Capacitor electron flow












5












$begingroup$


Well I was just wondering, a capacitor is made of 2 metallic plates separated by insulating material. During the charging of the capacitor electrons flow towards the opposite direction the battery's electric field.



The electrons flow through the insulator at a very very slow speed causing some of the charge, which was supposed to be stored, to be lost?



More specifically the electrons from the metallic plate which accepts the electrons start to flow ( more slowly) and it shouldn't be negatively charged.










share|improve this question











$endgroup$

















    5












    $begingroup$


    Well I was just wondering, a capacitor is made of 2 metallic plates separated by insulating material. During the charging of the capacitor electrons flow towards the opposite direction the battery's electric field.



    The electrons flow through the insulator at a very very slow speed causing some of the charge, which was supposed to be stored, to be lost?



    More specifically the electrons from the metallic plate which accepts the electrons start to flow ( more slowly) and it shouldn't be negatively charged.










    share|improve this question











    $endgroup$















      5












      5








      5





      $begingroup$


      Well I was just wondering, a capacitor is made of 2 metallic plates separated by insulating material. During the charging of the capacitor electrons flow towards the opposite direction the battery's electric field.



      The electrons flow through the insulator at a very very slow speed causing some of the charge, which was supposed to be stored, to be lost?



      More specifically the electrons from the metallic plate which accepts the electrons start to flow ( more slowly) and it shouldn't be negatively charged.










      share|improve this question











      $endgroup$




      Well I was just wondering, a capacitor is made of 2 metallic plates separated by insulating material. During the charging of the capacitor electrons flow towards the opposite direction the battery's electric field.



      The electrons flow through the insulator at a very very slow speed causing some of the charge, which was supposed to be stored, to be lost?



      More specifically the electrons from the metallic plate which accepts the electrons start to flow ( more slowly) and it shouldn't be negatively charged.







      capacitor capacitance






      share|improve this question















      share|improve this question













      share|improve this question




      share|improve this question








      edited Mar 25 at 22:08









      laptop2d

      27k123484




      27k123484










      asked Mar 19 at 13:09









      AltairAltair

      165




      165






















          4 Answers
          4






          active

          oldest

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          12












          $begingroup$


          A capacitor is made of two metallic plates separated by insulating material.




          Correct.




          During the charging of the capacitor electrons flow towards the opposite direction the battery's electric field.




          OK.




          Shouldn't the electrons flow through the insulator at a very very slow speed so that means some of the charge, which was supposed to be stored, be lost?




          In a perfect insulator there will be no charge flow (current) under static voltage conditions. For a less than perfect insulator there will be a leakage current and the capacitor will lose its charge.



          enter image description here



          Figure 1. Extract from a random electrolytic capacitor series datasheet.



          The datasheet shows that for these large Vishay electrolytics that the leakage current, ILS, is measured after the rated voltage, UR, has been applied for 5 minutes. (We can take it from this that there is something that will change a little with "soakage" time.)



          If we look at the first entry, a 10,000 μF, 16 V model the IL is listed as 1.2 mA. The charge on the capacitor is given by $ Q = C V = 0.01 text F times 16 text V = 0.16 text C$.



          $ 1.2 text {mA} = 0.0012 text {C/s} $ so the capacitor is leaking at a rate of $ frac {0.0012}{0.16} =
          0.0075 text {/s} = 0.75%text{/s} $
          while fully charged.



          Just by using the UR and IL figures we can calculate the equivalent leakage resistance as $ R_L = frac {U_R}{I_L} = frac {16}{1.2m} = 13.3 text kOmega $.





          schematic





          simulate this circuit – Schematic created using CircuitLab



          Figure 2. Equivalent circuit at 16 V.






          share|improve this answer











          $endgroup$





















            2












            $begingroup$

            Correct. A perfect insulator would allow no electrons to pass through it, and charge would accumulate at the electrodes - an increase of electrons at the negative side. This produces an electric field across the insulator, which causes charged particles (mostly electrons, but possibly ions of the material too) to experience a force, and some do break free and allow a small leakage current to flow, discharging the capacitor over time.






            share|improve this answer









            $endgroup$





















              2












              $begingroup$

              Yes a capacitor is made of two conductive plates separated by a dielectric (or insulator). When you apply a DC voltage (or charge) the capacitor, the plate connected to the negative terminal of the battery builds up a negative charge by the accumulation of electrons while the plate attached to the positive terminal of the battery builds up a positive charge by losing electrons. The buildup of positive and negative charge on each plate creates an electric field in the dielectric which is how energy is stored. Yes a tiny amount of electrons flow through the insulator and this is called the leakage current. Any good capacitor datasheet should tell you how much to expect.






