| | A battery is placed in a circuit containing two capacitors and a resistor in a simple circuit (Photo 1). The capacitors are uncharged in the open circuit. When the circuit is closed, the voltage of the first capacitor will become positive while the other voltage will become negative. Changes are fast at the beginning and stop later on (Figure 1).
Interpretation The electric circuit behaves analogously to two fluid containers connected by a hose with a pump placed in the hose. The initial water levels are equal. When the pump is turned on, water flows from one of the tanks into the other, raising one of the levels at the expense of the other. Here, electric charge is pumped from one of the (uncharged) capacitors into the other capacitor, making charge (and voltage) of the first decrease from zero, while charge and voltage of the second increase. A battery works as a pump for electric charge. | |
