Lab14

Magic and Capacitors:

here, applying the basic physics behind a capacitor, we decided to make our own, using aluminum sheets separated by paper.

The same capacitor, with half the area.

The data collected, using factors such as area of aluminum sheets, distance of separation (counted in pages as well as meters) and capacitance achieved.

Look at this beautiful graph! We were able to fit the data to an exponential graph, and boy did it fit nicely.

The formula for the half area capacitor was the same as the previous, except the slope was much steeper.

Capacitors: series vs parallel

we used these capacitors in series and in parallel to observe a relationship between the configuration and the voltage produced. As it turns out, they behave exactly the opposite as resistors do. Meaning that if capacitors are in series you add them inversely (1/Ctot)=(1/C1)+(1/C2), where as if they are in parallel you simply add them up.

And here you have it. The total capacitance of this mess of 5 capacitors...SYMBOLICALLY!