is repeated until it does. We
may now assume that the electroscope is charged with negative electricity by
conduction from the ebonite rod. If the cap of the electroscope is touched with the
finger the charge flows to earth through the experimenter’s body and the leaf
collapses. This is called “earthing the electroscope”. Before proceeding any further it
must be pointed out that charging by contact is not a good method and often gives a
charge opposite to that expected. It is better to use the method of induction, which is
described later.
3. To test for the sign of the charge on a body: having charged the electroscope
negatively as described above, the ebonite rod should be recharged and brought near
to the cap. An increase in the leaf divergence is noted. A glass rod rubbed with silk
(positive charge) is now cautiously brought down towards the cap from a height of
about 50 em. This time, a decrease in divergence is noticed. The electroscope is
discharged by touching it with the finger and afterwards charged positively by
contact, using a glass rod rubbed with silk. We shall now find that an increased
divergence is caused by bringing a charged glass rod near the cap and a decreased
divergence by a charged ebonite rod. From these experiments we conclude that an
increase in divergence occurs when the charge on the electroscope and the test charge
 are of the same kind. We may not assume, however, that, a decrease in divergence
necessarily means that a charge of opposite kind has been brought near a charged
electroscope. An uncharged body has the same effect. One’s own hand is a convenient
uncharged body to use for this purpose. 11follows that the only sure test for the sign
of charge on a body is to obtain an increase in divergence. The results of these
experiments are summarized in the table shown.
4. To test the insulating properties of various materials: The insulating or,
conversely, the conducting property of a given substance may be tested by holding a
sample of the substance in the hand and then bringing it into contact with the cap of a
charged electroscope. If the substance is a good insulator there will be no leakage of
charge through it and the leaf divergence will not alter. If, however, the leaf collapses
instantly it shows that the substance is a good conductor. Between these two extremes
there are certain substances which produce a slow collapse of the leaf. These are
classed as poor insulators or poor conductors. Examples of this type of material are
paper, wool, cotton, and wood. Nevertheless, if these substances are dried thoroughly
they become quite good insulators. This suggests that their ability to conduct
electricity comes from their moisture content. Among the good conductors are all the
metals and carbon. The good insulators are sulphur, quartz, paraffin wax, polyvinyl
chloride (P.V.c.), shellac, polythene, and silk. The experiment should be carried out
with as many different substances as possible and the results recorded in a table as
below.

Electric Field

It is region around a charge where the electric force or coulombic force is experienced.

Electric field is also called as electrostatic field. The electrostatic force or electric force is
exerted by the static electric charges i.e. electrons and protons.
Types

1. Uniform Electric Field: It is one which has both magnitude and direction to be
constant at any point within a field.

Characteristics

The electric lines of force are: Parallel to each other, in the same direction, the electric flux
density is constant everywhere

2. Non-uniform electric field: It is one which has magnitude or direction or both

changing at different points within the field.

Characteristics

At an angle to each other, Unequally/unevenly spaced, at different force (directions), the

electric flux density varies from point to point.

3. Static electric field: the strength of the electric field that does not vary with respect to
time is called static electric field. This static electric field is produced by static electric
charges.
4. Time varying electric field: the strength of the electric field that varies with respect to
time is called time varying electric field.

Electric Field Strength

The strength or intensity of the electric field at any point within the electric field is called
electric field strength.

To describe an electric field, we must specify its strength. The strength of electric field at any
point within the electric field is determined by placing the unit charge at that point. When the
unit charge is placed in an electric field, it will experience an electric force. This electric
force is either attractive or repulsive.

The amount of electric force acting on a unit charge placed at any point within the electric
field is called electric field strength or electric field intensity.
If the amount of force acting on a unit charge at a given point is less, the electric field
strength at that point is less. In the similar way, if the amount of force acting on a unit charge
at a given point is high, the electric field strength at that point is high. Electric field strength
or intensity is a vector quantity; it has both magnitude and direction.

Electric field strength can be mathematically defined as force per unit charge

As we know that force is measured in Newton’s and charge is measured in coulombs. Hence,
electric field strength is measured in Newton’s per coulomb (N/C).

