3 ms·
The 'paradox' in this experiment lies in believing that you can have a voltage across one of the capacitors and zero volts across the other before you hit the s
by simonblack 6y ago
The 'paradox' in this experiment lies in believing that you can have a voltage across one of the capacitors and zero volts across the other before you hit the switch. In other words, you can't have two connected locations resting at different voltages.
--------| |---------------| |----------
--- +6 -6 ------------ 0 0 -----
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ NOT POSSIBLE!
Two capacitors in series are equivalent to one (combined) capacitor, just like a bunch of batteries can be considered to be one (combined) battery.
- Dylan16807 6y agoYou can definitely have a charged capacitor in series with an uncharged capacitor. They only act as an evenly-split combined capacitor if they start at the same charge. Your diagram is wrong. Let's mark out some contact points: ---| |-------| |--- A B C D Voltages only exist between points. To measure against ground, part of the circuit has to be connected to ground. Ground is a point like any other. So when you measure A at 12 volts above B, it doesn't mean B is at any absolute voltage. If only one capacitor is charged, then A can be 12 volts above B while B=C=D. It works out fine. If you attach ground to B or C, then A is 12 volts relative to ground, and B and C and D are all 0 volts relative to ground. If you attach ground to A, then A is 0 volts relative to ground, B and C and D are all -12 volts relative to ground. If you somehow attach ground to the midpoint of A and B, then A is 6 volts relative to ground, and B and C and D are all -6 volts relative to ground. None of these are impossible. Nothing goes wrong until you try to close the switch.