Capacitor comprehensive problem analysis example

What causes a capacitor to have a high voltage?

Solution: The voltage across a capacitor at a particular instant is related to two things: the capacitor's capacitance and the amount of charge on one of the capacitor's plates. If there is a lot of charge on the plates most of the time (this is the case with low frequency), the short-term voltage of the capacitor will be relatively high.

How are two capacitors connected in parallel?

Two capacitors of equal capacitance C are connected in parallel by wires of negligible resis-tance and a switch, as shown in the lefthand figure below. Initially the switch is open, one capacitor is charged to voltage V 0, and charge Q 0 = CV 0, while the other is uncharged. At time t = 0 the switch is closed.

What happens if a capacitor accumulated a long period of time?

Solution: After a long period of time, the accumulated charge on the capacitor's plates will produce a voltage across the capacitor that is equal to the voltage across the power supply. At that point, there will no longer be current in the circuit.

What is a capacitor insulator?

A capacitor is a circuit component that consists of two conductive plate separated by an insulator (or dielectric). Capacitors store charge and the amount of charge stored on the capacitor is directly proportional to the voltage across the capacitor. The constant of proportionality is the capacitance of the capacitor. That is:

What is common in series combinations of capacitors?

Solution: What is common in series combinations of capacitors is the charge on each capacitor. When the charged capacitors are reconnected, assuming the capacitances are different, there will be a voltage difference between the caps. Current will flow until that voltage difference disappears. b.) Out of curiosity, why was the resistor

Why do capacitors not pass low frequency?

If the voltage across the capacitor is relatively large, the voltage across the resistor in the circuit will be relatively small and there will be very little current flowing through the circuit (again, current mimics resistor voltage). That is why capacitors don't pass low frequency. Their plates are charged too much of the time at low frequency.