FACULTY OF ENGINEERING

DEPARTMENT OF BASIC SCIENCES

CAMILO ANDRES PRIETO REYES
Electric Physics
OCTOBER 2021

Wilmer Balaguera Castro, [Link]@[Link]

Dora Milena [Link]@[Link]
Angie MichellYauripoma,[Link]@[Link]
Sergio Nicolas Montaña [Link]@[Link]
Karen Paola Madrid Mejíakmadridmeji@[Link]

CAPACITOR LABORATORY

OBJECTIVES
● Experimentally identify through the simulator the effect that it causes
dielectric in the capacitor.
Determine the equivalent capacitance in a mixed capacitor circuit.
● Solve mixed circuits and compare theoretical data with experimental data.
thrown by the simulator.

SUMMARY
This document describes the capacitor laboratory practice carried out in the
PHET simulator, the concept of electric capacitor is globally related and the
the way it interacts with the different electric currents applied to
circuits consisting of parallel, series, or mixed forms.
During the development, the corresponding formulas for capacitance were used.
concrete concepts, arrangement of capacitors, and a simulator (PhET Simulation) that
helped with the experimentation. As a result, a new way was found for the
implementation by the voltage divider or method by resistances, which offers another
option for different circuits and devices. The capacitive voltage divider can have
an advantage depending on the use or application given to it, for this laboratory, unlike
of the voltage divider with resistors, stores energy and charges for a shutdown not
instantaneous that helps prevent failures due to power outages or interruptions in continuity
service.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
For the conceptual development of the experiment, the theoretical aspects related to it
practice, include a capacitor, which is a device that stores potential energy
electric and electric charge. To make a capacitor, it is enough to isolate two conductors from each other.
Another. To store energy in this device, charge must be transferred from a conductor to
another, so that one has negative charge and the other has an equal amount of charge
positive. Work must be done to transfer the loads through the difference of
resultant potential between the conductors, and the work done is stored as energy
Electric potential. For a particular capacitor, the ratio between the charge of each
conductor and the potential difference between conductors is a constant called
capacitance, which depends on the dimensions and shapes of the conductors and of
insulating material (if any) between them. Compared to the case where there is only a vacuum.
Among the conductors, the capacitance increases when an insulating material is present.
(a dielectric). This happens because inside the insulating material a
redistribution of the load, called polarization. The study of polarization will expand the
perspective of the electrical properties of matter; capacitors also provide a
new way of thinking about electric potential energy.
As theoretical aspects, the following questions are answered:

What is the function of a dielectric in a capacitor?

The dielectric in a capacitor is not just a function. To begin with, the
dielectric provides a fixed separation between the plates; it can be used as a dielectric for
air, but this does not guarantee that the plates do not come into contact at some point. The
dielectric allows to increase the maximum potential difference in the capacitor before
spark jumps between the plates, that is to say, that there is a dielectric breakdown.
Finally, it gives a capacitor the ability to have a larger plate size.
difference if it were empty. The capacitance would be multiplied by a factor k that
it depends on the dielectric used.

What is the highest capacitance that has been able to be built for a capacitor?
It is possibly the 10,000 Farad supercapacitor from Sunvault Energy and Edison.
Graphene power, presented in 2015, this supercapacitor aims to
the replacement of lithium batteries with supercapacitors that can also allow
a shorter loading period.

Which configuration has the highest equivalent capacitance, three capacitors in

parallel or three capacitors in series?
Capacitors in series are added according to the formula of the sum of the inverse values.
while in parallel they are added directly, so that the capacitors in
parallel have greater values than those of series.

