alleryStart learning →A capacitor in a DC circuit, in STEADY STATE, acts as
Aa short circuit
Ba resistor of value $1/C$
Can open circuit
Dan ideal voltage source of $V = 0$
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: C. an open circuit
1. CAPACITOR current: $i_C = C\,dV/dt$.
2. In DC STEADY STATE: $dV/dt = 0$ (voltage is constant), so $i_C = 0$.
3. ZERO current means infinite impedance → OPEN CIRCUIT.
4. CONTRAST: an INDUCTOR in DC steady state acts as a SHORT (voltage $L\,di/dt = 0$ when current is constant).
5. Option A is the inductor's DC steady state. Options B, D are wrong.
_Source: Tony Kuphaldt, "Lessons in Electric Circuits — DC", Vol I, Ch 13 (Capacitors in DC)._
Keep practising Electric Circuits
Browse all Electric Circuits questions for GATE EE, or explore more Electrical Engineering topics.
Related questions
Drop each trait into Thevenin or NortonStack equal resistors into one valueThe QUALITY FACTOR Q of a series RLC resonant circuit measuresThe IMPEDANCE of a series RL circuit at angular frequency $\omega$ isAn RMS AC voltage of $230\,\text{V}$ drives a $100\Omega$ RESISTIVE load. The real power dIn an AC circuit with a pure CAPACITOR, the currentIn an AC circuit with a pure INDUCTOR, the currentA purely RESISTIVE AC load has voltage and current that are