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Parallel-plate capacitor

Change the plates and dielectric and compare charge and voltage with the battery connected or disconnected.

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    Electronics · Capacitors and coils / Principles and inquiry

    Parallel-plate capacitor experiment guide

    Change the plates and dielectric and compare charge and voltage with the battery connected or disconnected.

    How does it work?

    Connected to the battery, V is constant; after disconnection, stored Q is constant.

    Key relationship

    C = ε₀εrA/d · Q = CV · U = Q²/(2C)

    Try this investigation

    1. Change the plates and dielectric and compare charge and voltage with the battery connected or disconnected.
    2. Run and record each of the three baseline presets.
    3. Compare the changed variable and its result with the baseline records.

    Interpreting your results

    With the battery disconnected and charge fixed, what happens to stored energy if spacing doubles?

    2U

    Assumptions and limitations

    Edge fields, breakdown and leakage are omitted. Each run uses a fixed reference geometry for disconnection. Experiment on screen; do not reproduce this with real power supplies, outlets or high voltage.