Electric Lines Of Force

They are imaginary lines within an electric field along which a positive test charge will move
when placed in the field.

The direction of electric lines of force for positive and negative charge is shown in the below
figure. For positive charge, the electric lines of force move away from the centre of the
charge. But in case of negative charge, the electric lines of force move towards the centre of
the charge.

Opposite Charges Attract

If two opposite charges are placed close to each other, they get attracted because the force
present between them is attractive.

Let us consider two apposite charges as shown in below figure. Below figure clearly shows
that for positive charge the electric lines of force moves away from the centre of positive
charge and for negative charge the electric lines of force moves towards the centre of the
negative charge.

If these two opposite charges are placed close to each other, the positive charge moves in the
direction of electric lines of force and enters into electric field of negative charge. Here, the
positive charge gets pulled towards the negative charge because the electric lines of force for
negative charge are also in the same direction. Therefore, the two opposite charges get
attracted.

Like Charges Repel

If two positive charges are placed close to each other, they get repelled because the force
present between them is repulsive.

Let us consider two positive charges as shown in below figure. Below figure clearly shows
that for both the positive charges electric lines of force moves away from the centre of the
positive charges.

If these two positive charges are placed close to each other, both the charges will try to move
in the direction of electric lines of force. The positive charge at left side will try to move
towards the positive charge at right side, but the electric lines of force of the right side
positive charge oppose this movement. In the similar way, positive charge at right side will
also experience an opposing force from left side positive charge. Hence, both the charges will
experience a repulsive force from each other.

If two negative charges are placed close to each other, they get repelled because the force
present between them is repulsive.
Let us consider two negative charges as shown in below figure. Below figure clearly shows
that for both the negative charges electric lines of force moves towards the centre of the
negative charges. If these two negative charges are placed close to each other, both the
charges will try to move in the direction of electric lines of force. The negative charge at left
side will experience a pulling force from the right side negative charge, but the electric lines
of force for the left side negative charge is in opposite direction. Hence, it will moves away
from the right side negative charge. In the similar way, the right side negative charge will try
to moves away from left side negative charge. Therefore, both the charges will move away
from each other.

Properties of Electric Lines of Force

1. The electric lines of force start from a positive charge and ends on a negative charge.
2. The electric lines of force always enter or leave the charged surface normally.
3. Electric lines of force can never intersect each other.
4. The electric lines of force cannot pass through a conductor.
5. When two opposite charges are placed close to each other, the electric lines of force
present between them will become shorten in length.
6. When two like charges are placed closer to each other, the electric lines of force
present between them will become enlarged in length.

Electric Flux

The word flux comes from a Latin word ‘fluxus’ which means flow. Anything that moves
continuously from one point to another point is called flux. In the similar way, the electric
lines of force flowing from one point to another point is called electric flux. We can simply
define electric flux as flow of electric line of force or electric field lines.

The electric flux is represented by a symbol Ѱ (psi). Similar to the electric charge, electric
flux is also measured in coulombs (C).
Electric Flux Density

The number of electric field lines or electric lines of force flowing perpendicularly through a
surface area is called electric flux density.

Electric flux density can be mathematically defined as electric flux per surface area.

Electric flux is measured in Coulombs (C) and surface area is measured in square meters
(m2). Hence, the SI unit of electric flux density is coulomb per square meters (C/m2).

If the number of electric lines of force passing through a given surface area is high then the
electric flux density is also high. Similarly, if the number of electric lines of force passing
through a given surface area is low then the electric flux density is also low.

When the surface is placed perpendicular to the electric field, maximum number of electric
field lines or electric lines of force will pass through the surface.

When the surface is placed parallel to the electric field, no electric lines of force will pass
through the surface.

The concept of electric flux density can be easily understood by comparing it with the
butterfly net. The amount of air moving through the net at any given time is the flux density.
If the wind speed is high, then the flux through the net is also high. If this net size is made
large, the air (flux) through the net gets increase even though the wind speed is same.

If the net is placed in a direction facing the wind, then maximum amount of air will pass
through the net. On the other hand, if the net is placed parallel to the wind, then no wind will
flows through the net.

