Answer to Question #310027 in General Chemistry for kelly

Question

1. Why is the word capacitance sometimes called a “misnomer”?

2. We sayu that power is “dissipated” in a resistor. To dissipate is to use, or to waste, or to squander. What is “used” when charge flows through a resistor?

3. When demand for electric power is high, power companies sometimes reduce the voltage, thereby producing a “btrown –out”. What is being saved?

 

Answer 1

The capacity of a parallel plate capacitor

The ability of plates of the capacitor to store an electric charge and electric potential energy is called capacitance of the capacitor. The word condenser is used sometimes, which is a misnomer, as the capacitor does not condense energy as such, but it stores energy.

When charges (electrons) pass through a resistor, they collide with the internal structure of the resistor. These collisions reduce the kinetic energy of the charges to zero. Where does this energy go, since energy can't be destroyed? It is transformed as heat, at a rate of joules per second.