646 CHAPTER 26 CAPACITANCE

EXERCISES PROBLEMS

SECTION 26-2 Capacitance sphere 25 cm in radius and electrically isolated from

surroundings.
IE. An electrometer is a device used to measure static charge: an
9E. Two sheets of aluminum foil have the same area, a
unknown charge is placed on the plates of the meter's capacitor,
tion of 1.0 mm, and a capacitance of 10 pF, and are charged
and the potential difference is measured. What minimum charge
12 V. (a) Calculate the area of each sheet. The separationis
can be measured by an electrometer with a capacitance of 50 pF
decreased by 0.10 mm with the charge held constant. (b)What'
and a voltage sensitivity of 0.15 V?
the new capacitance? (c) By how much does the potential
2E. The two metal objects in Fig. 26-23 have net charges of
ence change? Explain how a microphone might be
+70 pC and -70 pC, which result in a 20 V potential difference
using this principle.
between them. (a) What is the capacitance of the system? (b) If
10E. A spherical drop of mercury of radius R has a
the charges are changed to +200 pC and -200 pC, what does the
given by C = 47TfOR. If two such drops combine to forma .
capacitance become? (c) What does the potential difference be-
larger drop, what is its capacitance?
come?
UP. Using the approximation that In(1 + x) = x whenx
(see Appendix E), show that the capacitance of a cylindrical
pacitor approaches that of a parallel-plate capacitor when
FIGURE 26-23 Exercise 2. spacing between the two cylinders is small.
12P. Suppose that the two spherical shells of a spherical
3E. The capacitor in Fig. 26-24 has a capacitance of 25 J.LF and tor have approximately equal radii. Under these conditions
is initially uncharged. The battery provides a potential difference device approximates a parallel-plate capacitor with b - a = I

of 120 V. After switch S is closed, how much charge will pass Show that Eq. 26-17 does indeed reduce to Eq. 26-9 in this
through it?
13P. A capacitor is to be designed to operate with constant
pacitance in an environment of fluctuating temperature.
shown in Fig. 26-25, the capacitor is a parallel-plate type
plastic spacers to keep the plates aligned. (a) Show that the
change of the capacitance C with temperature T is givenby
FIGURE 26-24 Exercise 3.
dC (1 dA 1 dX)
dT=C AdT--;dT'
SECTION 26-3 Calculating the Capacitance
where A is the plate area and x the plate separation. (b)If
4E. If we solve Eq. 26-9 for fo, we see that its SI unit is the farad plates are aluminum, what should be the coefficient of
" per meter. Show that this unit is equivalent to that obtained earlier expansion of the spacers to ensure that the capacitance does
for fO, namely, the coulomb squared per newton-meter squared. vary with temperature? (Ignore the effect of the spacerson
5E. A parallel-plate capacitor has circular plates of 8.2 cm capaci tance.) r-- x ----j
radius and 1.3 mm separation. (a) Calculate the capacitance. (b)
What charge will appear on the plates if a potential difference of
120 V is applied?
A"
6E. You have two flat metal plates, each of area 1.00 m2, with
which to construct a parallel-plate capacitor. If the capacitance of
the device is to be 1.00 F, what must be the separation between
the plates? Could this capacitor actually be constructed? FIGURE 26-25
• 7E. The plates of a spherical capacitor have radii 38.0 and Problem 13.
40.0 mm. (a) Calculate the capacitance. (b) What must be the
plate area of a parallel-plate capacitor with the same plate separa-
SECTION 26-4 Capacitors in
tion and capacita:1ce?
Parallel and in Series
••SE. After you walk over a carpet on a dry day, your hand comes
close to a metal doorknob and a 5 mm spark results. Such a spark 14E. How many 1.00 J.LF capacitors must be connected inparal·
means that there must have been a potential difference of possibly lei to store a charge of 1.00 C with a potential of 110 V across
15 kV between you and the doorknob. Assuming this potential capaci tors?
difference, how much charge did you accumulate in walking over 15E. In Fig. 26-26 find the equivalent capacitance of thecombi:
the carpet? For this extremely rough calculation, assume that your nation. Assume that C, = 10.0 J.LF, C2 = 5.00 J.LF, and C]
body can be represented by a uniformly charged conducting 4.00 J.LF.
 EXERCISES & PROBLEMS 647

21P. (a) Three capacitors are connected in parallel. Each has

plate area A and plate spacing d. What must be the spacing of a

1
V c- I single capacitor of plate area A if its capacitance equals that of the
parallel combination? (b) What must be the spacing if the three

J
nits
capacitors are connected in series?

