Capacitor electron flow
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Well I was just wondering, a capacitor is made of 2 metallic plates separated by insulating material. During the charging of the capacitor electrons flow towards the opposite direction the battery's electric field. Shouldn't the electrons flow through the insulator at a very very slow speed so that means some of the charge, which was supposed to be stored, be lost?I mean the electrons from the mettalic plate which accepts the electrons start to flow ( more slowly) and it shouldnt be negatively charged.
capacitor capacitance
asked Mar 19 at 13:09
AltairAltair
214
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Well I was just wondering, a capacitor is made of 2 metallic plates separated by insulating material. During the charging of the capacitor electrons flow towards the opposite direction the battery's electric field. Shouldn't the electrons flow through the insulator at a very very slow speed so that means some of the charge, which was supposed to be stored, be lost?I mean the electrons from the mettalic plate which accepts the electrons start to flow ( more slowly) and it shouldnt be negatively charged.
capacitor capacitance
asked Mar 19 at 13:09
AltairAltair
214
New contributor
Altair is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
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add a comment |
$begingroup$
Well I was just wondering, a capacitor is made of 2 metallic plates separated by insulating material. During the charging of the capacitor electrons flow towards the opposite direction the battery's electric field. Shouldn't the electrons flow through the insulator at a very very slow speed so that means some of the charge, which was supposed to be stored, be lost?I mean the electrons from the mettalic plate which accepts the electrons start to flow ( more slowly) and it shouldnt be negatively charged.
capacitor capacitance
asked Mar 19 at 13:09
AltairAltair
214
New contributor
Altair is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
$endgroup$
Well I was just wondering, a capacitor is made of 2 metallic plates separated by insulating material. During the charging of the capacitor electrons flow towards the opposite direction the battery's electric field. Shouldn't the electrons flow through the insulator at a very very slow speed so that means some of the charge, which was supposed to be stored, be lost?I mean the electrons from the mettalic plate which accepts the electrons start to flow ( more slowly) and it shouldnt be negatively charged.
capacitor capacitance
capacitor capacitance
asked Mar 19 at 13:09
AltairAltair
214
New contributor
Altair is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked Mar 19 at 13:09
AltairAltair
214
New contributor
Altair is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
edited Mar 19 at 14:14
Altair
asked Mar 19 at 13:09
AltairAltair
214
New contributor
Altair is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked Mar 19 at 13:09
AltairAltair
214
asked Mar 19 at 13:09
AltairAltair
214
214
New contributor
Altair is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
New contributor
Altair is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
Altair is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |
add a comment |
3 Answers
3
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oldest
votes
$begingroup$
A capacitor is made of two metallic plates separated by insulating material.
Correct.
During the charging of the capacitor electrons flow towards the opposite direction the battery's electric field.
OK.
Shouldn't the electrons flow through the insulator at a very very slow speed so that means some of the charge, which was supposed to be stored, be lost?
In a perfect insulator there will be no charge flow (current) under static voltage conditions. For a less than perfect insulator there will be a leakage current and the capacitor will lose its charge.
Figure 1. Extract from a random electrolytic capacitor series datasheet.
The datasheet shows that for these large Vishay electrolytics that the leakage current, ILS, is measured after the rated voltage, UR, has been applied for 5 minutes. (We can take it from this that there is something that will change a little with "soakage" time.)
If we look at the first entry, a 10,000 μF, 16 V model the IL is listed as 1.2 mA. The charge on the capacitor is given by $ Q = C V = 0.01 text F times 16 text V = 0.16 text C$.
$ 1.2 text {mA} = 0.0012 text {C/s} $ so the capacitor is leaking at a rate of $ frac {0.0012}{0.16} =
0.0075 text {/s} = 0.75%text{/s} $ while fully charged.
