A capacitor consists of two conductors separated by an insulator.

One of its basic forms is the parallel-plate capacitor shown in Figure 1. It consists of two metal plates separated by a non conducting material (i.e., an insulator) called a dielectric. The dielectric may be air, oil, mica, plastic, ceramic, or other suitable insulating material.

Since the plates of the capacitor are metal, they contain huge numbers of free electrons. In their normal state, however, they are uncharged, that is, there is no excess or deficiency of electrons on either plate. If a dc source is now connected (Figure 2), electrons are pulled from the top plate by the positive potential of the battery and the same number deposited on the bottom plate. This leaves the top plate with a deficiency of electrons (i.e., positive charge) and the bottom plate with an excess (i.e., negative charge). In this state, the capacitor is said to be charged. If the amount of charge transferred during this process is Q coulombs, we say that the capacitor has a charge of Q. If we now disconnect the source (Figure 3), the excess electrons that were moved to the bottom plate remain trapped as they have no way to return to the top plate. The capacitor therefore remains charged even though no source is present. Because of this, we say that a capacitor can store charge.

The amount of charge stored in capacitor depends on the value of the applied voltage: Q=CV rearranging the terms: C = Q/V (farads, F) The capacitance of a capacitor is one farad if it stores one coulomb of charge when the voltage across its terminals is one volt.

1.

EFFECT OF AREA: capacitance in directly proportional to plate area.

2.

PLATE SPACING: capacitance is inversely proportional to plate spacing.

3. Effect of Dielectric:
Capacitance also depends on the dielectric. Consider Figure 6, which shows an air-dielectric capacitor. If you substitute different materials for air, the capacitance increases. Table 1 shows the factor by which capacitance increases for a number of different materials. For example, if Teflon is used instead of air, capacitance is increased by a factor of 2.1. This factor is called the relative dielectric constant or relative permittivity of the material.

From the above observations, we see that capacitance is directly proportional to plate area, inversely proportional to plate separation, and dependent on the dielectric. In equation form,

Dielectric Constant:

Electric Flux: Electric fields are force fields that exist in the region surrounding charged bodies. Some familiarity with electric fields is necessary to understand dielectrics and their effect on capacitance. We now look briefly at the key ideas. Consider Figure 8(a). The region where this force exists is called an electric field. To visualize this field, we use Faradays field concept. The direction of the field is defined as the direction of force on a positive charge. It is therefore directed outward from the positive charge and inward toward the negative charge as shown. Field lines never cross, and the density of the lines indicates the strength of the field; i.e., the more dense the lines, the stronger the field. Figure 8(b) shows the field of a parallel-plate capacitor. In this case, the field is uniform across the gap, with some fringing near its edges. Electric flux lines are represented by the Greek letter w (psi).

The strength of an electric field, also called its electric field intensity, is the force per unit charge that the field exerts on a small, positive test charge, Qt. Let the field strength be denoted by . Then, by definition,

Let us define a new quantity, D , that is independent of the medium. D is known as electric flux density. Although not apparent here, D represents the density of flux lines in space, that is,

where Y is the flux passing through area A.