Saturday, August 1, 2009

WORKING OF CAPACITOR



When a voltage is applied across the two plates of a capacitor, a concentrated field flux is created between them, allowing a significant difference of free electrons (a charge) to develop between the two plates: As the electric field is established by the applied voltage, extra free electrons are forced to collect on the negative conductor, while free electrons are "robbed" from the positive conductor. This differential charge equates to a storage of energy in the capacitor, representing the potential charge of the electrons between the two plates. The greater the difference of electrons on opposing plates of a capacitor, the greater the field flux, and the greater "charge" of energy the capacitor will store.



When the voltage across a capacitor is increased, it draws current from the rest of the circuit, acting as a power load. In this condition the capacitor is said to be charging, because there is an increasing amount of energy being stored in its electric field. Note the direction of electron current with regard to the voltage polarity:

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