How Do You Calculate Total Energy Stored in a Circuit System?

AI Thread Summary
To calculate the total energy stored in a circuit system with capacitors, the formula used is E = (1/2)CV², where C is the capacitance and V is the voltage. The user initially struggled with the conversion of units, as the capacitance was in microfarads and the voltage in volts, needing the final answer in millijoules. It was advised to convert capacitance to farads and voltage to volts before applying the formula to obtain energy in joules, which can then be converted to millijoules. After following this guidance, the user successfully calculated the total energy stored. Proper unit conversion is crucial for accurate results in energy calculations.
goWlfpack
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Homework Statement


for this problem i found all of the separate capacitence for each capacitor, each potential difference, and each charge on each capacitor but I am not sure how to get the total energy stored for the whole system. does anybody know the correct equation


Homework Equations



dunno

The Attempt at a Solution



i tried using the total capacitance of the system and the total voltage.. to no avail
 
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goWlfpack said:
for this problem i found all of the separate capacitence for each capacitor, each potential difference, and each charge on each capacitor but I am not sure how to get the total energy stored for the whole system. does anybody know the correct equation

Hi goWlfpack! :smile:

Energy in capacitor = (1/2)CV2 :smile:
 
The equation for energy in a capacitor should be in any physics textbook that talks about capacitors. Try looking carefully through that section in your book.
 
ok so i used the equation total energy = (1/2)CV^2

but it says i am off by a multiple of ten.

can anybody help me with the conversion.
the capacitance is in micro farads
the potential difference is in volts
and they want the answer in looks like milli joules
 
Did it say a multiple of ten or a power of ten?

I would convert your numbers to Farads and Volts, plug those into the equation to get an energy in Joules, then convert that to mJ.
 
thanks guys! got it! that's exactly what i did. converted everything to the standard. Thanks so much!
 
Thread 'Variable mass system : water sprayed into a moving container'

Thread 'Variable mass system : water sprayed into a moving container'

Starting with the mass considerations #m(t)# is mass of water #M_{c}# mass of container and #M(t)# mass of total system $$M(t) = M_{C} + m(t)$$ $$\Rightarrow \frac{dM(t)}{dt} = \frac{dm(t)}{dt}$$ $$P_i = Mv + u \, dm$$ $$P_f = (M + dm)(v + dv)$$ $$\Delta P = M \, dv + (v - u) \, dm$$ $$F = \frac{dP}{dt} = M \frac{dv}{dt} + (v - u) \frac{dm}{dt}$$ $$F = u \frac{dm}{dt} = \rho A u^2$$ from conservation of momentum , the cannon recoils with the same force which it applies. $$\quad \frac{dm}{dt}...
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