Electrical Engineering › Section G · Capacitors › Topic G.4
Capacitors in series and parallel, and stored energy
Capacitors combine by rules that look like the resistor rules turned inside out: parallel capacitances add, while series ones combine like parallel resistors. A charged capacitor also stores energy, half of C times V squared, which is useful in a camera flash and dangerous on a workbench.
In this topic
- Building the value you need
- Capacitors in parallel
- Capacitors in series
- How voltage divides in series
- Worked example: a series-parallel network
- Energy stored in a capacitor
- Worked example: energy in the network and a flash
- Half the energy is lost in charging
- Stray capacitance and applications
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Key takeaways
This topic is part of Wuanberri Pro. Checking your access…