Capacitors in series vs parallel
Parallel caps add (10 µF + 10 µF = 20 µF, bigger plates); series caps give less (5 µF, bigger gap) but share the voltage: the opposite of resistors.
Same 2 capacitors… but the rules are the OPPOSITE of resistors! 🔋🔁
1️⃣ PARALLEL = ADD: two 10 µF caps side by side act like one cap with twice the plate area. C = C1 + C2 = 10 + 10 = 20 µF. Bigger plates → room for more charge.
2️⃣ SERIES = LESS: in a row, the two middle plates cancel out and what's left has twice the gap. C = (C1 × C2) ÷ (C1 + C2) = 100 ÷ 20 = 5 µF. Bonus: two equal caps share the voltage, so 12 V across both = 6 V on each.
3️⃣ THE FLIP: resistors add in SERIES, capacitors add in PARALLEL. Same maths, swapped around.
📌 Need more µF? Wire them in parallel. Need a higher voltage? Series (each cap gets part of the voltage).
Read the voiceover (transcript)
- Same two capacitors... the opposite of resistors?
- Parallel? The plates add up: ten plus ten, twenty microfarads!
- Series? The gap doubles: only five microfarads! But each one gets half the volts.
- Resistors add in series. Capacitors add in parallel!
- More microfarads? Parallel. More volts? Series!
- Next: why caps block DC! Follow for part five!
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