Concept:
Capacitors in Series: When capacitors are connected in series, the equivalent capacitance (Ceq) is less than the smallest individual capacitance in the series combination.
The voltage across each capacitor can be different, but the charge (Q) on each capacitor is the same.
Equivalent Capacitance: \(\frac{1}{C_{eq}} = \frac{1}{C_1} + \frac{1}{C_2} + \frac{1}{C_3} + \cdots + \frac{1}{C_n} \ \)
Voltage Distribution: The total voltage (Vtotal) across the series combination is the sum of the voltages across each capacitor:
\( V_{total} = V_1 + V_2 + V_3 + \cdots + V_n \ \)
Here, Vi is the voltage across capacitor (Ci).
Since the same charge (Q) is on each capacitor:
\(Q = C_1 V_1 = C_2 V_2 = C_3 V_3 = \cdots = C_n V_n \ \)
Capacitors in Parallel: When capacitors are connected in parallel, the total (equivalent) capacitance (C_{eq}) is the sum of the individual capacitances. The voltage (V) across each capacitor is the same, but the charge on each capacitor can be different.
Equivalent Capacitance: \(C_{eq} = C_1 + C_2 + C_3 + \cdots + C_n \ \)
Voltage Distribution: Each capacitor has the same voltage applied to it: \( V_{total} = V_1 = V_2 = V_3 = \cdots = V_n \ \)
Each capacitor stores a charge (Qi) given by: \(Q_i = C_i V \)
The total stored charge (Qtotal) is the sum of the individual charges:
\(Q_{total} = Q_1 + Q_2 + Q_3 + \cdots + Q_n \ \)
Equivalent capacitance: \(\frac{1}{C_{eq}} = \sum \frac{1}{C_i}\ \)
Explanation:
From the given figure, it is clear that two capacitors are connected in parallel. So, the voltage across them is same.
d is also same for both capacitors.
Hence, the electric field is also the same by the following formula.
\({\rm{E}} = \frac{{{{\rm{ }}}{{\rm{ }}_{\rm{}}}{\rm{V}}}}{{\rm{d}}}\)
So, electrical filed in the region B is 4 kV/cm