Suppose that you charges a 2.5 Fcapacitor with two 1.5 Vbatteries. How much charge would be on each plate in the final state? How many excess electrons would be on the negative plate?

Short Answer

Expert verified

The number of electrons on the negative plate is 4.68×1019electrons.

Step by step solution

01

A concept:

When a capacitor is fully charged, there is a potential difference (p.d.) between its plates, and the larger the area of the plates and/or the smaller the distance between them (known as the separation), the greater the charge on the capacitor can accommodate and the larger its capacity will be.

Divide the entire excess charge from one electron's known charge and that gives the number of charges.

02

Given data:

The capacitor is charged with two 1.5V batteries, so the total voltage applied to the capacitor’s plates is,

V=1.5V+1.5V=3V

The capacitance of the capacitor, C=2.5F

The magnitude of the charge on an electron,e=1.6×10-19C

03

Number of electrons on the negative plate:

Charge on the capacitor’s plate is given by a relation:

Q=CV ..... (1)

The number of excess electrons on either of the plates is given by a relation,

n=Qe ..... (2)

Here, Qis the charge on the capacitor plate, Vis the voltage applied to the capacitor plates, and eis the charge of the electron.

Using equation (1), the magnitude of the charge on each plate of the capacitor can be calculated as,

Q=CV=2.5F3.0V=7.5C

Using equation (2), the number of excess electrons on the negative plate can be calculated as,

n=Qe=7.5C1.6×10-19C=4.68×1019electrons

Hence, the number of electrons on the negative plate is 4.68×1019electrons.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

A capacitor is connected to batteries by Nichrome wires and allowed to charge completely. Then the plates are suddenly moved farther apart. Describe what happens and explain in detail why it happens, based on fundamental physical principles. If you give a direction for a current, state whether you are describing electron current or conventional current. Include appropriate diagrams to support your explanation.

For the circuit shown in figure 19.86, which consists of batteries with known emf and ohmic resistors with known resistance, write the correct number of energy-conservation and current node rule equations that would be adequate to solve for the unknown currents, but do not solve the equations. Label nodes and currents on the diagram, and identify each equation (energy or current, and for which loop or node).

In the circuit shown in Figure 19.77 the emf of the battery is 7.4V. Resistor R1has a resistance of 31Ω, resistor R2 has a resistance of 47Ω, and resistor R3has a resistance of 52Ω . A steady current flows through the circuit.

(a)What is the equivalent resistance of R1and R2 ? (b) What is the equivalent resistance of all three resistors? (c) What is the conventional current throughR3

A circuit consists of a battery, whose emf is K, and five Nichrome wires, three thick and two thin as shown in Figure 19.78. The thicknesses of the wires have been exaggerated in order to give you room to draw inside the wires. The internal resistance of the battery is negligible compared to the resistance of the wires. The voltmeter is not attached until part (e) of the problem. (a) Draw and label appropriately the electric field at the locations marked × inside the wires, paying attention to appropriate relative magnitudes of the vectors that you draw. (b) Show the approximate distribution of charges for this circuit. Make the important aspects of the charge distribution very clear in your drawing, supplementing your diagram if necessary with very brief written descriptions on the diagram. Make sure that parts (a) and (b) of this problem are consistent with each other. (c) Assume that you know the mobile-electron density n and the electron mobility u at room temperature for Nichrome. The lengths (L1,L2,L3)and diameters (d1,d2)of the wires are given on the diagram. Calculate accurately the number of electrons that leave the negative end of the battery every second. Assume that no part of the circuit gets very hot. Express your result in terms of the given quantities (K,L1,L2,L3,d1,d2,nandu) . Explain your work and identify the principles you are using. (d) In the case that d2d1, what is the approximate number of electrons that leave the negative end of every second? (e) A voltmeter is attached to the circuit with its + lead connected to location B (halfway along the leftmost thick wire) and its - lead connected to location C (halfway along the leftmost thin wire). In the case thatd2d1 , what is the approximate voltage shown on the voltmeter, including sign? Express your result in terms of the given quantities (K,L1,L2,L3,d1,d2,nandu).

Which of the following statements about the discharging of a capacitor through a light bulb are correct? Choose all that are true. (1) The fringe field of the capacitor decreases as the charge on the capacitor plates decreases. (2) Electrons flow across the gap between the plates of the capacitor, thus reducing the charge on the capacitor. (3) The electric field at a location inside the wire is due to charge on the surface of the wires and charge on the plates of the capacitor. (4) Electrons in the wires flow away from the negative plate toward the positive plate, reducing the charge on the plates.

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