Just by using the UR and IL figures we can calculate the equivalent leakage resistance as $ R_L = frac {U_R}{I_L} = frac {16}{1.2m} = 13.3 text kOmega $.
simulate this circuit – Schematic created using CircuitLab
Figure 2. Equivalent circuit at 16 V.
answered Mar 19 at 13:42
TransistorTransistor
87.1k785189
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add a comment |
$begingroup$
Correct. A perfect insulator would allow no electrons to pass through it, and charge would accumulate at the electrodes - an increase of electrons at the negative side. This produces an electric field across the insulator, which causes charged particles (mostly electrons, but possibly ions of the material too) to experience a force, and some do break free and allow a small leakage current to flow, discharging the capacitor over time.
answered Mar 19 at 13:23
Phil GPhil G
2,8271412
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add a comment |
$begingroup$
Yes a capacitor is made of two conductive plates separated by a dielectric (or insulator). When you apply a DC voltage (or charge) the capacitor, the plate connected to the negative terminal of the battery builds up a negative charge by the accumulation of electrons while the plate attached to the positive terminal of the battery builds up a positive charge by losing electrons. The buildup of positive and negative charge on each plate creates an electric field in the dielectric which is how energy is stored. Yes a tiny amount of electrons flow through the insulator and this is called the leakage current. Any good capacitor datasheet should tell you how much to expect.
answered Mar 19 at 13:26
TammerTheHammerTammerTheHammer
286
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3 Answers
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active
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3 Answers
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$begingroup$
A capacitor is made of two metallic plates separated by insulating material.
Correct.
During the charging of the capacitor electrons flow towards the opposite direction the battery's electric field.
OK.
Shouldn't the electrons flow through the insulator at a very very slow speed so that means some of the charge, which was supposed to be stored, be lost?
In a perfect insulator there will be no charge flow (current) under static voltage conditions. For a less than perfect insulator there will be a leakage current and the capacitor will lose its charge.
Figure 1. Extract from a random electrolytic capacitor series datasheet.
The datasheet shows that for these large Vishay electrolytics that the leakage current, ILS, is measured after the rated voltage, UR, has been applied for 5 minutes. (We can take it from this that there is something that will change a little with "soakage" time.)
If we look at the first entry, a 10,000 μF, 16 V model the IL is listed as 1.2 mA. The charge on the capacitor is given by $ Q = C V = 0.01 text F times 16 text V = 0.16 text C$.
$ 1.2 text {mA} = 0.0012 text {C/s} $ so the capacitor is leaking at a rate of $ frac {0.0012}{0.16} =
0.0075 text {/s} = 0.75%text{/s} $ while fully charged.
Just by using the UR and IL figures we can calculate the equivalent leakage resistance as $ R_L = frac {U_R}{I_L} = frac {16}{1.2m} = 13.3 text kOmega $.
simulate this circuit – Schematic created using CircuitLab
Figure 2. Equivalent circuit at 16 V.
answered Mar 19 at 13:42
TransistorTransistor
87.1k785189
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
A capacitor is made of two metallic plates separated by insulating material.
Correct.
During the charging of the capacitor electrons flow towards the opposite direction the battery's electric field.
OK.
Shouldn't the electrons flow through the insulator at a very very slow speed so that means some of the charge, which was supposed to be stored, be lost?
In a perfect insulator there will be no charge flow (current) under static voltage conditions. For a less than perfect insulator there will be a leakage current and the capacitor will lose its charge.
Figure 1. Extract from a random electrolytic capacitor series datasheet.
The datasheet shows that for these large Vishay electrolytics that the leakage current, ILS, is measured after the rated voltage, UR, has been applied for 5 minutes. (We can take it from this that there is something that will change a little with "soakage" time.)
If we look at the first entry, a 10,000 μF, 16 V model the IL is listed as 1.2 mA. The charge on the capacitor is given by $ Q = C V = 0.01 text F times 16 text V = 0.16 text C$.
$ 1.2 text {mA} = 0.0012 text {C/s} $ so the capacitor is leaking at a rate of $ frac {0.0012}{0.16} =
0.0075 text {/s} = 0.75%text{/s} $ while fully charged.
Just by using the UR and IL figures we can calculate the equivalent leakage resistance as $ R_L = frac {U_R}{I_L} = frac {16}{1.2m} = 13.3 text kOmega $.
simulate this circuit – Schematic created using CircuitLab
Figure 2. Equivalent circuit at 16 V.
answered Mar 19 at 13:42
TransistorTransistor
87.1k785189
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
A capacitor is made of two metallic plates separated by insulating material.