para-
ed to
j 22P. (a) A potential difference of 300 V is applied to a series
connection of two capacitors, of capacitance C1 = 2.0 J.LF and
FIGURE 26-26 Exercise 15 and Problem 47. capacitance C2 = 8.0 J.LF. What are the charge on and the poten-
: now
tial difference across each capacitor? (b) The charged capacitors
hat is
16E. In Fig. 26-27 find the equivalent capacitance of the combi- are disconnected from each other and from the battery. They are
iffer-
nation. Assume that C1 = 10.0 J.LF, C2 = 5.00 J.LF, and C3 = then reconnected, positive plate to positive plate and negative
!lcted
4.00 f.LF. plate to negative plate, with no external voltage being applied.
What are the charge and the potential difference for each now? (c)
tance Suppose the charged capacitors in (a) were reconnected with
:ingle
1
V
plates of opposite sign together. What then would be the steady-
state charge and potential difference for each?

j
(~ 1
_ 23P. Figure 26-30 shows a variable "air gap" capacitor of the
al ca- type used in manually tuned radios. Alternate plates are con-
n the nected together; one group is fixed in position and the other group
FIGURE 26-27 Exercise 16 and Problems 24 and 45. is capable of rotation. Consider a pile of n plates of alternate
lpaci- polarity, each having an area A and separated from adjacent plates
LS the ~ 17E. Each of the uncharged capacitors in Fig. 26-28 has a ca- by a distance d. Show that this capacitor has a maximum capaci-
= d. pacitance of 25.0 J.LF.A potential difference of 4200 V is estab- tance of
case. lishedwhen the switch is closed. How many coulombs of charge = (n - I)EoA
C --d"'--"-'
at ca- thenpass through meter A?
:. As
with
ate of [~
'TV -I TT
[f the FIGURE 26-28 Exercise 17. FIGURE 26-30 Problem 23.
o:rmal
:s not 18E. A capacitance C1 = 6.00 J.LFis connected in series with a
24P. In Fig. 26-27 suppose that capacitor C3 breaks down elec-
,n the capacitance C2 = 4.00 J.LF,and a potential difference of 200 V is
trically, becoming equivalent to a conducting path. What changes
appliedacross the pair. (a) Calculate the equivalent capacitance.
in (a) the charge and (b) the potential difference occur for capaci-
(b) What is the charge on each capacitor? (c) What is the potential
tor C1? Assume that V = 100 V.
differenceacross each capacitor?
2SP. You have several 2.0 J.LF capacitors, each capable of with-
19E. Repeat Exercise 18 for the same two capacitors but with
standing 200 V without electrical breakdown (in which they con-
themnow connected in parallel.
duct charge instead of storing it). How would you assemble a
20P. Figure 26-29 shows two capacitors in series; the center combination having an equivalent capacitance of (a) 0.40 J.LF or
sectionof length b is movable vertically. Show that the equivalent. (b) 1.2 J.LF, each capable of withstanding 1000 V?
capacitanceof this series combination is independent of the posi-
tionof the center section and is given by C = EoA/(a - b).

paral-
-ss the

FIGURE 26-31 Problem 26.

26P. In Fig. 26-31, the battery has a potential difference of 10 V

FIGURE 26-29 Problem 20. and the five capacitors each have a capacitance of 10 J.LF. What is
 648 CHAPTER 26 CAPACITANCE

the charge on (a) capacitor C1 and (b) capacitor Cz? 39E.

27P. A 100 pF capacitor is charged to a potential difference of nectt
50 V, and the charging battery is disconnected. The capacitor is the t·
then connected in parallel with a second (initially uncharged) 40E.
capacitor. If the measured potential difference drops to 35 V, tanCt
what is the capacitance of this second capacitor? aSSUI

_ 28P. In Fig. 26-32, the battery has a potential difference of20 V. yielo
Find (a) the equivalent capacitance of all the capacitors and (b) 41P.
the charge stored on that equivalent capacitance. Give the poten- potel
'----..,+ ""I~:----""
tial across and charge on (c) capacitor C[, (d) capacitor Cz, and ener:
FIGURE 26-3S Problem 31.
(e) capacitor C3. 42P.
32P. Figure 26-36 shows two identical capacitors C in a circuit store
with two (ideal) diodes D. (An ideal diode has the property that tors,
positive charge flows through it only in the direction of the arrow 43P.

