What is the effect of a dielectric material on the electric field between the plates of a parallel plate capacitor?
Practice Questions
1 question
Q1
What is the effect of a dielectric material on the electric field between the plates of a parallel plate capacitor?
Increases the electric field
Decreases the electric field
Has no effect
Reverses the electric field direction
Inserting a dielectric material between the plates of a capacitor decreases the electric field due to polarization.
Questions & Step-by-step Solutions
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Q
Q: What is the effect of a dielectric material on the electric field between the plates of a parallel plate capacitor?
Solution: Inserting a dielectric material between the plates of a capacitor decreases the electric field due to polarization.
Steps: 6
Step 1: Understand what a parallel plate capacitor is. It consists of two plates that store electric charge.
Step 2: Know that an electric field is created between these plates when a voltage is applied.
Step 3: Learn what a dielectric material is. It is an insulating substance that can be placed between the plates.
Step 4: When a dielectric is inserted, it becomes polarized. This means that the positive and negative charges within the dielectric align themselves in response to the electric field.
Step 5: The polarization of the dielectric reduces the overall electric field between the plates because the aligned charges create their own electric field that opposes the original field.
Step 6: As a result, the electric field strength decreases when a dielectric is present.