So I was doing a practice problem from a workbook, and I feel like I'm missing a critical concept here.
In the attached circuit, the capacitors can be reduced to a single 20 uF cap. That gives it a charge of
\(20 \mu F \times 400 V = 8 mC \)
But then the solution starts breaking up the single 20 uF capacitor into its original component capacitors, applying the same charge across the 20 uF, 40 uF and 9 uF. That is, saying they each have 8 mC of charge on them. How is that possible? Where is the extra charge coming from?
In the attached circuit, the capacitors can be reduced to a single 20 uF cap. That gives it a charge of
\(20 \mu F \times 400 V = 8 mC \)
But then the solution starts breaking up the single 20 uF capacitor into its original component capacitors, applying the same charge across the 20 uF, 40 uF and 9 uF. That is, saying they each have 8 mC of charge on them. How is that possible? Where is the extra charge coming from?