The electric flux is considered as positive if the electric lines of force go away from a surface.
On the other hand, it is considered as negative if the electric lines of force enter in to a
surface.

Electric Potential Energy

Electric potential energy is the energy that charged particles such as electrons and protons
have because of its own electric charge and its relative position to other charged particles.
Electric potential energy is also called as electrostatic potential energy.

Just like the gravitational field around the earth there exists an electric field around the
charged particle. Any objects that are placed within the gravitational field of the earth will
experience a gravitational force and falls towards the earth. Similarly, charged particles that
are placed within the electric field of other charged particles will experience force. This force
causes one charged particle to move away from other charged particle or move towards the
other charged particle.

Let us consider a positive charge A that has electric field and a small positive charge B. If a
small positive charge B is placed in this electric field, the positive charge will experience a
repulsive force.

In order to move this positive charge B towards the positive charge A work must be done on
positive charge B against the repulsive force. This work done on charge B or energy
transferred to charge B will be stored in the form of potential energy. Now, we can say that
charge B has electric potential energy. The amount of electric potential energy depends on
the amount of work done.
If we release the charge B work gets done by the charge and changes its electric potential
energy to kinetic energy.

In order to move two or more point charges more amount of work must be done. If more
amount of work is done more amount of electric potential energy is stored. Hence, charged
particles have the ability to do work on other charged particles. We know that energy means
ability to do work on objects. Thus, charged particles have electric potential energy.

Electric Potential

Electric potential is the amount of electric potential energy that a unit charge has within the
electric field.

It may also be defined as, the amount of work done in moving a unit positive charge from a
common reference point to a given point against the electric field of big positive charge. Any
point outside the electric field of big positive charge can be considered as reference point.
Electric potential is also called as the electric field potential or the electrostatic potential.

Electric potential can be mathematically written as,

Let us consider a big positive charge A and unit charge B as shown in the below figure. If a
unit positive charge B is placed at a reference point outside the electric field of charge A, the
force on charge B due to charge A is zero. Hence charge B has zero potential at this point. In
order to move the charge B towards charge A work must be done against the electric field of
charge A.
If the work is done on charge B against the electric field of charge A, the unit charge starts
moving towards charge A. This work done on charge B is stored in the form of potential
energy. The closer the unit charge to charge A, the higher will be the potential energy. This
potential energy of unit positive charge within the electric field of charge A is called electric
potential.

The SI unit of electric potential is volt. If one joule of work is done on unit positive charge
(1C) to move from a reference point towards a big positive charge against the electric field,
the electric potential of unit charge at that point is 1V.

Electric Potential Difference or Voltage

The difference in electric potential energy of a unit charge between two points within the
electric field is called electric potential difference.

It is also defined as; the amount of work done to move a unit positive charge from a point of
lower potential to a point of higher potential against the static electric field. The point at
which, unit charge has less potential energy is called lower potential. In the similar way, the
point at which, unit charge has more potential energy is called higher potential. Electric
potential difference is also called as voltage or electric pressure.

Consider two different points A and B in an electric field of positive charge Q as shown in
figure (1). Here, point A is much closer to the charge Q than point B. Let a unit charge is
placed at point B. This unit charge has electric potential energy of VB.
In order to move the unit positive charge from point B to point A work must be done on unit
positive charge against the electric field. If the work is done on unit charge, the energy gets
transferred to unit charge and it will start moving from point B to point A. Hence, at point A
unit charge gains electric potential energy as shown in fig (2). The amount of electric
potential of unit charge at point A is VA.

The amount of electric potential energy gained by unit charge from point B to Point A is
called as potential difference. Therefore, the potential difference between point B and point A
is VA – VB.

Electric potential difference can be mathematically written as

If one joule of work is done to move one coulomb of charge from one point (lower potential)
to other (higher potential), the potential difference between these two points is 1V. In the
similar way, If 5 joules of work is done to move one coulomb of charge from point of lower
potential to point of higher potential, the potential difference between these two points is 5V.
However, one joule of work is released as heat if one coulomb of charge moves from a point
of higher potential to a point of lower potential.

