What happens when two unequally charged capacitors are connected in parallel?

When 2 unequally charged capacitors are connected in parallel, the charges redistribute themselves until the voltage across each capacitor becomes equal. Now, if I take 2 capacitors connected in series with capacitances and voltages across each of them as (C1, V1) and (C2, V2) respectively, where V1 > V2, then the final voltage across the combination will be the sum of the individual voltages, and the capacitors will charge or discharge accordingly to reach this voltage.

What happens if a capacitor is connected in parallel?

When capacitors are connected in parallel, they are each independently connected to the same voltage source. For capacitors connected in parallel, the charge on each capacitor varies but the capacitors in parallel voltage is the same as the voltage source because each capacitor is connected directly to the battery.

What is the difference between a parallel capacitor and an equivalent capacitor?

Figure 19.6.2 19.6. 2: (a) Capacitors in parallel. Each is connected directly to the voltage source just as if it were all alone, and so the total capacitance in parallel is just the sum of the individual capacitances. (b) The equivalent capacitor has a larger plate area and can therefore hold more charge than the individual capacitors.

How do you find the equivalent capacitance of a parallel network?

Since the capacitors are connected in parallel, they all have the same voltage V across their plates. However, each capacitor in the parallel network may store a different charge. To find the equivalent capacitance Cp C p of the parallel network, we note that the total charge Q stored by the network is the sum of all the individual charges:

How to calculate the total capacitance of a parallel circuit?

We can also define the total capacitance of the parallel circuit from the total stored coulomb charge using the Q = CV equation for charge on a capacitors plates. The total charge QT stored on all the plates equals the sum of the individual stored charges on each capacitor therefore,

What happens when capacitors are connected in series?

When capacitors are connected in series, they are all connected to each other along one path and are connected to the same voltage source. Each capacitor has the same charge and each capacitor has different voltages that add up to the voltage of the voltage source. Do capacitors add in series?