Advertisements
Advertisements
Question
A 5⋅0 µF capacitor is charged to 12 V. The positive plate of this capacitor is now connected to the negative terminal of a 12 V battery and vice versa. Calculate the heat developed in the connecting wires.
Advertisements
Solution
As a capacitor of capacitance C is connected to the battery of voltage V, one of its plates gets charged to Q = CV and the other gets charged to −Q coulomb. When the polarity is reversed, charge −Q appears on the first plate and charge +Q appears on the second plate. So to maintain these charges, charge 2Q passes through the battery from the negative terminal to the positive terminal.
The work done by the battery is given by `W = 2QV = 2CE^2`
In the given process, the capacitor's energy remains the same in both cases. The work done by the battery appears as heat in the connecting wires.
Now,
Heat produced :
`H = 2CE^2`
`H = 2 xx (5 xx 10^-6) xx 144`
`H = 144 xx 10^-5 "J"= 1.44 "mJ"`
APPEARS IN
RELATED QUESTIONS
A capacitor of capacitance C is charged fully by connecting it to a battery of emf E. It is then disconnected from the battery. If the separation between the plates of the capacitor is now doubled, how will the following change?
(i) charge stored by the capacitor.
(ii) Field strength between the plates.
(iii) Energy stored by the capacitor.
Justify your answer in each case.
A spherical capacitor has an inner sphere of radius 12 cm and an outer sphere of radius 13 cm. The outer sphere is earthed and the inner sphere is given a charge of 2.5 µC. The space between the concentric spheres is filled with a liquid of dielectric constant 32.
(a) Determine the capacitance of the capacitor.
(b) What is the potential of the inner sphere?
(c) Compare the capacitance of this capacitor with that of an isolated sphere of radius 12 cm. Explain why the latter is much smaller.
The capacitance of a capacitor does not depend on
Find the charges on the three capacitors connected to a battery as shown in figure.
Take `C_1 = 2.0 uF , C_2 = 4.0 uF , C_3 = 6.0 uF and V` = 12 volts.

Find the charge appearing on each of the three capacitors shown in figure .

The outer cylinders of two cylindrical capacitors of capacitance 2⋅2 µF each, are kept in contact and the inner cylinders are connected through a wire. A battery of emf 10 V is connected as shown in figure . Find the total charge supplied by the battery to the inner cylinders.

Two conducting spheres of radii R1 and R2 are kept widely separated from each other. What are their individual capacitances? If the spheres are connected by a metal wire, what will be the capacitance of the combination? Think in terms of series−parallel connections.
A parallel-plate capacitor of capacitance 5 µF is connected to a battery of emf 6 V. The separation between the plates is 2 mm. (a) Find the charge on the positive plate. (b) Find the electric field between the plates. (c) A dielectric slab of thickness 1 mm and dielectric constant 5 is inserted into the gap to occupy the lower half of it. Find the capacitance of the new combination. (d) How much charge has flown through the battery after the slab is inserted?
Find the capacitances of the capacitors shown in figure . The plate area is Aand the separation between the plates is d. Different dielectric slabs in a particular part of the figure are of the same thickness and the entire gap between the plates is filled with the dielectric slabs.

Consider the situation shown in figure. The plates of the capacitor have plate area A and are clamped in the laboratory. The dielectric slab is released from rest with a length a inside the capacitor. Neglecting any effect of friction or gravity, show that the slab will execute periodic motion and find its time period.

You are provided with 8 μF capacitors. Show with the help of a diagram how you will arrange minimum number of them to get a resultant capacitance of 20 μF.
Three circuits, each consisting of a switch 'S' and two capacitors, are initially charged, as shown in the figure. After the switch has been closed, in which circuit will the charge on the left-hand capacitor
(i) increase,
(ii) decrease, and
(iii) remains the same? Give reasons.

For the given capacitor configuration
- Find the charges on each capacitor
- potential difference across them
- energy stored in each capacitor.

Capacitors P and Q have identical cross-sectional areas A and separation d. The space between the capacitors is filled with a dielectric of dielectric constant Er as shown in the figure. Calculate the capacitance of capacitors P and Q.

The material filled between the plates of a parallel plate capacitor has a resistivity of 200Ωm. The value of the capacitance of the capacitor is 2 pF. If a potential difference of 40V is applied across the plates of the capacitor, then the value of leakage current flowing out of the capacitor is ______.
(given the value of relative permittivity of a material is 50.)
Current versus time and voltage versus time graphs of a circuit element are shown in figure.
![]() |
![]() |
The type of the circuit element is ______.
A parallel plate capacitor (A) of capacitance C is charged by a battery to voltage V. The battery is disconnected and an uncharged capacitor (B) of capacitance 2C is connected across A. Find the ratio of final charges on A and B.
Read the following paragraph and answer the questions.
| A capacitor is a system of two conductors separated by an insulator. The two conductors have equal and opposite charges with a potential difference between them. The capacitance of a capacitor depends on the geometrical configuration (shape, size and separation) of the system and also on the nature of the insulator separating the two conductors. They are used to store charges. Like resistors, capacitors can be arranged in series or parallel or a combination of both to obtain the desired value of capacitance. |
- Find the equivalent capacitance between points A and B in the given diagram.

- A dielectric slab is inserted between the plates of the parallel plate capacitor. The electric field between the plates decreases. Explain.
- A capacitor A of capacitance C, having charge Q is connected across another uncharged capacitor B of capacitance 2C. Find an expression for (a) the potential difference across the combination and (b) the charge lost by capacitor A.
OR
Two slabs of dielectric constants 2K and K fill the space between the plates of a parallel plate capacitor of plate area A and plate separation d as shown in the figure. Find an expression for the capacitance of the system.


