Welcome to our scientific investigation of capacitors. A capacitor is a fundamental electronic component that stores electrical energy in an electric field between two conducting plates. When connected to a voltage source, one plate accumulates positive charge while the other accumulates negative charge, creating an electric field between them.
Capacitance is a measure of how much electric charge a capacitor can store per unit voltage. It is defined as C equals Q over V, where Q is the charge and V is the voltage. For a parallel plate capacitor, the capacitance depends on three factors: the area of the plates, the distance between them, and the permittivity of the material between the plates.
When a capacitor is connected to a voltage source through a resistor, it undergoes a charging process. Initially, the current is maximum and decreases exponentially as the capacitor charges. The charge and voltage across the capacitor increase exponentially, approaching their maximum values. This process is characterized by the time constant RC.
Capacitors store energy in the electric field between their plates. The energy stored is given by one half C V squared, where C is the capacitance and V is the voltage. This energy can also be expressed as one half Q V or Q squared over two C. The energy density in the electric field is proportional to the square of the electric field strength.