Final answer:
A capacitor in an amp serves to hold voltage, stabilizing power flow in the circuit. Changes such as increasing plate area or inserting a dielectric increase capacitance and energy storage, while connecting capacitors in series decreases them.
Step-by-step explanation:
A capacitor inside of an amp functions to hold voltage. Capacitors can store electric energy when disconnected from the charging circuit, releasing it slowly in a controlled manner to the circuit when needed, thereby stabilizing voltage and power flow. Moreover, capacitors influence various aspects of circuit behavior.
- If the area of the capacitor plates increases with the voltage held fixed, the capacitance and the stored energy both increase.
- Adding capacitors in parallel raises the overall capacitance and energy storage, while adding them in series typically decreases the capacitance and the energy storage capability of the circuit.
- When a fully charged capacitor is present in a circuit, the current in the resistor is not zero but the current in the capacitor is, since it is no longer changing.
- To increase the power dissipated in a circuit with constant current, the resistance should be reduced, not the voltage.
- Inserting a dielectric into a capacitor usually increases the capacitance and thus can increase the energy stored in the capacitor.
- If the voltage across a capacitor is doubled, the energy stored in it increases quadratically, or four times.