You may have noticed that while discharging a capacitor through a light bulb, the light glows just about as brightly, and for just about as long, as it does while charging the same capacitor through the same bulb. Let Estand for the energy emitted by the light bulb (as light and heat) in the discharging phase, from just before the bulb is connected to the capacitor until the time when there is essentially no more current. In terms of +Eor -E, what was the energy change of the battery, capacitor, bulb, and surroundings during the charging phase, and during the discharging phase? One answer is already given in the following table:

It is somewhat surprising that we can get this much information out of one simple observation.

Short Answer

Expert verified

During discharging, the energy of the battery is zero.

During charging, the energy of the battery is -2E.

Step by step solution

01

A concept:

The energy of the bulb during discharge of the capacitor is zero because whatever energy gained by the bulb is given in the form of light and heat to the surrounding.

The energy of the bulb during charging of the capacitor is zero because whatever energy gained by the bulb is given in the form of light and heat to the surrounding.

02

The energy change of the battery, capacitor, bulb, and surroundings during the charging phase, and during the discharging phase:

The energy emitted by the bulb during discharging of the capacitor as light and heat to the surrounding is E.

During discharge of capacitor energy of the capacitor is lost therefore energy of capacitor during discharge of the capacitor is -E.

The total energy of the circuit is zero in a closed path. Therefore the energy of the battery is the sum of the energy of the bulb, energy losses to the surroundings, and energy of the capacitor.

The energy of the battery is zero.

The energy emitted by the bulb during charging of the capacitor as light and heat to the surrounding is E.

During the charging of the capacitor energy of the capacitor is increased therefore the energy of the capacitor during discharge of the capacitor is E.

The total energy of the circuit is zero in a closed path. Therefore the energy of the battery is a negative sum of the energy of the bulb, energy losses to the surroundings, and energy of the capacitor.

The energy of the battery is -2E.

03

The table:

The final answer is given in the below table.

Draw the circuit diagram as below.

Unlock Step-by-Step Solutions & Ace Your Exams!

  • Full Textbook Solutions

    Get detailed explanations and key concepts

  • Unlimited Al creation

    Al flashcards, explanations, exams and more...

  • Ads-free access

    To over 500 millions flashcards

  • Money-back guarantee

    We refund you if you fail your exam.

Over 30 million students worldwide already upgrade their learning with Vaia!

One App. One Place for Learning.

All the tools & learning materials you need for study success - in one app.

Get started for free

Most popular questions from this chapter

(1)You push on a spring whose stiffness is 11 N/m, compressing it until it is 2.5 cm shorter than its relaxed length. What is the magnitude of the force the spring now exerts on your hand?

(2) A different spring is 0.17 m long when it is relaxed.

(a) When a force of magnitude 250 N is applied, the spring becomes 0.24 m long. What is the stiffness of this spring?

(b) This spring is compressed so that length is 0.15 m. What magnitude of the force is required to do this?

A carbon resistor is 5 mm long and has a constant cross section of 0.2mm2.The conductivity of carbon at room temperature is σ=3×104perohm-m.In a circuit its potential at one end of the resistor is 12 V relative to ground, and at the other end the potential is 15 V. Calculate the resistance Rand the current I (b) A thin copper wire in this circuit is 5 mm long and has a constant cross section of 0.2mm2.The conductivity of copper at room temperature isσ=6×107ohm-1m-1 .The copper wire is in series with the carbon resistor, with one end connected to the 15 V end of the carbon resistor, and the current you calculated in part (a) runs through the carbon resistor wire. Calculate the resistance Rof the copper wire and the potential Vatendat the other end of the wire.

You can see that for most purposes a thick copper wire in a circuit would have practically a uniform potential. This is because the small drift speed in a thick, high-conductivity copper wire requires only a very small electric field, and the integral of this very small field creates a very small potential difference along the wire.

Figure 16.60 shows a portion of a long, negatively charged rod. You need to calculate the potential difference VD-Vc.

(a) What is the direction of the path (+yor-y)?

(b) What is the sign ofVA-VB?

At a certain instant a particle is moving in the +xdirection with momentum +8kg.ms. During the next 0.13sa constant force acts on the particle, with Fx=-7Nand Fy=+5N. What is the magnitude of the momentum of the particle at the end of this0.13s interval?

Two very thin circular plastic sheets are close to each other and carry equal and opposite uniform charge. Explain briefly why the field between the sheets is much larger than the field outside. Illustrate your argument on a diagram.

See all solutions

Recommended explanations on Physics Textbooks

View all explanations

What do you think about this solution?

We value your feedback to improve our textbook solutions.

Study anywhere. Anytime. Across all devices.

Sign-up for free