Capacitor and resistor in series

[umdnjmed]

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I've read through quite a few posts already but my confusion seems to be increasing instead.

When a resistor is placed in series with a capacitor, is the voltage across the capacitor going to be equal to that across the battery once is fully charged?

I would think the answer is no because of the voltage drop across the resistor. Since voltage values within a loop have to add up to the voltage across the battery, wouldn't the capacitor have a lower voltage when fully charged?

Thanks.

 

[nashaiy]

I've read through quite a few posts already but my confusion seems to be increasing instead.

When a resistor is placed in series with a capacitor, is the voltage across the capacitor going to be equal to that across the battery once is fully charged?

I would think the answer is no because of the voltage drop across the resistor. Since voltage values within a loop have to add up to the voltage across the battery, wouldn't the capacitor have a lower voltage when fully charged?

Thanks.

This is a confusing topic for me as well. Maybe this video will help:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wqs_ICMKfFU

 

[Saint Fu]

A voltage drop only occurs across a resistor if there's a current running through it. For the purpose of adding up voltages, a fully charged capacitor can be seen as an open circuit. In other words, there is no current flowing through the circuit, so there is no voltage drop across the resistor.

 

[umdnjmed]

This is a confusing topic for me as well. Maybe this video will help:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wqs_ICMKfFU

Thank you sooo much, you rock. The video was beyond helpful. I think my confusion stemmed from the fact that i didn't make the distinction between conditions "immediately after the switch was closed" and "once the capacitor was fully charged," like the guy did in the video.

It seems therefore that unless stated otherwise, we have to assume the capacitor is fully charged. Therefore no current goes through the resistor and no voltage drop occurs (like the Saint Fu mentioned). Of course this would apply only when the resistor and capacitor are in series.

Thank you both!