The electric potential difference between two points is measured in volts. One volt is equal to
one joule per coulomb. A voltmeter can be used to measure the potential difference between
two points. Generally, ground or zero potential is taken as one common reference point.
Capacitor is an electronic device, which is used to store electric charge or electrical energy.
A capacitor consists of two conducting plates separated by an insulating material or
dielectric. Figure 1 and Figure 2 are the basic structure and the schematic symbol of a
capacitor respectively.

Figure 1: Basic structure of the Capacitor

Figure 2: Schematic symbol of the Capacitor

Capacitance of a Capacitor

The ability of a capacitor to store electric charge between its plates is its capacity or
capacitance.

The capacitance of a capacitor is defined as: The ratio of electric charge stored on any one of
the plates of capacitor to potential difference between the plates.

Mathematically, C = Q / V and it is Coulomb(C) / volt (V) or Farad (F)

Farad is a large unit therefore in general practice we use small units.

 1 μF (microfarad) = 1x10-6 F
 2pF (Pico farad) = 1x10-12 F
Factors Affecting Capacitance

Plate Area: all other factors being equal, greater plate area gives greater capacitance; less
plate area gives less capacitance.

Explanation: Larger plate area results in more field flux (charge collected on the plates) for a
given field force (voltage across the plates).

Plate Spacing: All other factors being equal, further plate spacing gives less capacitance;
closer plate spacing gives greater capacitance.

Explanation: Closer spacing results in a greater field force (voltage across the capacitor
divided by the distance between the plates), which results in a greater field flux (charge
collected on the plates) for any given voltage applied across the plates.

Dielectric Material: All other factors being equal, greater permittivity of the dielectric gives
greater capacitance; less permittivity of the dielectric gives less capacitance.

Explanation: Although it’s complicated to explain, some materials offer less opposition to
field flux for a given amount of field force. Materials with a greater permittivity allow for
more field flux (offer less opposition), and thus a greater collected charge, for any given
amount of field force (applied voltage).
“Relative” permittivity means the permittivity of a material, relative to that of a pure vacuum.
The greater the number, the greater the permittivity of the material. Glass, for instance, with a
relative permittivity of 7, has seven times the permittivity of a pure vacuum, and
consequently will allow for the establishment of an electric field flux seven times stronger
than that of a vacuum, all other factors being equal.

The following is a table listing the relative permittivity (also known as the “dielectric
constant”) of various common substances:

An approximation of capacitance for any pair of separated conductors can be found with this
formula:
Charging a Capacitor

As soon as the switch is closed in position 1 the battery is connected across the capacitor,
current flows and the potential difference across the capacitor begins to rise but, as more and
more charge builds up on the capacitor plates, the current and the rate of rise of potential
difference both fall. (See Figure 3). Finally no further current will flow when the p.d. across
the capacitor equals that of the supply voltage Vo.
The capacitor is then fully charged.

Discharging a Capacitor
As soon as the switch is put in position 2 a 'large' current starts to flow and the potential
difference across the capacitor drops. (Figure 4). As charge flows from one plate to the other
through the resistor the charge is neutralised and so the current falls and the rate of decrease
of potential difference also falls.
Eventually the charge on the plates is zero and the current and potential difference are also
zero - the capacitor is fully discharged. Note that the value of the resistor does not affect the
final potential difference across the capacitor – only the time that it takes to reach that value.
The bigger the resistor the longer the time taken.
A graph showing the charging and discharging of a capacitor

Capacitor Network
1. Capacitors in Parallel

Consider two capacitors connected in parallel: i.e., with the positively charged plates
connected to a common ``input'' wire, and the negatively charged plates attached to a
common ``output'' wire as shown above. What is the equivalent capacitance between the
input and output wires?

In this case, the potential difference, V across the two capacitors is the same, and is equal to
the potential difference between the input and output wires. The total charge, Q however,
stored in the two capacitors is divided between the capacitors, since it must distribute itself
such that the voltage across the two is the same. Since the capacitors may have different
capacitances, C1 and C2, the charges Q1 and Q2 may also be different.

