To make a parallel plate capacitor, two copper plates, a sheet of mica (thickness t = 0.1 mm , K = 5.4 ), a sheet of glass (thickness t = 0.2 mm , K = 7 ), and a slab of paraffin (thickness t = 1.0 c

Question

To make a parallel plate capacitor, two copper plates, a sheet of mica (thickness t = 0.1 mm , K = 5.4 ), a sheet of glass (thickness t = 0.2 mm , K = 7 ), and a slab of paraffin (thickness t = 1.0 c m , K = 2 ) are available. To obtain the largest capacitance, which sheet should be placed between the copper plates?

TestHub · Accepted Answer

The capacitance of a parallel plate capacitor is given by $C = \frac{K ϵ _{0} A}{d}$ . To maximize capacitance, we need the largest $\frac{K}{d}$ ratio.

For Mica: $\frac{K}{d} = \frac{5.4}{0.1 \times 1 0 ^{- 3}} = 54000$ .

For Glass: $\frac{K}{d} = \frac{7}{0.2 \times 1 0 ^{- 3}} = 35000$ .

For Paraffin: $\frac{K}{d} = \frac{2}{1.0 \times 1 0 ^{- 2}} = 200$ .

Mica provides the largest capacitance.

Physics - Capacitor Question with Solution | TestHub

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