- #1
Noesis
- 101
- 0
I am having some trouble conceptualizing some of the central ideas involving capacitors and potential differences.
First off...a question about electric potential. Electric potential simply refers to the potential energy per unit charge (like a field of potential), and always refers to a source of a field (some charge distribution) and points away from it.
Is that right?
Now, if that assumption about electric potential is right...then when we are looking at a battery with two terminals, one with higher potential (+) than the other terminal (-), are these just two points that have different potentials coming from the same source of charge?
Which would be some electrochemical stuff inside the battery itself? If anybody knows as well...what the hell is this electrochemical stuff and how does it produce such an orderly potential difference?
What I mean by orderly is that since a field and thus potential is directed radially from a charge...how can there be a potential difference between two terminals which basically both exist on the same surface?
Now...besides all of those questions on just batteries...when we connect a parallel plate capacitor to a battery's terminals...how is the charge brought to the capacitor?
I imagine that the electrons just start moving from the terminal with less potential, negative terminal, to one of the plates...which then induces electrons to leave that plate and go to the positive terminal..but I don't quite understand what the hell it means when the terminals are at different potentials so I am not sure if that is right.
And lastly...when all of the charge is distributed...why in the world would the plates have the same potential difference as the battery terminals?
Potential difference should be between a source of charge and where respective test charges would be...so how does that fit into a parallel plate model?
Sorry about the barrage of questions...I just have a general misunderstanding in the entire realm. Any clarity on ANY of the questions is greatly appreciated.
Thanks guys.
First off...a question about electric potential. Electric potential simply refers to the potential energy per unit charge (like a field of potential), and always refers to a source of a field (some charge distribution) and points away from it.
Is that right?
Now, if that assumption about electric potential is right...then when we are looking at a battery with two terminals, one with higher potential (+) than the other terminal (-), are these just two points that have different potentials coming from the same source of charge?
Which would be some electrochemical stuff inside the battery itself? If anybody knows as well...what the hell is this electrochemical stuff and how does it produce such an orderly potential difference?
What I mean by orderly is that since a field and thus potential is directed radially from a charge...how can there be a potential difference between two terminals which basically both exist on the same surface?
Now...besides all of those questions on just batteries...when we connect a parallel plate capacitor to a battery's terminals...how is the charge brought to the capacitor?
I imagine that the electrons just start moving from the terminal with less potential, negative terminal, to one of the plates...which then induces electrons to leave that plate and go to the positive terminal..but I don't quite understand what the hell it means when the terminals are at different potentials so I am not sure if that is right.
And lastly...when all of the charge is distributed...why in the world would the plates have the same potential difference as the battery terminals?
Potential difference should be between a source of charge and where respective test charges would be...so how does that fit into a parallel plate model?
Sorry about the barrage of questions...I just have a general misunderstanding in the entire realm. Any clarity on ANY of the questions is greatly appreciated.
Thanks guys.