20VL£
2.0 J.lF
and negative charge flows through it only in the opposite direc· seco
tion.) A 100 V battery is connected across the input terminals, If th
first with terminal a connected to the positive battery terminal and store
later with terminal b connected there. In each case, what is the 44P.
potential difference across the output terminals? tions
D gies
i
C] = 3.0 J.lF
a 0-1 ~I-....--L>t--,------o 4SP.
C
FIGURE 26-32 Problem 28. ence
Input D
29P. In Fig. 26-33, capacitors C[ = 1.0 f.LF and Cz = 3.0 f.LF
are each charged to a potential difference of V = 100 V but with
46P.
bo-----~----~--__o tion
opposite polarity as shown. Switches S1 and Sz are now closed. FIGURE 26-36 Problem 32.
(a) What is now the potential difference between points a and b? batte
What are now the charges on (b) C1 and (c) C2 ? their
for (;

Hr~--
SECTION 26-5 Storing Energy in an Electric Field

33E. How much energy is stored in one cubic meter of air dueto
ence
the "fair weather" electric field of magnitude 150 Vim?
num·

s
~
--_c, - 34E. Attempts to build a controlled thermonuclear fusion reac·
48P.
tor, which, if successful, could provide the world with a vast
FIGURE 26-33 ShO\
supply of energy from heavy hydrogen in seawater, usually in·
Problem 29. cylir
S2 volve huge electric currents for short periods of time in magnetic
b field windings. For example, ZT-40 at Los Alamos Scientific 49P.
30P. When switch S is thrown to the left in Fig. 26-34, the plates Laboratory has rooms full of capacitors. One of the capacitor each
of capacitor C, acquire a potential difference Vo. Capacitors C2 banks provides 61.0 mF at 10.0 kV. Calculate the stored energy ing t
and C3 are initially uncharged. The switch is now thrown to the (a) in joules and (b) in kilowatt-hours. x+
right. What are the final charges ql, q2, and q3 on the corre- SOP.
3SE. What capacitance is required to store an energy of
sponding capacitors? area
10 kW . h at a potential difference of 1000 V?
give
36E. A parallel-plate air-filled capacitor has a capacitance of
cond
130 pF. (a) What is the stored energy if the applied potential
difference is 56.0 V? (b) Can you calculate the energy densityfor
S1P'
Bec,
points between the plates? Explain.
incr<
37E. A certain capacitor is charged to a potential difference Vlf insic
you wish to increase its stored energy by 10%, by what percent· pres:
age should you increase V? that
FIGURE 26-34 Problem 30.
38E. A parallel-plate air-filled capacitor having area 40 cm2 and
31P. In Fig. 26-35, battery B supplies 12 V. (a) Find the charge plate spacing 1.0 mm is charged to a potential difference of
on each capacitor first when only switch S1 is closed and (b) later 600 V. Find (a) the capacitance, (b) the magnitude of the charge (Hin
when switch S2 is also closed. Take C1 = 1.0 f.LF, C2 = 2.0 f.LF, on each plate, (c) the stored energy, (d) the electric field between bubl
C3 = 3.0 f.LF, and C4 = 4.0 f.LF. the plates, and (e) the energy density between the plates. sure
 EXERCISES & PROBLEMS 649

