Energy relaxation in a vacuum capacitor-resistor circuit: measurement of multiple decays with divergent time constants

TL;DR

This study investigates multiple energy relaxation processes in a resistor-vacuum capacitor circuit, revealing diverse time constants and challenging existing circuit physics, with implications for precision measurement applications.

Contribution

It introduces a phenomenological model explaining multiple decay processes in vacuum capacitor circuits, challenging traditional Maxwell-based explanations.

Findings

Multiple relaxation processes with different time constants observed

Vacuum capacitors exhibit similar decay behavior to dielectric capacitors

Results suggest a need to revise circuit physics understanding

Abstract

The decay of the electrical energy in a resistor-vacuum capacitor circuit is shown to involve multiple relaxation processes, with dramatically different time constants. This is measured using a vacuum capacitor to eliminate the effect of a dielectric between the plates (polypropylene capacitors are shown to exhibit similar behavior). A simple phenomenological model accounts for this behavior in spite of the difficulty in applying Maxwell's equations to such a circuit. These results will lead to a revision of our understanding of the physics of circuits, having particular impact on applications that use capacitors as sensors in collecting precision data (such as found in quantum measurements and dielectric spectroscopy).