Figure 8.3.2 8.3. 2: (a) Three capacitors are connected in parallel. Each capacitor is connected directly to the battery. (b) The charge on the equivalent capacitor is the sum of the charges on the individual capacitors.
These two basic combinations, series and parallel, can also be used as part of more complex connections. Figure 8.3.1 8.3. 1 illustrates a series combination of three capacitors, arranged in a row within the circuit. As for any capacitor, the capacitance of the combination is related to both charge and voltage:
(a) Capacitors in parallel. Each is connected directly to the voltage source just as if it were all alone, and so the total capacitance in parallel is just the sum of the individual capacitances. (b) The equivalent capacitor has a larger plate area and can therefore hold more charge than the individual capacitors.
When capacitors are connected in parallel their resultant capacitance C is the sum of their individual capacitances. The value of equivalent capacitance of system is greater then the greatest individual one. C=C 1 +C 2 + C 3........... (10) Both the points A and B are maintained at constant potential difference V AB.
Figure 1. (a) Capacitors connected in series. The magnitude of the charge on each plate is Q. (b) An equivalent capacitor has a larger plate separation d. Series connections produce a total capacitance that is less than that of any of the individual capacitors.
As for any capacitor, the capacitance of the combination is related to the charge and voltage by using Equation 8.1. When this series combination is connected to a battery with voltage V, each of the capacitors acquires an identical charge Q.