When capacitors are connected in parallel, what happens to the effective capacitance of the circuit?

When capacitors are connected in parallel, the effective capacitance of the circuit increases. This is because the total capacitance in a parallel configuration is the sum of the individual capacitances of all the capacitors in the circuit. Each capacitor provides an additional path for charge storage, allowing more total charge to be stored at the same voltage.

The effective capacitance (C_{total}) for capacitors in parallel is calculated with the formula:

[ C_{total} = C_1 + C_2 + C_3 + ... + C_n ]

where (C_1, C_2, C_3, ... C_n) are the capacitances of the individual capacitors. Therefore, as more capacitors are added in parallel, the total capacitance increases due to this additive property. This phenomenon is critical in applications where higher capacitance is needed, such as smoothing out voltage fluctuations in power supplies or improving energy storage capabilities in circuits.