Capacitor Charge and Discharge Mathematics

Mathematical treatment of charging and discharging a capacitor
Discharging
The area under the current-time discharge graph gives the charge held
by the capacitor.
The gradient of the charge-time graph gives the current flowing from the
capacitor at that moment. C
Discharge of a capacitor through a resistor

In Figure 1 let the charge on a capacitor of capacitance C at any instant
be q, and let V be the potential difference across it at that instant.
The current (I) in the discharge at that instant is therefore: Figure 1

I = - dq/dt
But V = IR and q = CV so dq/dt = d(CV)/dt = C dV/dt
Therefore we have V = -CR dV/dt Rearranging and integrating gives:
Capacitor discharge (voltage decay): V = Voe-(t/RC)
where V0 is the initial voltage applied to the capacitor. A graph of this exponential discharge is
shown in Figure 2.
Vo
Potential
difference (V)
Vo/e
Figure 2
RC 2RC 3RC Time (t)
Since Q = CV the equation for the charge (Q) on the capacitor after a time t is therefore:
Capacitor discharge (charge decay): Q = Qoe-(t/RC)
V = Vo e-t/RC also I = Io e-t/RC Q = Qo e-t/RC

You should realise that the term RC governs the rate at which the charge on the capacitor
decays. When t = RC, V = Vo/e = 0.37 V0 and the product RC is known as the time constant
for the circuit. The bigger the value of RC the slower the rate at which the capacitor
discharges.
The value of C can be found from this discharge curve if R is known.
1
Example 1
A capacitor of 1000 F is with a potential difference of 12 V across it is discharged through a 500  resistor.
Calculate the voltage across the capacitor after 1.5 s
V = Voe-(t/RC) so V = 12 e-1.5/[500 x 0.001] = 0.6 V
Example 2
A capacitor is discharged through a 10 M resistor and it is found that the time constant is 200 s. Calculate
the value of the capacitor.
RC= 200 Therefore C = 200/10 x 106 = 20 F.
Example 3
Calculate the time for the potential across a 100 F capacitor to fall to 80 per cent of its original value if it is
discharged through a 20 k resistor.
V = 0.8 V0. Therefore 0.8 = e – t/20000 x0.0001
Therefore
ln(1/0.8) = 20 000 x 0.0001 This gives t= 2 x In (1/0.8) = 0.45 s.
Charging a capacitor
When a capacitor (C) is being charged through a resistance (R) to a final potential V0 the
equation giving the voltage (V) across the capacitor at any time t is given by:
Capacitor charging (potential difference) V= V0[1 – e-t/RC]
and the variation of potential with time is shown in Figure 2.
Potential
difference (V)
Vo – Vo/e
Figure 2
RC 2RC 3RC Time (t)
As the capacitor charges the charging current decreases since the potential across the
resistance decreases as the potential across the capacitor increases.
2
Figure 4 shows how both the potential difference across the capacitor and the charge on the
plates vary with time during charging.
The charging current would be given by the gradient of the curve in Figure 2 at any time and
the graph of charging current against time is shown in Figure 3.
Io
Curent ()
Io/e
Figure 3
RC 2RC 3RC Time (t)
The area below the current-time curve in both charging and discharging represents the total
charge held by the capacitor.
Warning
Some badly made power supplies have a capacitor connected across their
outputs and so remain live even after the power supply has been switched
off. Always be careful when handling apparatus containing capacitors.
Example problems (capacitor charging)
1. A 4000 F capacitor is charged through a 2.5 k resistor using a 15 V supply.

Calculate:
(a) the potential difference across the plates after 5s
(b) the time taken for the potential difference across the plates to reach 10 V
(a) V = V0[1 – e-t/RC] = 15[1 – e-5/(2500x0.004)] = 5.9 V

(b) 10/15 = 1 – e-t/RC and so e-t/RC = 0.33 therefore t/RC = 1.099
This gives: t = 1.0986x2500x0.004 = 11 s
2. A 2000 F capacitor is charged through a 1 k resistor using a 6 V supply.

Calculate:
(a) the charging current after 2.5s
(b) the charge on the plates after 2.5 s
(a) Initial charging current (Io) = V/R = 6/1000 = 6 mA

Current after 2.5 s = Io e-t/RC = 6x10-3xe-(2.5/1000x0.002) = 6x10-3 x 0.287 = 1.7 mA
(b) Q = Qo [1 - e-t/RC]
Final charge (Qo) = CV = 0.002x6 = 0.012 C
Charge after 2.5 s = 0.012[1 - 0.287] = 0.012x0.713 = 0.0086 C

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Mathematical treatment of charging and discharging a capacitor

Discharge of a capacitor through a resistor

The current (I) in the discharge at that instant is therefore: Figure 1

Capacitor discharge (voltage decay): V = Voe-(t/RC)

RC 2RC 3RC Time (t)

Capacitor discharge (charge decay): Q = Qoe-(t/RC)

V = Vo e-t/RC also I = Io e-t/RC Q = Qo e-t/RC

The value of C can be found from this discharge curve if R is known.

Capacitor charging (potential difference) V= V0[1 – e-t/RC]

and the variation of potential with time is shown in Figure 2.

RC 2RC 3RC Time (t)

RC 2RC 3RC Time (t)

Example problems (capacitor charging)

1. A 4000 F capacitor is charged through a 2.5 k resistor using a 15 V supply.

(a) V = V0[1 – e-t/RC] = 15[1 – e-5/(2500x0.004)] = 5.9 V

2. A 2000 F capacitor is charged through a 1 k resistor using a 6 V supply.

(a) Initial charging current (Io) = V/R = 6/1000 = 6 mA

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