              share|improve this answer









              $endgroup$





















                -1












                $begingroup$

                Maybe more modern concepts would help. The energy transfer from one plate of a capacitor to the other is caused by photon flow (not electron flow) through the capacitor dielectric, known as displacement current. Photons move at the speed of light in the medium but electron drift velocity is very slow. All speed of light electromagnetic activity involves photons.






                share|improve this answer









                $endgroup$














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                  4 Answers
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                  4 Answers
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                  12












                  $begingroup$


                  A capacitor is made of two metallic plates separated by insulating material.




                  Correct.




                  During the charging of the capacitor electrons flow towards the opposite direction the battery's electric field.




                  OK.




                  Shouldn't the electrons flow through the insulator at a very very slow speed so that means some of the charge, which was supposed to be stored, be lost?




                  In a perfect insulator there will be no charge flow (current) under static voltage conditions. For a less than perfect insulator there will be a leakage current and the capacitor will lose its charge.



                  enter image description here



                  Figure 1. Extract from a random electrolytic capacitor series datasheet.



                  The datasheet shows that for these large Vishay electrolytics that the leakage current, ILS, is measured after the rated voltage, UR, has been applied for 5 minutes. (We can take it from this that there is something that will change a little with "soakage" time.)



                  If we look at the first entry, a 10,000 μF, 16 V model the IL is listed as 1.2 mA. The charge on the capacitor is given by $ Q = C V = 0.01 text F times 16 text V = 0.16 text C$.



                  $ 1.2 text {mA} = 0.0012 text {C/s} $ so the capacitor is leaking at a rate of $ frac {0.0012}{0.16} =
                  0.0075 text {/s} = 0.75%text{/s} $
                  while fully charged.



                  Just by using the UR and IL figures we can calculate the equivalent leakage resistance as $ R_L = frac {U_R}{I_L} = frac {16}{1.2m} = 13.3 text kOmega $.





                  schematic





                  simulate this circuit – Schematic created using CircuitLab



                  Figure 2. Equivalent circuit at 16 V.






                  share|improve this answer











                  $endgroup$


















                    12












                    $begingroup$


                    A capacitor is made of two metallic plates separated by insulating material.




                    Correct.




                    During the charging of the capacitor electrons flow towards the opposite direction the battery's electric field.




                    OK.




                    Shouldn't the electrons flow through the insulator at a very very slow speed so that means some of the charge, which was supposed to be stored, be lost?




                    In a perfect insulator there will be no charge flow (current) under static voltage conditions. For a less than perfect insulator there will be a leakage current and the capacitor will lose its charge.



                    enter image description here



                    Figure 1. Extract from a random electrolytic capacitor series datasheet.



                    The datasheet shows that for these large Vishay electrolytics that the leakage current, ILS, is measured after the rated voltage, UR, has been applied for 5 minutes. (We can take it from this that there is something that will change a little with "soakage" time.)



                    If we look at the first entry, a 10,000 μF, 16 V model the IL is listed as 1.2 mA. The charge on the capacitor is given by $ Q = C V = 0.01 text F times 16 text V = 0.16 text C$.



                    $ 1.2 text {mA} = 0.0012 text {C/s} $ so the capacitor is leaking at a rate of $ frac {0.0012}{0.16} =
                    0.0075 text {/s} = 0.75%text{/s} $
                    while fully charged.



                    Just by using the UR and IL figures we can calculate the equivalent leakage resistance as $ R_L = frac {U_R}{I_L} = frac {16}{1.2m} = 13.3 text kOmega $.





                    schematic





                    simulate this circuit – Schematic created using CircuitLab



                    Figure 2. Equivalent circuit at 16 V.






                    share|improve this answer











                    $endgroup$
















                      12












                      12








                      12





                      $begingroup$


                      A capacitor is made of two metallic plates separated by insulating material.




                      Correct.




                      During the charging of the capacitor electrons flow towards the opposite direction the battery's electric field.




                      OK.




                      Shouldn't the electrons flow through the insulator at a very very slow speed so that means some of the charge, which was supposed to be stored, be lost?




                      In a perfect insulator there will be no charge flow (current) under static voltage conditions. For a less than perfect insulator there will be a leakage current and the capacitor will lose its charge.



                      enter image description here



                      Figure 1. Extract from a random electrolytic capacitor series datasheet.



