A PAPER CAPACITOR
1. Definition of Capacitance
Any combination of two separated conductors can act as an electrical circuit element and is
called a capacitor. The conductors are called plates.
The capacitance C of a capacitor is defined as the ratio of the magnitude of the charge on
either conductor to the magnitude of the potential difference between the conductors:
Q
C=
∆V
Q
From C= , we see that capacitance has SI units of coulombs per volt. Named in honor
∆V
of Michael Faraday, the SI unit of capacitance is the farad (F):
C
1F=1
V
Battery connection:
A parallel-plate capacitor is connected to the terminals of a battery
- If the capacitor is initially uncharged, the battery establishes an electric field in the
connecting wires when the connections are made.
- When the potential difference across the capacitor plates is the same as that between the
terminals of the battery, we disconnect the battery from the plates. The plates are not
connected with a wire to anything now, so the plates remain charged.
=> The capacitor has stored the charge. It has also stored energy, associated with the
separation of charges
2. Energy Stored in a Charged Capacitor
Energy is stored in a charged capacitor because the charging process is equivalent to the
transfer of charges from one conductor at a lower electric potential to another conductor at
a higher potential. The energy stored in a capacitor of capacitance C with charge Q and
potential difference ∆V is
Q2 1 1
U E= = Q∆V= C¿
2C 2 2
3. Capacitors with Dielectrics
When a dielectric material is inserted between the plates of a capacitor, the capacitance
increases by a dimensionless factor k, called the dielectric constant:
C ¿ kC 0
where C 0 is the capacitance in the absence of the dielectric.
4. An Atomic Description of Dielectrics
The field in the presence of a dielectric
E0 σ σ ind
E= = Eind =
k k ϵ0 ϵ0
The net electric field in the dielectric
σ σ σ
E=E0−E ind => = − ind
k ϵ0 ϵ0 ϵ0
The induced charge density
( k −1
σ ind =
k )
σ
A 3D HOLOGRAM PROJECTOR
How does DIY Hologram work?
The DIY hologram pyramid is a simple device that can be made by manipulating a sheet of
plastic into the shape of a pyramid with its top cut off. By principle, each side projects the
image falling on it to the center of the pyramid. These projections work in unison to form a
whole figure, which creates a 3D illusion. This is the diffraction of light from the video and
the plastic reflecting the image back to each other.
Diffraction of light
The light waves from the two slits overlap as they spread out, filling what we expect to be
shadowed regions with light and producing interference fringes on a screen placed to the
right of the slits.
In other words, the light deviates from a straight-line path and enters the region that would
otherwise be shadowed. This divergence of light from its initial line of travel is called
diffraction.
Waves in Interference
Imagine a broad beam of light that illuminates a double slit in an otherwise opaque
material. An interference pattern of bright and dark fringes is created on a distant screen.
The condition for bright fringes (constructive interference) is
dsinθbright = mλ with m = 0, ±1, ± 2…
The condition for dark fringes (destructive interference) is
1
dsinθdark = (m + )λ with m = 0, ±1, ± 2…
2
The number m is called the order number of the fringe.