Practice question
Question
A parallel plate capacitor has plates of area \( 0.05 \, \text{m}^2 \) separated by 1 mm in air. What
is its capacitance? (Take \( \varepsilon_0 = 8.85 \times 10^{-12} \, \text{C}^2 \text{N}^{-1}
\text{m}^{-2} \)).
Explanation
**Spherical conductor capacitance** C = 4π ε₀ R, R radius (m), potential V = Q/C = Q/(4π ε₀ R)=k Q/R. For R=2 cm=0.02 m, Q=2×10⁻⁸ C, V=9×10⁹×2×10⁻⁸/0.02=9000 V, showing high voltage for small sphere with modest charge. C = (ε₀ A/d) = (8.85 × 10⁻¹² × 0.05/10⁻³) = 4.425 × 10⁻¹⁰ F = 442.5 pF . Using V = kQ/r, U = k q₁q₂/r, E = -dV/dr, C = ε₀A/d, 1/C_eq series, C_eq = ΣC parallel, U = ½ C V² and common potential V = Q_total/C_total, result 442.5 pF follows, reflecting potential-capacitance relations.
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