The equivalent capacitance Ceq of the pair of capacitors is simply the ratio Q/V.

Where Q = Q1 + Q2 is the total stored charge.

It follows that:
This gives:

Here, we have made use of the fact that the voltage, V is common to all three capacitors.
Thus, the rule is: The equivalent capacitance of two capacitors connected in parallel is the
sum of the individual capacitances.

2. Capacitors in Series

Consider two capacitors connected in series: i.e., in a line such that the positive plate of one
is attached to the negative plate of the other as shown above. In fact, let us suppose that the
positive plate of capacitor 1 is connected to the ``input'' wire, the negative plate of capacitor
1 is connected to the positive plate of capacitor 2, and the negative plate of capacitor 2 is
connected to the ``output'' wire. What is the equivalent capacitance between the input and
output wires?

In this case, it is important to realize that the charge, Q stored in the two capacitors is the
same. The net result is that both capacitors possess the same stored charge, Q. The potential
drops, V1 and V1, across the two capacitors are, in general, different. However, the sum of
these drops equals the total potential drop, V applied across the input and output wires: i.e..

The equivalent capacitance of the pair of capacitors is again; Ceq = Q/V

Thus:

This gives:
Here, we have made use of the fact that the charge, Q is common to all three capacitors.
Hence, the rule is: The reciprocal of the equivalent capacitance of two capacitors connected
in series is the sum of the reciprocals of the individual capacitances.

Energy Stored in a Capacitor

The potential difference across the plates of a capacitor is directly proportional to the charge
stored on the plates. This gives a straight line through the origin on a voltage-charge graph.
The area under this graph gives the energy stored in a capacitor.

As the area under the graph is a triangle, area = ½ base x height.

Note: the energy used by the cell to charge the capacitor, W = QV, but the energy stored on
the capacitor = 1/2 QV. So half the energy is lost in the circuit as heat energy as the capacitor
is changed.

As capacitors are able to store energy, they can be used in back-up systems in electrical
devices, such as computers.

Alternatively;
We know that the work done in charging the capacitor is the same as the energy stored in
the capacitor. Since C = Q/V ,we can write this stored energy in one of three equivalent
forms:

These formulae are valid for any type of capacitor, since the arguments that we used to derive
them do not depend on any special property of parallel plate capacitors.

Where is the energy in a parallel plate capacitor actually stored? Well, if we think about it,
the only place it could be stored is in the electric field generated between the plates. This
insight allows us to calculate the energy (or, rather, the energy density) of an electric field.

Consider a vacuum-filled parallel plate capacitor whose plates are of cross sectional area, A
and are spaced a distance, d apart. The electric field, E between the plates is approximately
uniform, and of magnitude, ¿ ϵ 0, where σ =Q/ A , and Q is the charge stored on the plates.
The electric field elsewhere is approximately zero. The potential difference between the
plates is V = E d. Thus, the energy stored in the capacitor can be written as:

Now, is the volume of the field-filled region between the plates, so if the energy is
stored in the electric field then the energy per unit volume, or energy density, of the field is:

It turns out that this result is quite general. Thus, we can calculate the energy content of any
electric field by dividing space into little cubes, applying the above formula to find the energy
content of each cube, and then summing the energies thus obtained to obtain the total energy.

It is easily demonstrated that the energy density in a dielectric medium is

Where ϵ = K ϵ o is the permittivity of the medium. This energy density consists of two
elements: the energy density ϵ o E2/2 held in the electric field, and the energy density
(K-1)ϵ o E2/2 held in the dielectric medium (this represents the work done on the constituent
molecules of the dielectric in order to polarize them).

Example

A parallel plate capacitor consists of two metal plates, each of area, 150cm2 separated by a
vacuum gap, d of 0.60 thick. What is the capacitance of this device? What potential
difference must be applied between the plates if the capacitor is to hold a charge of
magnitude Q = 1.00 × 10-3 μC on each plate?

Solution

Form

The voltage difference, V between the plates and the magnitude of the charge, Q stored on
each plate are related via C = Q/V or V = Q/C. Hence, if Q = 1.00 × 10-3 μC then