Capacitors in series have a total capacitance that is always:

When capacitors are connected in series, the total capacitance is calculated differently from how it is in parallel. The formula for total capacitance ( C_T ) for capacitors in series is given by:

[

\frac{1}{C_T} = \frac{1}{C_1} + \frac{1}{C_2} + \frac{1}{C_3} + \ldots

]

This indicates that the inverse of the total capacitance is equal to the sum of the inverses of the individual capacitances. As a result of this relationship, the total capacitance is always less than the smallest capacitance among the capacitors in the series connection. This is because adding more capacitors in series creates additional pathways for charge distribution that effectively reduces the overall capacity to store charge compared to any single capacitor.

Consequently, since the total capacitance ends up being lower than the value of the smallest capacitor, this correctly identifies why the total capacitance in series is characterized as being less than the smallest individual capacitor in the circuit.