If the distance between the plates of a capacitor is halved, what happens to its

Practice Questions

Q1
If the distance between the plates of a capacitor is halved, what happens to its capacitance?
  1. It doubles
  2. It halves
  3. It remains the same
  4. It quadruples

Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions

If the distance between the plates of a capacitor is halved, what happens to its capacitance?
  • Step 1: Understand what capacitance is. Capacitance is a measure of a capacitor's ability to store electrical charge.
  • Step 2: Know the formula for capacitance (C) of a parallel plate capacitor: C = ε * (A/d), where ε is the permittivity of the material between the plates, A is the area of the plates, and d is the distance between the plates.
  • Step 3: Identify the relationship between capacitance and distance. In the formula, capacitance (C) is inversely proportional to the distance (d). This means that if distance decreases, capacitance increases.
  • Step 4: If the distance (d) is halved, replace d in the formula with d/2. The new capacitance becomes C' = ε * (A/(d/2)) = ε * (2A/d) = 2 * C.
  • Step 5: Conclude that if the distance between the plates is halved, the capacitance doubles.
  • Capacitance and Distance Relationship – Capacitance (C) is defined as C = ε(A/d), where ε is the permittivity of the dielectric, A is the area of the plates, and d is the distance between the plates. This shows that capacitance is inversely proportional to the distance (d) between the plates.
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