In a series circuit, what happens to the voltage across the remaining capacitors when one capacitor is removed?

In a series circuit, capacitors share the same charge, but the voltage across each capacitor can differ depending on their capacitance values. The total voltage supplied by the source is divided among the capacitors inversely proportional to their capacitance; that is, higher capacitance leads to a lower voltage across that capacitor.

When one capacitor is removed from a series circuit, the total capacitance of the circuit decreases. In a series configuration, the formula for total capacitance (C_total) is given by 1/C_total = 1/C1 + 1/C2 + ... + 1/Cn. As the number of capacitors decreases, the total capacitance increases, resulting in a change in how the supply voltage is distributed among the remaining capacitors.

Consequently, with one less capacitor in the circuit, the voltage across each of the remaining capacitors increases. This occurs because the same total voltage source now has fewer pathways to share the voltage, causing the voltage drop across each remaining capacitor to rise. Therefore, when one capacitor is removed, the voltage across each of the remaining capacitors in the series circuit increases.