Can we give as much charge as we wish to a capacitor?

You can give any amount of charge to capacitor so long as its rated voltage is not exceeded.

Why is it impossible to fully charge a capacitor?

The explanation why a capacitor never fully charges or discharges is that the current flowing into or out of it will depend upon the volts dropped across the series resistor (there is always one) the nearer it gets to being fully charged, the lower the voltage across the resistor and the lower the charging current.

What happens if a capacitor gets too much charge?

The more typical behavior if you over-charge a capacitor is that the electric field between the plates becomes too strong for the dielectric material, and an arc or spark is created, which damages the dielectric and plates.

Why there is a limit on the amount of energy a capacitor can store?

As seen from the above equation, the maximum amount of energy that can be stored on a capacitor depends on the capacitance, as well as the maximum rated voltage of a capacitor. The stored energy can be quickly released from the capacitor due to the fact that capacitors have low internal resistance.

Can we give any desired change to a capacitor?

No we cannot give desired charge to capacitor, is limited by dielectric strength of the medium between two plates of the capacitor. The maximum value of electric field intensity (or potential gradient) that can be applied to the dielectric without its electric breakdown is called dielectric strength of the dielectric.

What happens if the plates of a charged capacitor are connected by a conducting wire?

If we connect the plates of a charged capacitor by metallic wire, then charge will begin to flow from higher potential to lower potential and the energy stored in the capacitor gets converted into heat energy. Therefore, the capacitor will be discharged immediately.

When capacitor is fully charged?

When a capacitor is fully charged, no current flows in the circuit. This is because the potential difference across the capacitor is equal to the voltage source. (i.e), the charging current drops to zero, such that capacitor voltage = source voltage.

Why does a capacitor charge faster than discharge?

If a larger value of capacitance were used with the same value of resistance in the above circuit it would be able to store more charge. As a result, it would take longer to charge up to the supply voltage during charging and longer to lose all its charge when discharging.

Why is it that when we charge capacitors we think of energy as being stored in the field in the region between the plates?

stored in a capacitor is electrostatic potential energy and is thus related to the charge Q and voltage V between the capacitor plates. A charged capacitor stores energy in the electrical field between its plates. As the capacitor is being charged, the electrical field builds up.

Why does a capacitor store energy and not charge?

The capacitor is a device that only holds the imbalance of charge. Due to this charge imbalance, an electric field is created between the two oppositely charged plates of the capacitor which in fact is the reason due to which capacitors can store energy.

What limits the charge on a capacitor?

The maximum-charge limits on actual physical capacitors are dictated by the dielectric breakdown of the medium between the plates, which typically is an insulating dielectric of some kind – common materials are paper, plastic, glass, mica and ceramics, as well as air and vacuum.

How much charge can a capacitor hold?

A 1-farad capacitor can store one coulomb (coo-lomb) of charge at 1 volt. A coulomb is 6.25e18 (6.25 * 10^18, or 6.25 billion billion) electrons.

How much charge can I give to a capacitor?

You can give any amount of charge to capacitor so long as its rated voltage is not exceeded. Q=CV decides the maximum charge on capacitor at its maximum permissible voltage.

What happens if you feed too much voltage to a capacitor?

If you feed voltage to a capacitor which is below the capacitor’s voltage rating, it will charge up to that voltage, safely, without any problem. If you feed voltage greater than the capacitor’s voltage rating, then this is a dangerous thing. The voltage fed to a capacitor should not exceed its rated value.

How do you know when a capacitor is fully charged?

After a five-time constant, the capacitor will be fully charged and the charging current will be zero. Considering the charge on the capacitor as a function of time when it is connected in the circuit, the amount of charge at any time instant can be found.

How does resistance affect the charging of a capacitor?

This affects the charging process in that the greater the resistance value, the slower the charge, while the smaller the resistance value, the quicker the charge, and, thus, the lower the amount of voltage, V C, across the capacitor. This is because resistance represents an impedement.