Re: Batteries and Capacitors

[Bernard Cleyet <anngeorg@PACBELL.NET>]

"(Where students stop asking such questions if it means
that they have to do extra work themselves)
....."

I find this most unfortunate -- I agree having the students do a little
library (now includes the internet) search is admirable, but if it stops
questions, @#$!!.

I thought having another student do the search would solve that, but then
the questioners become pariahs!  Is there a solution to this?

bc

Herbert H Gottlieb wrote:

> To answer your question (below) as simply as possible .....
>
> A capacitor essentially consists of  two electrical conductors
> separated by a dielectric.
> When "charged" it actually stores a surplus of electrons in one of the
> conductors and an equal number of  unpaired positive charges at the other
> end.
> When the two outer terminals are shorted together. there is flow of
> electroms
> through the shorting wires until the uncharged condition of the capacitor
>
> is obtained again.
>
> A battery does not store electrons and protons separately in the same
> manner as the capacitor.  The battery only contains uncharged solid and
> liquid chemicals. When the battery terminls are shorted. the chemicals
> react somehow and produce an electric current that flows from one
> terminal to
> the other until the chemicals of the battery are exhausted.
>
> For a much better explanation, instead of answering the student's
> question yourself, tell her to find the answer in a library book or via
> the
> internet and report to the class next time for extra credit.
>
> Herb Gottlieb from New York City
> (Where students stop asking such questions if it means
> that they have to do extra work themselves)
> .........................................................................
> ................
>
> On Wed, 12 Feb 2003 10:43:42 -0600 Tina Fanetti <FanettT@WITCC.COM>
> writes:
> > 'lo
> > In my calc based physics class, we are studying circuits and I
> > talked=
> >  about batteries and capacitors. =20
> > I explained that a capacitor stored electrical energy..yadda yadda

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