Realistic Capacitor with leaking dielectric

Click For Summary
SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the behavior of a parallel-plate capacitor filled with a dielectric that exhibits leakage current due to its conductivity. The voltage across the capacitor decreases over time, specifically reaching ##V(\tau) = \frac{V_{0}}{e}## at time ##\tau##. The relationship between the voltage drop and the conductivity ##\sigma## of the dielectric is established through the equations ##C = \kappa C_{0}## and ##R = \frac{V}{I}##, indicating that the leakage can be modeled as a parallel resistor to the capacitor.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of capacitor fundamentals, specifically parallel-plate capacitors.
  • Knowledge of dielectric materials and their properties, including dielectric constant κ.
  • Familiarity with electrical resistance and current concepts, particularly Ohm's Law.
  • Basic calculus to interpret the exponential decay of voltage over time.
NEXT STEPS
  • Study the relationship between voltage, current, and resistance in capacitors using Ohm's Law.
  • Explore the concept of dielectric leakage and its impact on capacitor performance.
  • Learn about the mathematical modeling of capacitors with leakage, including differential equations.
  • Investigate practical applications of capacitors with dielectric materials in electronic circuits.
USEFUL FOR

Students in electrical engineering, physics enthusiasts, and professionals working with capacitors and dielectric materials will benefit from this discussion.

yango_17
Messages
60
Reaction score
1

Homework Statement


A realistic capacitor is almost always filled with dielectric, but invariably this dielectric will conduct just a little, and the charge stored on the capacitor's plates will "leak." Over time, quite a bit of current can leak away. A good capacitor has a small leakage current.
Consider a parallel-plate capacitor with the plates of area A and distance between them d, filled with a dielectric with the dielectric constant κ. At t=0, some charge is put on the capacitor so that it's voltage is ##V_{0}##. At some later time ##\tau =t##, the voltage on the capacitor is ##V(\tau )=\frac{V_{0}}{e}## (where e is Euler's constant). What is the conductivity σ of the dielectric?

Homework Equations


##C=\kappa C_{0}##
##\sigma=\frac{1}{\rho }##
##R=\frac{V}{I}##

The Attempt at a Solution


I would like to know how to begin to set up the problem. I'm not sure how to go about finding a relation between the voltage of the capacitor and the conductivity of the dielectric, especially when one has to take into account the "leaking" of the dielectric. Any help getting started on this problem would be appreciated. Thanks!
 
Physics news on Phys.org
You can handle the leakage as if a resistor was connected parallel to the capacitor.
 
Ah, that's a great hint. Alright, I'll see how far I can take it from here
 

Similar threads

  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
2K
  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
2K
Replies
6
Views
3K
Replies
8
Views
2K
Replies
3
Views
2K
  • · Replies 8 ·
Replies
8
Views
2K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K
  • · Replies 21 ·
Replies
21
Views
3K
  • · Replies 17 ·
Replies
17
Views
3K
Replies
10
Views
4K