Correct.
During the charging of the capacitor electrons flow towards the opposite direction the battery's electric field.
OK.
Shouldn't the electrons flow through the insulator at a very very slow speed so that means some of the charge, which was supposed to be stored, be lost?
In a perfect insulator there will be no charge flow (current) under static voltage conditions. For a less than perfect insulator there will be a leakage current and the capacitor will lose its charge.
Figure 1. Extract from a random electrolytic capacitor series datasheet.
The datasheet shows that for these large Vishay electrolytics that the leakage current, ILS, is measured after the rated voltage, UR, has been applied for 5 minutes. (We can take it from this that there is something that will change a little with "soakage" time.)
If we look at the first entry, a 10,000 μF, 16 V model the IL is listed as 1.2 mA. The charge on the capacitor is given by $ Q = C V = 0.01 text F times 16 text V = 0.16 text C$.
$ 1.2 text {mA} = 0.0012 text {C/s} $ so the capacitor is leaking at a rate of $ frac {0.0012}{0.16} =
0.0075 text {/s} = 0.75%text{/s} $ while fully charged.
Just by using the UR and IL figures we can calculate the equivalent leakage resistance as $ R_L = frac {U_R}{I_L} = frac {16}{1.2m} = 13.3 text kOmega $.
simulate this circuit – Schematic created using CircuitLab
Figure 2. Equivalent circuit at 16 V.
answered Mar 19 at 13:42
TransistorTransistor
87.1k785189
$endgroup$
A capacitor is made of two metallic plates separated by insulating material.
Correct.
During the charging of the capacitor electrons flow towards the opposite direction the battery's electric field.
OK.
Shouldn't the electrons flow through the insulator at a very very slow speed so that means some of the charge, which was supposed to be stored, be lost?
In a perfect insulator there will be no charge flow (current) under static voltage conditions. For a less than perfect insulator there will be a leakage current and the capacitor will lose its charge.
Figure 1. Extract from a random electrolytic capacitor series datasheet.
The datasheet shows that for these large Vishay electrolytics that the leakage current, ILS, is measured after the rated voltage, UR, has been applied for 5 minutes. (We can take it from this that there is something that will change a little with "soakage" time.)
If we look at the first entry, a 10,000 μF, 16 V model the IL is listed as 1.2 mA. The charge on the capacitor is given by $ Q = C V = 0.01 text F times 16 text V = 0.16 text C$.
$ 1.2 text {mA} = 0.0012 text {C/s} $ so the capacitor is leaking at a rate of $ frac {0.0012}{0.16} =
0.0075 text {/s} = 0.75%text{/s} $ while fully charged.
Just by using the UR and IL figures we can calculate the equivalent leakage resistance as $ R_L = frac {U_R}{I_L} = frac {16}{1.2m} = 13.3 text kOmega $.
simulate this circuit – Schematic created using CircuitLab
Figure 2. Equivalent circuit at 16 V.
answered Mar 19 at 13:42
TransistorTransistor
87.1k785189
edited Mar 19 at 16:28
answered Mar 19 at 13:42
TransistorTransistor
87.1k785189
answered Mar 19 at 13:42
TransistorTransistor
87.1k785189
answered Mar 19 at 13:42
TransistorTransistor
87.1k785189
87.1k785189
add a comment |
add a comment |
$begingroup$
Correct. A perfect insulator would allow no electrons to pass through it, and charge would accumulate at the electrodes - an increase of electrons at the negative side. This produces an electric field across the insulator, which causes charged particles (mostly electrons, but possibly ions of the material too) to experience a force, and some do break free and allow a small leakage current to flow, discharging the capacitor over time.
answered Mar 19 at 13:23
Phil GPhil G
2,8271412
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
Correct. A perfect insulator would allow no electrons to pass through it, and charge would accumulate at the electrodes - an increase of electrons at the negative side. This produces an electric field across the insulator, which causes charged particles (mostly electrons, but possibly ions of the material too) to experience a force, and some do break free and allow a small leakage current to flow, discharging the capacitor over time.
