Question

A parallel-plate capacitor has plates of dimensions 2 cm × 3 cm. The plates are separated by a 1 mm thickness of paper. 

(i) Find the capacitance of the paper capacitor. The dielectric constant of paper is 3.7

(ii) What is the maximum charge that can be placed on the capacitor ? The dielectric strength of paper is 16 × 16⁶ V/m.

Answer 1

(ii) Since the thickness of the paper is 1 mm, the maximum voltage that can be applied before breakdown occurs is

∴ Maximum charge that can be placed on capacitor is