Summary

A capacitor is an electric device or circuit element that stores charge and energy. The capacitance of the capacitor is given by

C =

The electric potential energy stored in a capacitor is given by

PE_cap = ¹/₂ QV = ¹/₂ CV² = ¹/₂ Q²/C

Capacitors in series or parallel may be replaced by a single equivalent capacitor whose value can be calculated by

= + ... (series capacitors)

C_eq = C₁ + C₂ + C₃ + ... (parallel capacitors)

Choice of Numerical Examples			Homework
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(c) Doug Davis, 2002; all rights reserved