Q.(i) Establish the expression for the energy stored in a charged capacitor. [2 marks]
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Start your 14-day free trial to unlock the full solution →The energy stored in a capacitor is found by summing up the small amounts of work done to bring charge onto it bit by bit as it's charged; for the given parallel-plate capacitor, C = ε0A/d gives about 17.7 pF, and Q = CV gives about 1.77 nC of charge at 100 V.
(i) Energy stored in a charged capacitor:
Suppose at some instant during charging, the capacitor already carries charge q, so the potential difference across it at that moment is q/C. To transfer a further small charge dq onto it from one plate to the other (against this potential difference), the small work done is:
dW = (q/C) dq
Total work done in charging the capacitor from 0 to its final charge Q is:
W = ∫(0 to Q) (q/C) dq = (1/C) × [q²/2] from 0 to Q = Q²/(2C)
This work done is stored as electrical potential energy U in the capacitor:
U = Q²/(2C) = (1/2)CV² = (1/2)QV (using Q = CV)
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