Capacitores em paralelo (Cp)

Capacitors in parallel: capacitance adds

Wire capacitors in parallel and the total capacitance is just the sum: Ctotal = C₁ + C₂ + ... + Cn. Every capacitor sees the same voltage, which means the lowest voltage rating limits the whole bank. Stored energy adds up too, with E = ½·C·V² applied to the total C. Note that resistors do the opposite: putting them in parallel brings the total down. Example: 1 µF + 4.7 µF in parallel = 5.7 µF; under 25 V, energy = ½·5.7 µF·25² ≈ 1.78 mJ.

Applications

Linear power-supply filters lean on this. Pairing an electrolytic with a ceramic gives wide-band decoupling, since the electrolytic handles low frequencies while the ceramic kills high-frequency spikes. Supercapacitor banks wired in parallel scale up total capacity for energy storage. And industrial power-factor correction uses banks of parallel capacitors to compensate for inductive loads.

FAQ

Why does parallel add for capacitors but reduce for resistors? Placing capacitors side by side is, in effect, enlarging the plate area, and capacitance scales with that area.

Can I mix different voltage ratings? You can, but keep in mind the lowest rating sets the safe maximum for the whole bank.

Can I mix electrolytic and ceramic? Yes, and it is standard practice for decoupling. You get bulk capacity from one and low ESR at high frequencies from the other.