I am doing a RC circuit experiment and I don't know what happen to the energy stored in the capictor after it got disconnected from the power source? I have this formula V=Voe^-t/RC. I learn in lecture that when the current is disconnected, the charge go back somewhere but I don't remember where. Any idea anybody?

Question

I am doing a RC circuit experiment  and I don't know what happen to the energy stored in the capictor after it got disconnected from the power source?  I have this formula V=Voe^-t/RC. I learn in lecture that when the current is disconnected, the charge go back somewhere but I don't remember where. Any idea anybody?

henry2, · Answer

When the power supply is disconnected, the capacitor discharges through the circuit. So it looses all of its' energy: Energy = CV^2/2. Energy in Joules, Capacitance in Farads, and voltage in volts.