"Szczepan Bialek" wrote in message
.. .

All time the electrons flow to or from the ground.
"Let me answer some of your questions. Capacitors loose their charge both
through the insulation between the plates and through the air surrounding
the capacitor. The charge is a surplus of electrons on one plate and a
rarefaction of electrons on the other. Where the electrons are compacted
(the negative plate) the electrons tend to push each other off. Where
there is a deficit of electrons (the positive plate) electrons are
attracted from other sources - air, the positive plate. Both of these
actions tend to decrease the potential difference between the plates... to
discharge the capacitor. From:
http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasc...0/phy00900.htm

S*

Let's disregard the spelling error ("loose" and "lose").
The article continues thus:

"How can this be discouraged? There are a number of possibilities, but they
are selectively employed due to practical and economic reasons. Two possible
methods - Increase the distance between the plates or change the material
separating the plates. For instance glass insulators are sometimes used on
very large (tall as a house) capacitors or the capacitor may be packed in
oil. "

Anyone seen a capacitor that is as big as a house?

snip

"Often one wants a capacitor to have the largest possible capacitance. This
is accomplished by making the plates large in area and close together and
filling the space between the plates with an insulator which has a large
dielectric constant. A parallel plate capacitor has a capacitance given by C
= eA/d, where e is the dielectric constant, A is the area of the plates and
d is the separation between the plates. Notice that making the area large
and the separation small makes it easier for a current to flow between the
plates, thereby discharging them. For many purposes the small leakage
current is not a serious problem. Often a large value of capacitance is much
more important than a slow discharge. Notice that even with air between the
plates, cosmic rays will occasionally pass through the capacitor, ionizing
the air and thereby discharging the capacitor slightly."

Note the statement "makes it easier for a current to flow between the
plates". That's "between the plates" and not "flow to earth".

snip

"It is true, most capacitors tend to self-discharge about 50% in something
like 15 minutes."
That's "self-discharge" and not "discharge to earth".

For a detailed discussion of electrons, why not try posting on one
of the Physics or Science newsgroups?

Regards, Ian.