39E. Two capacitors, of 2.0 and 4.0 f-LF capacitance, are con- SECTION 26-6 Capacitor with a Dielectric
nectedin parallel across a 300 V potential difference. Calculate 52E. An air-filled parallel-plate capacitor has a capacitance of
thetotal energy stored in the capacitors. 1.3 pF. The separation of the plates is doubled and wax is inserted
40E. (a) Calculate the energy density of the electric field at dis- between them. The new capacitance is 2.6 pF. Find the dielectric
tancer from the center of an electron at rest. (b) If the electron is constant of the wax.
assumedto be an infinitesimal point, what does this calculation 53E. Given a 7.4 pF air-filled capacitor, you are asked to con-
yieldfor the energy density in the limit of r - O? vert it to a capacitor that can store up to 7.4 f-LJ with a maximum
41P. A charged isolated metal sphere of diameter 10 cm has a potential difference of 652 V. What dielectric in Table 26-1
potential of 8000 V relative to V = 0 at infinity. Calculate the should you use to fill the gap in the air capacitor if you do not
energydensity in the electric field near the surface of the sphere. allow for a margin of error?
42P. A parallel-connected bank of 5.00 f-LF capacitors is used to - 54E. For making a parallel-plate capacitor, you have available
:uit storeelectric energy. What does it cost to charge the 2000 capaci- two plates of copper, a sheet of mica (thickness = 0.10 mm,
hat torsof the bank to 50,000 V, assuming a unit cost of 3.0¢/kW· h? K = 5.4), a sheet of glass (thickness = 2.0 mm, K = 7.0), and a
ow 43P. One capacitor is charged until its stored energy is 4.0 J. A slab of paraffin (thickness = 1.0 cm, K = 2.0). To obtain the
ec- seconduncharged capacitor is then connected to it in parallel. (a) largest capacitance, which sheet should you place between the
als, If the charge distributes equally, what is now the total energy copper plates?
md storedin the electric fields? (b) Where did the excess energy go? SSE. A parallel-plate air-filled capacitor has a capacitance of
the 44P. Compute the energy stored for the three different connec- 50 pF. (a) If each of its plates has an area of 0.35 m2, what is the
tionsof the capacitors of Problem 22. Compare these stored ener- separation? (b) If the region between the plates is now filled with
giesand explain any differences. material having K = 5.6, what is the capacitance?
4SP. In Fig. 26-27 find (a) the charge, (b) the potential differ- 56E. A coaxial cable used in a transmission line has an inner
ence, and (c) the stored energy for each capacitor. Assume the radius of 0.10 mm and an outer radius of 0.60 mm. Calculate the
numerical values of Exercise 16, with V = 100 V. capacitance per meter for the cable. Assume that the space be-
46P. A parallel-plate capacitor has plates of area A and separa- tween the conductors is filled with polystyrene.
tion d and is charged to a potential difference V. The charging 57P. A certain substance has a dielectric constant of 2.8 and a
batteryis then disconnected, and the plates are pulled apart until dielectric strength of 18 MV/m. If it is used as the dielectric ma-
theirseparation is 2d. Derive expressions in terms of A, d, and V terial in a parallel-plate capacitor, what minimum area should the
for(a) the new potential difference, (b) the initial and final stored plates of the capacitor have to obtain a capacitance of 7.0 X
energy,and (c) the work required to separate the plates. 10-2 f-LF and to ensure that the capacitor will be able to withstand
- 47P. In Fig. 26-26 find (a) the charge, (b) the potential differ- a potential difference of 4.0 kV?
Ie to
ence, and (c) the stored energy for each capacitor. Assume the - SSP. You are asked to construct a capacitor having a capacitance
numerical values of Exercise 15, with V = 100 V. near 1 nF and a breakdown potential in excess of 10,000 V. You
eac- think of using the sides of a tall Pyrex drinking glass as a dielec-
48P. A cylindrical capacitor has radii a and b as in Fig. 26-6.
vast tric, lining the inside and outside curved surfaces with aluminum
Show that half the stored electric potential energy lies within a
I in-
cylinder whose radius is r = Yah. foil. The glass is 15 cm tall with an inner radius of 3.6 cm and an
letic outer radius of 3.8 cm. What are the (a) capacitance and (b)
ttific 49P. Show that the plates of a parallel-plate capacitor attract
breakdown potential?
citor eachother with a force given by F = q2/2EoA. Do so by calculat-
ingthe work necessary to increase the plate separation from x to 59P. You have been assigned to design a transportable capacitor
ergy
x + dx, with the charge q remaining constant. that can store 250 kJ of energy. You decide on a parallel-plate
type with dielectric. (a) What is the minimum capacitor volume
y of SOP. Using the result of Problem 49, show that the force per unit
possible if you use a dielectric whose dielectric strength is listed
area (the electrostatic stress) acting on either capacitor plate is
given by 1EoE2. (Actually, this result is true in general, for a in Table 26-1 ? (b) Modern high-performance capacitors that can
:e of store 250 kJ have volumes of 0.0870 m3. Assuming that the di-
conductor of any shape with an electric field E at its surface.)
:ntial electric used has the same dielectric strength as in (a), what must
SIP*. A soap bubble of radius Ro is slowly given a charge q.
y for be its dielectric constant?
Because of mutual repulsion of the surface charges, the radius
increases slightly to R. Because of the expansion, the air pressure 60P. Two parallel-plate capacitors have the same plate area A
V.If inside the bubble drops to p(Vo/V), where p is the atmospheric and separation d, but the dielectric constants of the materials be-
cent- pressure, Vo is the initial volume, and V is the final volume. Show tween their plates are K + !:1K in one and K - !:1K in the other. (a)
thatthese quantities are related by Find the equivalent capacitance when they are connected in par-
2 and allel. (b) If the total charge on the parallel combination is Q, what
q2 = 32rEopR(R3 - R6). is the charge on the capacitor with the larger capacitance?
~e of
large (Hint: Consider the forces acting on a small area of the charged 61P. A slab of copper of thickness b is thrust into a parallel-plate
ween bubble. These forces are due to gas pressure, atmospheric pres- capacitor of plate area A, as shown in Fig. 26-37; it is exactly
sure,and electrostatic stress; see Problem 50.) halfway between the plates. (a) What is the capacitance after the