                      The datasheet shows that for these large Vishay electrolytics that the leakage current, ILS, is measured after the rated voltage, UR, has been applied for 5 minutes. (We can take it from this that there is something that will change a little with "soakage" time.)



                      If we look at the first entry, a 10,000 μF, 16 V model the IL is listed as 1.2 mA. The charge on the capacitor is given by $ Q = C V = 0.01 text F times 16 text V = 0.16 text C$.



                      $ 1.2 text {mA} = 0.0012 text {C/s} $ so the capacitor is leaking at a rate of $ frac {0.0012}{0.16} =
                      0.0075 text {/s} = 0.75%text{/s} $
                      while fully charged.



                      Just by using the UR and IL figures we can calculate the equivalent leakage resistance as $ R_L = frac {U_R}{I_L} = frac {16}{1.2m} = 13.3 text kOmega $.





                      schematic





                      simulate this circuit – Schematic created using CircuitLab



                      Figure 2. Equivalent circuit at 16 V.






                      share|improve this answer











                      $endgroup$




                      A capacitor is made of two metallic plates separated by insulating material.




                      Correct.




                      During the charging of the capacitor electrons flow towards the opposite direction the battery's electric field.




                      OK.




                      Shouldn't the electrons flow through the insulator at a very very slow speed so that means some of the charge, which was supposed to be stored, be lost?




                      In a perfect insulator there will be no charge flow (current) under static voltage conditions. For a less than perfect insulator there will be a leakage current and the capacitor will lose its charge.



                      enter image description here



                      Figure 1. Extract from a random electrolytic capacitor series datasheet.



                      The datasheet shows that for these large Vishay electrolytics that the leakage current, ILS, is measured after the rated voltage, UR, has been applied for 5 minutes. (We can take it from this that there is something that will change a little with "soakage" time.)



                      If we look at the first entry, a 10,000 μF, 16 V model the IL is listed as 1.2 mA. The charge on the capacitor is given by $ Q = C V = 0.01 text F times 16 text V = 0.16 text C$.



                      $ 1.2 text {mA} = 0.0012 text {C/s} $ so the capacitor is leaking at a rate of $ frac {0.0012}{0.16} =
                      0.0075 text {/s} = 0.75%text{/s} $
                      while fully charged.



                      Just by using the UR and IL figures we can calculate the equivalent leakage resistance as $ R_L = frac {U_R}{I_L} = frac {16}{1.2m} = 13.3 text kOmega $.





                      schematic





                      simulate this circuit – Schematic created using CircuitLab



                      Figure 2. Equivalent circuit at 16 V.







                      share|improve this answer














                      share|improve this answer



                      share|improve this answer








                      edited Mar 19 at 16:28

























                      answered Mar 19 at 13:42









                      TransistorTransistor

                      87.6k785189




                      87.6k785189

























                          2












                          $begingroup$

                          Correct. A perfect insulator would allow no electrons to pass through it, and charge would accumulate at the electrodes - an increase of electrons at the negative side. This produces an electric field across the insulator, which causes charged particles (mostly electrons, but possibly ions of the material too) to experience a force, and some do break free and allow a small leakage current to flow, discharging the capacitor over time.






                          share|improve this answer









                          $endgroup$


















                            2












                            $begingroup$

                            Correct. A perfect insulator would allow no electrons to pass through it, and charge would accumulate at the electrodes - an increase of electrons at the negative side. This produces an electric field across the insulator, which causes charged particles (mostly electrons, but possibly ions of the material too) to experience a force, and some do break free and allow a small leakage current to flow, discharging the capacitor over time.






                            share|improve this answer









                            $endgroup$
















                              2












                              2








                              2





                              $begingroup$

                              Correct. A perfect insulator would allow no electrons to pass through it, and charge would accumulate at the electrodes - an increase of electrons at the negative side. This produces an electric field across the insulator, which causes charged particles (mostly electrons, but possibly ions of the material too) to experience a force, and some do break free and allow a small leakage current to flow, discharging the capacitor over time.






                              share|improve this answer









                              $endgroup$



                              Correct. A perfect insulator would allow no electrons to pass through it, and charge would accumulate at the electrodes - an increase of electrons at the negative side. This produces an electric field across the insulator, which causes charged particles (mostly electrons, but possibly ions of the material too) to experience a force, and some do break free and allow a small leakage current to flow, discharging the capacitor over time.







