Parallel capacitors array: A charged capacitor charges the others.

• D+0+10

diagram for demo

Parallel capacitors array: A charged capacitor charges the others. Discharge the circuit by closing all capacitor switches and placing the knife switch in the discharge position. Open all capacitor switches but one, then close the knife switch in the charge position. Now open the knife switch and notice the voltage on the projection voltmeter. At this point, throw the switches on the capacitor array, one at a time. Notice that the voltage decreases as you add more capacitance. The voltage should decrease fairly proportionally, because the capacitors have the same value. NOTE: Short the capacitors before putting away.

Related Demos

D+0+60 Energy Stored in Dielectric D+0+1 Attraction between plates of a capacitor causes attachment of plates when insulator is introduced. D+0+0 Attraction between horizontal plates of a charged capacitor. D+0+2 Various capacitors to show. D+0+4 Parallel plate capacitor with dielectric materials and electroscope. D+0+6 Capacitor doorbell driven by Van de Graaff generator. D+0+8 Series capacitor array. D+0+12 Visual charge/discharge of a capacitor through a load. D+0+14 Computer demo: Charge/discharge of a capacitor, runs at least 1 min. D+0+16 Discharging a capacitor through a lamp. D+0+18 Capacitors with a series neon bulb on A.C. and D.C. D+0+20 Capacitor in series in an audio circuit: High pass filter. D+0+22 Effects of changing a D.C. voltage in a series RC circuit. D+0+24 Capacitor in parallel in an audio circuit: Low pass filter. D+0+26 Capacitor in parallel in a D.C. circuit. D+0+28 Energy storage in a commercial capacitor. Loud bang! D+0+30 Oscillator made with resistor, capacitor and neon lamp. D+0+32 Same as D+0+30 using speaker for audio tone generation. D+0+34 Same as D+0+30 using oscilloscope to display waveform. D+0+5 Force on a dielectric in a capacitor D+0+35 Applet: Capacitor Lab D+0+40 Applet: Circuit Construction Kit (AC+DC), Virtual Lab D+0+45 Applet: Water Droplets in Electric Field D+0+50 Applet: RC Circuits D+0+55 Applet: CR Filter's Response (Analog)