answered Mar 19 at 13:23
Phil GPhil G
2,8271412
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
Correct. A perfect insulator would allow no electrons to pass through it, and charge would accumulate at the electrodes - an increase of electrons at the negative side. This produces an electric field across the insulator, which causes charged particles (mostly electrons, but possibly ions of the material too) to experience a force, and some do break free and allow a small leakage current to flow, discharging the capacitor over time.
answered Mar 19 at 13:23
Phil GPhil G
2,8271412
$endgroup$
Correct. A perfect insulator would allow no electrons to pass through it, and charge would accumulate at the electrodes - an increase of electrons at the negative side. This produces an electric field across the insulator, which causes charged particles (mostly electrons, but possibly ions of the material too) to experience a force, and some do break free and allow a small leakage current to flow, discharging the capacitor over time.
answered Mar 19 at 13:23
Phil GPhil G
2,8271412
answered Mar 19 at 13:23
Phil GPhil G
2,8271412
answered Mar 19 at 13:23
Phil GPhil G
2,8271412
answered Mar 19 at 13:23
Phil GPhil G
2,8271412
2,8271412
add a comment |
add a comment |
$begingroup$
Yes a capacitor is made of two conductive plates separated by a dielectric (or insulator). When you apply a DC voltage (or charge) the capacitor, the plate connected to the negative terminal of the battery builds up a negative charge by the accumulation of electrons while the plate attached to the positive terminal of the battery builds up a positive charge by losing electrons. The buildup of positive and negative charge on each plate creates an electric field in the dielectric which is how energy is stored. Yes a tiny amount of electrons flow through the insulator and this is called the leakage current. Any good capacitor datasheet should tell you how much to expect.
answered Mar 19 at 13:26
TammerTheHammerTammerTheHammer
286
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
Yes a capacitor is made of two conductive plates separated by a dielectric (or insulator). When you apply a DC voltage (or charge) the capacitor, the plate connected to the negative terminal of the battery builds up a negative charge by the accumulation of electrons while the plate attached to the positive terminal of the battery builds up a positive charge by losing electrons. The buildup of positive and negative charge on each plate creates an electric field in the dielectric which is how energy is stored. Yes a tiny amount of electrons flow through the insulator and this is called the leakage current. Any good capacitor datasheet should tell you how much to expect.
answered Mar 19 at 13:26
TammerTheHammerTammerTheHammer
286
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
Yes a capacitor is made of two conductive plates separated by a dielectric (or insulator). When you apply a DC voltage (or charge) the capacitor, the plate connected to the negative terminal of the battery builds up a negative charge by the accumulation of electrons while the plate attached to the positive terminal of the battery builds up a positive charge by losing electrons. The buildup of positive and negative charge on each plate creates an electric field in the dielectric which is how energy is stored. Yes a tiny amount of electrons flow through the insulator and this is called the leakage current. Any good capacitor datasheet should tell you how much to expect.
answered Mar 19 at 13:26
TammerTheHammerTammerTheHammer
286
$endgroup$
Yes a capacitor is made of two conductive plates separated by a dielectric (or insulator). When you apply a DC voltage (or charge) the capacitor, the plate connected to the negative terminal of the battery builds up a negative charge by the accumulation of electrons while the plate attached to the positive terminal of the battery builds up a positive charge by losing electrons. The buildup of positive and negative charge on each plate creates an electric field in the dielectric which is how energy is stored. Yes a tiny amount of electrons flow through the insulator and this is called the leakage current. Any good capacitor datasheet should tell you how much to expect.
answered Mar 19 at 13:26
TammerTheHammerTammerTheHammer
286
answered Mar 19 at 13:26
TammerTheHammerTammerTheHammer
286
answered Mar 19 at 13:26
TammerTheHammerTammerTheHammer
286
answered Mar 19 at 13:26
TammerTheHammerTammerTheHammer
286
286
add a comment |
add a comment |
Altair is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
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