                              share|improve this answer












                              share|improve this answer



                              share|improve this answer










                              answered Mar 19 at 13:23









                              Phil GPhil G

                              2,8371412




                              2,8371412























                                  2












                                  $begingroup$

                                  Yes a capacitor is made of two conductive plates separated by a dielectric (or insulator). When you apply a DC voltage (or charge) the capacitor, the plate connected to the negative terminal of the battery builds up a negative charge by the accumulation of electrons while the plate attached to the positive terminal of the battery builds up a positive charge by losing electrons. The buildup of positive and negative charge on each plate creates an electric field in the dielectric which is how energy is stored. Yes a tiny amount of electrons flow through the insulator and this is called the leakage current. Any good capacitor datasheet should tell you how much to expect.






                                  share|improve this answer









                                  $endgroup$


















                                    2












                                    $begingroup$

                                    Yes a capacitor is made of two conductive plates separated by a dielectric (or insulator). When you apply a DC voltage (or charge) the capacitor, the plate connected to the negative terminal of the battery builds up a negative charge by the accumulation of electrons while the plate attached to the positive terminal of the battery builds up a positive charge by losing electrons. The buildup of positive and negative charge on each plate creates an electric field in the dielectric which is how energy is stored. Yes a tiny amount of electrons flow through the insulator and this is called the leakage current. Any good capacitor datasheet should tell you how much to expect.






                                    share|improve this answer









                                    $endgroup$
















                                      2












                                      2








                                      2





                                      $begingroup$

                                      Yes a capacitor is made of two conductive plates separated by a dielectric (or insulator). When you apply a DC voltage (or charge) the capacitor, the plate connected to the negative terminal of the battery builds up a negative charge by the accumulation of electrons while the plate attached to the positive terminal of the battery builds up a positive charge by losing electrons. The buildup of positive and negative charge on each plate creates an electric field in the dielectric which is how energy is stored. Yes a tiny amount of electrons flow through the insulator and this is called the leakage current. Any good capacitor datasheet should tell you how much to expect.






                                      share|improve this answer









                                      $endgroup$



                                      Yes a capacitor is made of two conductive plates separated by a dielectric (or insulator). When you apply a DC voltage (or charge) the capacitor, the plate connected to the negative terminal of the battery builds up a negative charge by the accumulation of electrons while the plate attached to the positive terminal of the battery builds up a positive charge by losing electrons. The buildup of positive and negative charge on each plate creates an electric field in the dielectric which is how energy is stored. Yes a tiny amount of electrons flow through the insulator and this is called the leakage current. Any good capacitor datasheet should tell you how much to expect.







                                      share|improve this answer












                                      share|improve this answer



                                      share|improve this answer










                                      answered Mar 19 at 13:26









                                      TammerTheHammerTammerTheHammer

                                      729




                                      729























                                          -1












                                          $begingroup$

                                          Maybe more modern concepts would help. The energy transfer from one plate of a capacitor to the other is caused by photon flow (not electron flow) through the capacitor dielectric, known as displacement current. Photons move at the speed of light in the medium but electron drift velocity is very slow. All speed of light electromagnetic activity involves photons.






                                          share|improve this answer









                                          $endgroup$


















                                            -1












                                            $begingroup$

                                            Maybe more modern concepts would help. The energy transfer from one plate of a capacitor to the other is caused by photon flow (not electron flow) through the capacitor dielectric, known as displacement current. Photons move at the speed of light in the medium but electron drift velocity is very slow. All speed of light electromagnetic activity involves photons.






                                            share|improve this answer









                                            $endgroup$
















                                              -1












                                              -1








                                              -1





                                              $begingroup$

                                              Maybe more modern concepts would help. The energy transfer from one plate of a capacitor to the other is caused by photon flow (not electron flow) through the capacitor dielectric, known as displacement current. Photons move at the speed of light in the medium but electron drift velocity is very slow. All speed of light electromagnetic activity involves photons.






                                              share|improve this answer









                                              $endgroup$



                                              Maybe more modern concepts would help. The energy transfer from one plate of a capacitor to the other is caused by photon flow (not electron flow) through the capacitor dielectric, known as displacement current. Photons move at the speed of light in the medium but electron drift velocity is very slow. All speed of light electromagnetic activity involves photons.







                                              share|improve this answer












                                              share|improve this answer



                                              share|improve this answer










                                              answered Mar 25 at 23:07









                                              Cecil - W5DXPCecil - W5DXP

                                              1743




                                              1743






























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