Charging a metal plate/piece of metal with capacitor

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around methods for charging a metal plate using a capacitor, exploring various techniques and considerations related to capacitance, charge distribution, and practical applications in technology development.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested
  • Mathematical reasoning

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants suggest charging a metal plate by connecting it to a capacitor, questioning whether this method is valid.
  • There is a discussion about connecting the other pin of the capacitor to ground, with some participants confirming this approach.
  • One participant mentions that the metal plate will acquire a potential relative to ground, likening the setup to connecting two capacitors in parallel.
  • Another participant proposes using a smaller capacitor close to the plate's capacitance to potentially transfer more charge.
  • There is a mathematical exploration of charge distribution after connecting the capacitor to the plate, with formulas provided to illustrate the relationship between capacitance and voltage.
  • Some participants discuss maximizing charge on the plate by optimizing capacitance and voltage, while others consider the implications of changing configurations on charge conservation.
  • A participant raises a question about the purpose of charging the plate, prompting reflections on the goals of the exercise.
  • Concerns about balancing technological improvements with cost considerations are also mentioned.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express various viewpoints on the methods and implications of charging the plate, with no consensus reached on the best approach or the ultimate goal of the exercise. The discussion includes both supportive and questioning perspectives.

Contextual Notes

Participants reference specific capacitance values and configurations, but there are unresolved assumptions regarding the practical implementation and effectiveness of the proposed methods.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be of interest to technology developers, engineers, and students exploring practical applications of capacitance and charge distribution in electrical systems.

vhb mo
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Hi all,
I have a question about charging a meta plate or a piece of metal with a capacitor. I need to charge a plate to negative or positive and search for some methods. I know charging by Conduction, Friction and Induction. I would like to use another method. I want to charge a capacitor (E.g. 1000 uF) and then connect the negative (or positive) pin to the metal plate or a piece of metal. In this case I think the the metal or plate should be negatively (or positively) charged. Can some one tell me is this way correct? In this case does that metal (or plate) charge?

Thanks
 
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Hi mo, :welcome:

Answer: yes, provided you do something sensible with the other 'pin' :smile: Can you understand what ? Make a sketch of the situation.
 
BvU said:
Hi mo, :welcome:

Answer: yes, provided you do something sensible with the other 'pin' :smile: Can you understand what ? Make a sketch of the situation.

Thanks for your response, The other pin should be connected to ground. Am I right?
 
vhb mo said:
Thanks for your response, The other pin should be connected to ground. Am I right?
I did like the attached pic. The voltage of DC power supply is 30 v. I think I should increase the voltage to transfer more charges.
 

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vhb mo said:
Thanks for your response, The other pin should be connected to ground. Am I right?
Yes. And then the metal plate gets a potential wrt ground. BAsically you are then connecting two capacitors in parallel. Since the capacity of a metal plate wrt ground is generally pretty small (1 m2 at 1 cm from ground = 0.09 ##\mu##F) the voltage remaining on capacitor and plate will be a large fraction (##C_1\over C_1+C_2##) of the original voltage on the capacitor.

Picture I had in mind:

upload_2017-2-17_15-45-31.png
 

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BvU said:
Yes. And then the metal plate gets a potential wrt ground. BAsically you are then connecting two capacitors in parallel. Since the capacity of a metal plate wrt ground is generally pretty small (1 m2 at 1 cm from ground = 0.09 ##\mu##F) the voltage remaining on capacitor and plate will be a large fraction (##C_1\over C_1+C_2##) of the original voltage on the capacitor.

Picture I had in mind:

View attachment 113346
Thanks, How about choosing a small cap close to the plate capacitor. E.g. 100 nF cap. I think this can transfer more charges to the plate.
 
Length of connections doesn't come into the calculation !
 
BvU said:
Length of connections doesn't come into the calculation !
No No, I do not talk about the length. I talk about the amount of the capacitors. I mean that I change the amount of charged capacitor (100 nF) to the value close to the capacity of the plate to ground (90 nF).
 
vhb mo said:
How about choosing a small cap close to the plate capacitor
Ah, you meant:
choosing a small capicitor with a capacitance close to the plate capacitance

Well, the case is:

Before connecting you have a charge ##Q = C_1V_0## if ##C_1## on the capacitor if ##C_1## is its capacitance.