Function of capacitors in the electrical circuits of some devices

daily use. Capacitors have different uses in various fields of electronics,
they are used to create filters, allowing only certain frequencies to pass or the elimination
of DC signals. They do not allow the voltage drop to happen so quickly to avoid damage to the
different electrical devices, that is to say, that the flow of energy does not stop abruptly, but rather
Let it be slow, since the capacitor seeks to maintain the voltage level. They are used in
power electronics to achieve higher voltage levels that are necessary in
different machines that may require voltages greater than 110 or 220 that come in the
lines of our houses.
Electric capacitance (C) is a physical property of a conductor that expresses the
the ability of a conductor to acquire charge without a substantial change in its potential. A
A parallel plate capacitor is a device that consists of two parallel plates.
area conductors separated by a very small distance compared to the
other dimensions and carry charges +q and -q on the surface. We must observe
In addition, the distribution of the electric field. To determine the capacitance C, first one
You need to know the electric field between the plates. To do this, let's consider a capacitor.
a real of finite size such that we can consider the field uniformly inside and
it only distorts at the edges.
 2. TABLES AND EXPERIMENTAL DATA

Work was done using the 'PhET Simulation' application, which provides a menu of 3 tabs:
introduction, dielectric and various
capacitors. Additional to a panel with mounting options: board load, lines of
electric field, capacitance
stored energy, and add capacitors (in series or parallel).

Activity 1
The dielectric tab.
The dielectric of the capacitor is completely removed.
3. Adjust the plates to 306.4 mm² and the battery potential to 1.5 V
Dielectric constant of 5

Below is the assembly that was carried out in case 1, for the others only
They modified the values and position of the elements.

Figure 1. Assembly case 1

 Figure 2. Capacitance, energy, and charge values obtained from the simulator

Activity 2

1. The configuration was designed as follows: Two capacitors in series and one in
parallel. The capacitors had the following capacitances. C1 = 1.0x10−13F; C2 = 3.0x
10−13; C3 = 1,510−13

A potential difference of 1.5 V was applied.

Figure 3. Assembly activity n°2

Activity 3

The capacitor configuration was designed: Two in parallel and one in series, with
capacitancias C1 = 2,510−13; C2 =1,010−13; C3 =2,310−13

A potential difference of 1.0 V was applied.

 Figure 4. Assembly activity n°3

It is necessary to mention that for activities 2 and 3, the multimeter was used to measure.
the voltages of the capacitors; these will be reflected in the results section and
discussion.

3. ANALYSIS AND RESULTS

Activity 1

Experimental case No. 1

The plate has two dielectrics, one is air and the other is the dielectric with constant K= 5.
in this case, the system can be modeled as two capacitors in parallel as follows
shape as seen in figure no. 5

Figure 5. System of two capacitors in parallel

Therefore, capacitance is the sum of both capacitances and mathematically it would be:

CT = C1 + C2

The plates have an area of 306 mm², a length and a width of 17.5 mm², if the
displacement comes from 10mm², so for both plates, the following is obtained
values:

A1 = 17.5 x 10 = 175mm2 = 0.000175m2

A2= 17.5X7.5 = 131.25mm2 = 0.00013125m2

d = 10 mm = 0.01 m for both plates

C2 is multiplied by the factor 5 as the dielectric constant K.

C2 = 5ε

Then C1=0.15pF + C2=0.58pF = CT=0.73pF

To find Q:

= ∆

= ∆ .
Q = 1.5V (0.73pF) = 1.095pC

∆V0
Note: = but in this case, by modeling the capacitors as one, it was simplified
as if there were only one dielectric.

To find E:

1 -12
E=W=QV=
2
0.821x10

It can be seen that the equivalent capacitance mathematical model deserves the credit.
or accuracy of result, showing a clear similarity in the values, the difference, in this
case, it could happen because the software does not allow having the exact required value of
2
306 fully, on the other hand, the handling of significant figures also varies the
values.

