Advertisements
Advertisements
Questions
Derive an expression for energy stored in a capacitor.
Derive an expression for energy stored in a charged capacitor.
Advertisements
Solution
Consider a capacitor of capacitance C being charged by a DC source of V volt as shown in figure.

Capacitor charged by a DC source.
During the process of charging, let q' be the charge on the capacitor and V be the potential difference between the plates. Hence
`"C" =("q""'")/"V"`
A small amount of work is done if a small charge dq is further transferred between the plates.
∴ `"dW" ="Vdq"=("q""'")/"Cdq"`
Total work done in transferring the charge
`"W"=int"dw"=int_0^"Q" ("q'")/"C" "dq" = 1/"C"int_0^"Q" "q'" "dq"`
`=1/"C"[(("q""'")^2)/2]_0^"Q" = 1/2 "Q"^2/"C"`
This work done is stored as electrical potential energy U of the capacitor. This work done can be expressed in different forms as follows:
∴ `"U" = 1/2 "Q"^2/"C"=1/2"CV"^2=1/2"QV" (because "Q" = "CV")`
Notes
Students should refer to the answer according to their questions.
APPEARS IN
RELATED QUESTIONS
Obtain the expression for the energy stored per unit volume in a charged parallel plate capacitor.
A 600 pF capacitor is charged by a 200 V supply. It is then disconnected from the supply and is connected to another uncharged 600 pF capacitor. How much electrostatic energy is lost in the process?
In the following arrangement of capacitors, the energy stored in the 6 µF capacitor is E. Find the value of the following :
(i) Energy stored in 12 µF capacitor.
(ii) Energy stored in 3 µF capacitor.
(iii) Total energy drawn from the battery.

Find the charge on the capacitor as shown in the circuit.

The energy density in the electric field created by a point charge falls off with the distance from the point charge as
A capacitor C1 of capacitance 1 μF and a capacitor C2 of capacitance 2 μF are separately charged by a common battery for a long time. The two capacitors are then separately discharged through equal resistors. Both the discharge circuits are connected at t = 0.
(a) The current in each of the two discharging circuits is zero at t = 0.
(b) The currents in the two discharging circuits at t = 0 are equal but not zero.
(c) The currents in the two discharging circuits at t = 0 are unequal.
(d) C1 loses 50% of its initial charge sooner than C2 loses 50% of its initial charge.
(a) Find the current in the 20 Ω resistor shown in the figure. (b) If a capacitor of capacitance 4 μF is joined between the points A and B, what would be the electrostatic energy stored in it in steady state?

A capacitance C, a resistance R and an emf ε are connected in series at t = 0. What is the maximum value of (a) the potential difference across the resistor (b) the current in the circuit (c) the potential difference across the capacitor (d) the energy stored in the capacitor (e) the power delivered by the battery and (f) the power converted into heat?
A 20 μF capacitor is joined to a battery of emf 6.0 V through a resistance of 100 Ω. Find the charge on the capacitor 2.0 ms after the connections are made.
How many time constants will elapse before the charge on a capacitors falls to 0.1% of its maximum value in a discharging RC circuit?
How many time constants will elapse before the energy stored in the capacitor reaches half of its equilibrium value in a charging RC circuit?
Find the charge on each of the capacitors 0.20 ms after the switch S is closed in the figure.

Each capacitor in figure has a capacitance of 10 µF. The emf of the battery is 100 V. Find the energy stored in each of the four capacitors.

A capacitor with stored energy 4⋅0 J is connected with an identical capacitor with no electric field in between. Find the total energy stored in the two capacitors.
A capacitor of capacitance C is given a charge Q. At t = 0, it is connected to an uncharged capacitor of equal capacitance through a resistance R. Find the charge on the second capacitor as a function of time.
A metal sphere of radius R is charged to a potential V.
- Find the electrostatic energy stored in the electric field within a concentric sphere of radius 2 R.
- Show that the electrostatic field energy stored outside the sphere of radius 2 R equals that stored within it.
Obtain the expression for the energy stored in a capacitor connected across a dc battery.
A capacitor is a device that stores ____________.
If the p. d. across a capacitor is increased from 10 V to 30 V, then the energy stored with the capacitor ____________.
A parallel plate capacitor has a uniform electric field `overset(->)("E")` in the space between the plates. If the distance between the plates is ‘d’ and the area of each plate is ‘A’, the energy stored in the capacitor is ______
(ε0 = permittivity of free space)
Prove that, if an insulated, uncharged conductor is placed near a charged conductor and no other conductors are present, the uncharged body must be intermediate in potential between that of the charged body and that of infinity.
Electrostatic energy of 4 x 10−4 J is stored in a charged 25 pF capacitor. Find the charge on the capacitor.
In a capacitor of capacitance 20 µF, the distance between the plates is 2 mm. If a dielectric slab of width 1 mm and dielectric constant 2 is inserted between the plates, what is the new capacitance?
