Question

What is the capacitance of a parallel plate capacitor constructed of plates 10 cm square, separated by 1 mm, and filled with polystyrene with a dielectric constant of 2.6 ? Express your answer as the coefficient in front the the powers of ten.

Answer 1

Since there is a dielectric, the capacitance is given by:

$C=\frac{k\epsilon_oA}{d}$

Where:

$\begin{gathered} k=Dielectric_{\text{ }}constant=2.6 \\ \epsilon_o=vacuum_{\text{ }}permittivity=8.85\times10^{-12} \\ A=Area=0.01m^2 \\ d=distance=0.001m \end{gathered}$

Therefore:

$C=2.301\times10^{-10}F$

Answer:

2.301x10⁻¹⁰F