Capacitance of an Isolated Conductor
Capacitance of an Isolated Conductor
- An isolated conductor also has capacitance. Here, Q is its total charge and V is its potential.
Read Q and V from the system
Parallel plates
Q is the charge magnitude on one plate. V is the p.d. between the plates.
Isolated conductor
Q is the total charge on the conductor. V is the potential of that conductor.
For an isolated sphere, substitute its potential from Electric Fields.
- A larger isolated sphere has a larger capacitance.
- Capacitance depends on the conductor's geometry, not on the amount of charge currently placed on it.
Your turnquick check
An isolated sphere has capacitance 69 pF and charge 83 pC. Find its potential.
Show worked answer
Answer