Suppose that three identical capacitors are connected to a battery. Will they store more energy if connected in series or in parallel?

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Answer 1 · 2018-04-24T08:41:36

Parallel

Combined capacitance:

$C_T = 3C$

Stored energy:

$U_( parall\el ) = 1/2 C_T V_o^2 = 3/2 C V_o^2$

Series

Combined capacitance:

$1/C_T = 3/C implies C_T = C/3$

Stored energy:

$U_(series) = 1/2 C_T V_o^2 = 1/6 C V_o^2$

$implies U_( parall\el )/U_(series) = (3/2 C V_o^2)/(1/6 C V_o^2) = 9$