Experimental Case No. 2

The new capacitance value is given by:

0.0003064
C = 5ε = 5ε 0.01
1.35pF

= ∆ . C = 1. 5V. 1. 35pF= 2. 025pC

1 1.5 -12
=. 2
= 2pC. 2
= 1.5x10

Upon seeing the simulation and the percentage difference, it is possible to say that it is not necessary to carry out
a simulation and that only from the equations, and manually, it is possible to arrive
to real and close values, also, when the dielectric is completely inserted, the capacitor
it is completely with the dielectric 2 and this having the factor k causes an increase in the
total capacitance. Because of this, when looking at the formulas for Q and W, it can be seen that the capacitance
it is directly proportional to the load and the energy, therefore, in case 2, they increase
both in a relationship between 1 and 5, that is to say, due to the net change of the constant of the
dielectric, it is not 5 since it was already part of the plate's space.

Experimental Case No. 3

In this case, the dielectric remained outside, being only the dielectric the air.
the following values were calculated by hand:

= ε = 0.09pF
= . = 0.135 pC
2

= 2C
= 0. 0125pJ
Entering the dielectric completely with displacement 0

2
= ε = 5C1 = 0.44 pF
Q = V5C =1 = 0.675
2
pC

2
-12
= 2C
= 0.5177x10

In this case, the difference between the two only changes by a factor of 5 since all the
tiempo existió un dieléctrico, pero se cambió de 1 a 5 el factor del mismo, por esto solo
changes in that proportion.

Activity 2

Figura [Link] capacitor C3

Figure 7. Voltage capacitor C2

 Figure 8. Voltage capacitor C1

Figure 9. Schematic of the circuit made in LTSPice

Equivalent capacitance, loads, and voltage by capacitive voltage division:

1 −14
= 1 1 = 75 10
-13 + -13
1x10 3 times 10

. 7.5 x 10
-14
.15
1
= = -13 1.125V
1 1x10
. 7.5 x 10
-14
.15
2
= = -13 = 0.375V
2 3x10

-13 -13
1
= 1
. = 125V. 1x10
1
F = 1.125x10
-13 -13
2
= 2
. = 0.375V. 3x10
2
F = 1.125x10
-13 -13
1
= 3
. = 1. 5V. 15x10
3
F = 2.25 x 10
Total capacity:
-14 -13 -13
= + =3 7.5x10 + 1.5 times 10 = 2.25 times 10
Total energy, energy by capacitors:
2 2 2 2 -13
( . ) . 1.5 .2.25 x 10 -13
= 2C
= 2
= 2
= 2
= 2.53x10
2 -13 2
Q1 1.125x10 ) -14
1
= 2C 1
= -13 = 6. 328x10
2.1 x 10
2 -13 2
Q2 (1.125x10 ) -14
2
= 2C 2
= -13 = 2. 109x10
2.3x10
2 -13 2
Q3 (2.25x10 ) -13
3
= 2C 3
= -13 1.6875 x 10
2.15 x 10
If the summation of the energies by capacitor is performed, it is observed that it would give the same value.
that if an equivalent capacitor were used, this indicates that the equivalence holds true as well
that the first law of thermodynamics is the conservation of energy. It was noted that
the charges in capacitor 1 and 2 are equal, both by the mathematical method and with the
equation to find E, this allows us to see how despite the difference in voltages and
the capacitances, the system aims to maintain a balance between both nodes of the circuit.

Activity 3

Figure 10. Voltage capacitor 3

 Figure 11. Voltage capacitor 2

Figure 12. Voltage capacitor 1

Figure 13. Activity 3 scheme

Equivalent capacitance, load and voltage by capacitive voltage division:

-13 1 -13
= +2 = 3.3x10
3
= 1 1 = 1.42x10
C1
+
-13
. 1.42x10 .1V
1
= C1
= -13 = 0.569v
2.5x10
 -13
. 1.42 x 10 1V
2
= = -13 = 0.4303v = v3
3.3 times 10

-13 -13
Q1 = C1.V1 = 2. 5x10 F. 0. 569V= 1. 422x10
-13 -14
Q2 = C2.V2 = 1x10 F. 0. 4303V= 4. 303x10
-13 −14
Q3 = C3.V3 = 2. 3x10 F. 0. 4303V= 9. 8969x10

Load:
-13
-13
= . = 1.42 times 10 F. 1V= 1. 42

Energía total, energía por capacitores:

