Answer to Question #133642 in Electric Circuits for william

Question

how does a capacitor store charges

Answer 1

In a capacitor, there are two conductive plates that have an insulating material between them that separates both the plates. This insulating material is known as dielectric.

A capacitor is added in an active and closed circuit; the electrons forced in through the voltage source get accumulated on the plate as they cannot pass through the dielectric. This forms the negatively charged plate. The other plate loses electron and results in a positively charged plate. This process continues till the accumulated voltage charge becomes equal to the voltage being supplied. At this time both the positive and negative potential becomes equal to the positive and negative terminals. Here, at this point the circuit is in balance, the charge flow stops. Between the capacitor plates, an electrostatic field exists and in this field the energy is stored. If the circuit is connected to an external circuit, the charged capacitor will discharge through it.