Capacitor Circuits
Capacitor in Series
Capacitor in Series
As can be seen in the picture, the plate distances add up when capacitors are connected in series. This means that the total capacitance must be reduced:
1 = 1 + 1 + 1 + …
CEq C1 C2 C3
Capacitor in Parallel
Capacitor in Parallel
As can be seen in the picture, when capacitors are connected in parallel, the plate surfaces add up. Therefor the total capacitance increases:
CEq = C1 + C2 + C3 + …