I thinkl you can look upon it differently if you have a solid insulating=20
material between the plates as oposed to a liquid, a gas or vacuum. The cha=
rges=20
on the plates by themselves will act as capacitor even without the solid=20
dielectric but with much lower capacitance.

By polarizing the solid dielectricum, you shift the electron cloud in the a=
tom=20
to be more on one side of the atom than on the other side (the probablility=
=20
that the electron is on one side is larger than the probability that it is =
on=20
the other side) but the atoms stay where they are. This will not be true fo=
r a=20
gas or a liquid.

The polarization reduces the electric field between the plates which means =
that=20
the voltage difference between them will be lower with the same charge than=
=20
compared to a capacitor without a solid dielectricum. Or you can say that t=
he=20
same applied voltage will allow more charges on the plates.

You can't transfer all the charge from one capacitor to another. The charge=
=20
will be shared equally between them if they have the same value (parallel=20
coupled).

/Ruben


> >
> > The energy put into a capacitor with an insulating dielectric when
> > charging it
> > is actually the work required to polarize the dielectic between the
> > plates. The
> > more it gets polarized the more it resists even more polarization which=
 is why
> > the charge and discharge curves looks the way they do.
> >
> > Back at school they explained capacitor charge as changes to the
> dielectric but at the end of the course they came clean and said that the=
y
> could't really explain how they work because both a vacuum and air can be
> used as a dielectic which would be at odds to their initial explanation.
>=20
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
Ruben J=F6nsson
AB Liros Electronic
Box 9124, 200 39 Malm=F6, Sweden
TEL INT +46 40142078
FAX INT +46 40947388
ruben@pp.sbbs.se
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D

--=20
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