2
1 -13 2
(1.42x10 ) -14
= 2.C
= -13 = 7.1x10
2.1.42x10
2
1 -13 2
(1.42x10 ) -14
1
= 2.C
= -13 = 4.044 x10
1 2.25 x 10
2
2 -14 2
(4.303x10 ) -14
2
= 2.C
= -13 = 2.123x10
2 2.1.0 x 10
2
3 -14 2
(9.8969x10 ) -14
3
= 2.C
= −13 = 2.123 x 10
3 2.2.3 x 10

If we observe the general values, it can be noted that in this case there are also
expected similarities when the capacitor is equivalent compared to the results
what the simulator outputs. It is noted that the energy values between the capacitors sum up
a value similar to that of the equivalent capacitor, this is to be expected based on
the energy to maintain the voltage must be similar due to the capacity that they have
capacitors should be almost the same.
It is appreciated that the differences between the simulation and mathematical validation are small
In the simulator, it is possible for the system to take some loads that remain inside the
conductor that connects the elements of the circuit and this generates the difference, being smaller
in the simulation, but being more realistic, since the loads seek to distribute themselves in a
manera equitativa. El modelo de la actividad 2 de manera matemática y aplicando la fórmula
Q=C*V gave a value of 3.375E13, very close to the simulator and validating the statement.
that these circuits are equivalent.
The geometry of capacitors and the dielectric indicates that a pair of wires can
formar una capacitancia residuo, es decir, mientras dos elementos conductores tengan una
charge and are separated by a dielectric such as air, a value can be found of
capacitance, which, although it may be small, needs to be taken into account in certain
calculations depending on the situation. The simulation system may possibly simulate the
losses generated through the cables or losses of flows and fields, this is
evidence since the voltages are usually a little lower than the calculated ones
theoretically, just like seeing the voltages in parallel from the sources were lower than
those of these.
4. CONCLUSIONES

With the development of this practice, we managed to reach understanding and clarification.
from the concepts learned, theoretically, and see how it is reflected from a better
way the relationship that can exist between the charges, capacitance, and the difference
potential, in addition to the different factors that intervene in its variation. With
this experience helps to understand the importance of variation in the
distance between parallel plates for the value of capacitance, as well as the
variation of it when we introduce different types of dielectrics and how
These characteristics affect the charges and the potential difference. One of the
the most interesting aspects achieved with this experience is to demonstrate in a way
Practice those relationships mentioned in the equations between Q, V, and C,
noting that everything is logically related.

For another part, the configurations whether in series or parallel can be

equivalent to an equivalent capacitor for conducting analyses, this is
important position that allows real-life changes in capacitors
getting the same result, for example, some values may
capacitors are not commercially available, but the values do vary and in
different configurations, the same result could be obtained.

Continuing, a new way to implement it was found, which is the divisor.

of tension, the method of resistors is better known, but this offers us another
option for different circuits and devices that may be needed. The divider of
capacitive tension can have an advantage depending on the use or application that is
The thing is that, in this case, unlike the voltage divider with resistors,
stores energy and charges for a non-instant off that helps to prevent
failures due to power cuts or interruptions in service continuity.

For finally, it was experimentally and theoretically determined, the values and
effects represented by a dielectric in a parallel plate capacitor, just like
that a constant dielectric constant was used for all cases, although this
The constant can change depending on the type of material being worked with. On the other hand
side, the values and effects represented by circuit two were determined
capacitors in series and one in parallel.

5. REFERENCIAS

Mancero Santillán, F. (1983). Dynamic behavior of induction motors with

capacitors series and parallel (Bachelor's thesis, QUITO/EPN/1983).
Vargas Urzagaste, D. (2017). CAPACITORS (Doctoral dissertation).

Irwin, J. D., & Alvarado, E.V.(1997). Análisis básico de circuitos en Ingeniería. Prentice-Hall
Hispano-American.

ARTURO, R. G. CONDENSADORES Y CAPACITANCIA.