From the course: Electronics Foundations: Basic Circuits

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Capacitors in parallel

Capacitors in parallel

From the course: Electronics Foundations: Basic Circuits

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Capacitors in parallel

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- [Instructor] When multiple capacitors are placed in parallel with one another, their combined capacitance is simply equal to the sum of their individual capacitances. To understand why their capacitances add together like that. Remember that each capacitor is a pair of parallel conductive plates separated by a dielectric barrier. If I connect a second capacitor in parallel to the first one, both of the top plates will be at the same voltage compared to both of the bottom plates. By connecting these two capacitors in parallel, I've effectively created a new capacitor whose top and bottom plates are twice the size of the original capacitor, which doubles its capacity to store a charge. By combining capacitors in parallel, I can easily create new capacitance values using the capacitors I already have in my parts kit. For example, I could create a 12 microfarad capacitor by combining a 10 microfarad and two, one microfarad…

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