All Flashcards
What happens when the plate area (A) of a capacitor increases?
The capacitance (C) increases.
What happens when the plate separation (d) of a capacitor increases?
The capacitance (C) decreases.
What happens when a dielectric material is inserted between the plates of a capacitor?
The capacitance (C) increases.
What happens when the voltage across a capacitor is doubled?
The energy stored in the capacitor quadruples.
What happens when a capacitor discharges?
The energy stored in the capacitor is released.
What is the effect of increasing the charge Q on a capacitor?
It increases the electric field E between the plates.
What is Capacitance (C)?
The ability of a capacitor to store charge for a given voltage.
What is a dielectric material?
An insulator placed between the plates of a capacitor to increase capacitance.
What is the permittivity of free space ()?
A physical constant that quantifies the ability of a vacuum to permit electric fields. Its value is approximately 8.85 \times 10^{-12} F/m.
What is the dielectric constant ()?
A dimensionless number that indicates how much the electric field is reduced inside the dielectric compared to the electric field in a vacuum.
What is electric potential energy ()?
The energy stored in a capacitor due to the separation of charges on its plates.