After connecting, that charge is distributed over capacitor and plate until the potential ##V_1## on capacitor and plate is identical (they are connected by a wire), so if ##C_{\rm plate}## is the capacitance of the plate, you have $$ C_1 V_0 = Q = C_1 V_1 + C_{\rm plate} V_1 $$ whereby ##V_1 = V_0 {C_1\over C_1+ C_{\rm plate} }## so $$ Q_{\rm plate} = C_{\rm plate} V_1 = C_{\rm plate} {V_0 C_1 \over C_1+ C_{\rm plate} } \approx {C_{\rm plate} V_0} \quad {\rm if }\ \ C_1 >> C_{\rm plate} $$
whereas this would be ##\approx C_{\rm plate} V_0/2 \quad {\rm if }\ \ C_1 \approx C_{\rm plate} ##
 
  • #10
How you should charge the plate will be decided by why you want to charge it.
Remember that capacitance, C = Q / V.

To place the maximum charge, Q = C·V on the plate, you need to maximise C and V. So use the maximum plate area with the minimum gap to ground, then charge it with the highest voltage available.

For maximum voltage, V = Q / C, you need to maximise Q while minimising C. But there is a parametric multiplication trick that can be used. Once the plate is charged, the charge will remain fixed because it has no where to flow, then dV = Q / dC. So charge the plate as before, with the minimum separation to the maximum voltage, then increase the separation of the plate from ground, which will reduce the capacitance and so multiply the voltage beyond that used initially to charge it.
 
  • #11
Balun's advice is good. But now I wonder why
vhb mo said:
I need to charge a plate
i.e. what's the goal of this exercise ?
 
  • #12
BvU said:
Ah, you meant:
choosing a small capicitor with a capacitance close to the plate capacitance

Well, the case is:

Before connecting you have a charge ##Q = C_1V_0## if ##C_1## on the capacitor if ##C_1## is its capacitance.

After connecting, that charge is distributed over capacitor and plate until the potential ##V_1## on capacitor and plate is identical (they are connected by a wire), so if ##C_{\rm plate}## is the capacitance of the plate, you have $$ C_1 V_0 = Q = C_1 V_1 + C_{\rm plate} V_1 $$ whereby ##V_1 = V_0 {C_1\over C_1+ C_{\rm plate} }## so $$ Q_{\rm plate} = C_{\rm plate} V_1 = C_{\rm plate} {V_0 C_1 \over C_1+ C_{\rm plate} } \approx {C_{\rm plate} V_0} \quad {\rm if }\ \ C_1 >> C_{\rm plate} $$
whereas this would be ##\approx C_{\rm plate} V_0/2 \quad {\rm if }\ \ C_1 \approx C_{\rm plate} ##
Baluncore said:
How you should charge the plate will be decided by why you want to charge it.
Remember that capacitance, C = Q / V.

To place the maximum charge, Q = C·V on the plate, you need to maximise C and V. So use the maximum plate area with the minimum gap to ground, then charge it with the highest voltage available.

For maximum voltage, V = Q / C, you need to maximise Q while minimising C. But there is a parametric multiplication trick that can be used. Once the plate is charged, the charge will remain fixed because it has no where to flow, then dV = Q / dC. So charge the plate as before, with the minimum separation to the maximum voltage, then increase the separation of the plate from ground, which will reduce the capacitance and so multiply the voltage beyond that used initially to charge it.

Thanks both, Well I think to another way. Preparing another layer and make a capacitor to charge the both layers and then separate them to have 2 charged layers. Please see the attached pic. In this case the amount of charges on the plates goes higher because the amount of capacitance goes higher.

BvU said:
Balun's advice is good. But now I wonder why
i.e. what's the goal of this exercise ?
I am a technology developer of a company and our technology should be improved to fulfill the market requirements. :)
 

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  • #13
vhb mo said:
I am a technology developer of a company and our technology should be improved to fulfill the market requirements. :)
Of course, I should have known :smile:
Is it clear Balun's recipe gets you lots of potential, whereas your idea gets you lots of charge ? From your wording I suppose the latter is the goal, right ?

As the wise man said: it's all about Q = CV and keeping an eye on which of these is conserved under a change in the configuration
 
  • #14
BvU said:
Of course, I should have known :smile:
Is it clear Balun's recipe gets you lots of potential, whereas your idea gets you lots of charge ? From your wording I suppose the latter is the goal, right ?

As the wise man said: it's all about Q = CV and keeping an eye on which of these is conserved under a change in the configuration

Yes you are write, I will test it tomorrow and see the results. The problem is how to convince the business part to do it because they are always saying keep the price issues in your mind. Well I should remove the bottleneck! and it brings some costs. let's see. ;)
 

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