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Spherical Capacitor

Definition

A spherical capacitor is a device that consists of two concentric conducting spheres, with the inner sphere acting as the positive plate and the outer sphere acting as the negative plate. It stores electric charge and has capacitance.

Analogy

Imagine a set of Russian nesting dolls, where each doll represents a conducting sphere. The larger doll represents the outer sphere (negative plate) and the smaller doll inside represents the inner sphere (positive plate). Just like how these dolls fit inside each other, the two spheres in a spherical capacitor are nested together.

Related terms

Capacitance: Capacitance is a measure of how much electric charge can be stored in an object for a given potential difference. It is represented by C and measured in farads (F).

Electric Field: Electric field refers to the region around an electrically charged object where another charged object experiences an electric force. It is represented by E and measured in newtons per coulomb (N/C).

Dielectric Material: A dielectric material is an insulating substance placed between the plates of a capacitor to increase its capacitance. It reduces the electric field strength between the plates while storing more charge.