Police Modern Sr. Sec.

School

Physics Project File

Session :- 2025-26

Capacitor & Dielectric

Submitted By: Submitted To:

Kanak Chaudhary Mr. Himanshu Gupta

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 Acknowledgement

I would like to express my special thanks of

gratitude to my teacher Mr. Himanshu Gupta
As well as our principal Mrs. Richa Vashisht who
gave me this wonderful project on the topic
“Capacitor and Dielectrics” which also helped
me in doing a lot of research and I came to know
about so many new things.
Secondly, I would also like to thank my parents
and friends who helped me a lot in finishing this
project within the time limit.
I’m making this project not only for marks but to
also increase my knowledge.

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 Certificate

This is to certify that Kanak Chaudhary, student

of Class 12th has successfully completed the
research on the project “Capacitance and
Dielectrics” under the guidance of:

Mr. Himanshu Gupta

The year 2025-26.

Teacher’s Signature

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Capacitor
A capacitor is a device used to store electric charge. Capacitors
have applications ranging from filtering static out of radio
reception to energy storage in heart defibrillators. Typically,
commercial capacitors have two conducting parts close to one
another, but not touching, such as those in Figure 1. (Most of the
time an insulator is used between the two plates to provide
separation—see the discussion on dielectrics below.) When
battery terminals are connected to an initially uncharged
capacitor, equal amounts of positive and negative charge,
+Q and –Q, are separated into its two plates. The capacitor
remains neutral overall, but we refer to it as storing a
charge Q in this circumstance.

Figure 1. Both capacitors shown here were initially uncharged before being connected to a
battery. They now have separated charges of +Q and –Q on their two halves. (a) A parallel
plate capacitor. (b) A rolled capacitor with an insulating material between its two conducting
sheets.
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The amount of charge Q a capacitor can store depends on two
major factors—the voltage applied and the capacitor’s physical
characteristics, such as its size.
• The Amount of Charge Q A Capacitor Can Store;
The amount of charge Q a capacitor can store depends on two
major factors—the voltage applied and the capacitor’s physical
characteristics, such as its size.
A system composed of two identical, parallel
conducting plates separated by a distance, as
in Figure 2, is called a parallel plate
capacitor. It is easy to see the relationship
between the voltage and the stored charge for
a parallel plate capacitor, as shown in Figure
2. Each electric field line starts on an
individual positive charge and ends on a
negative one, so that there will be more field
lines if there is more charge. (Drawing a
single field line per charge is a convenience,
only. We can draw many field lines for each
charge, but the total number is proportional
to the number of charges.) The electric field
strength is, thus, directly proportional to Q.
Figure 2. Electric field lines in this parallel plate capacitor, as always, start on positive charges
and end on negative charges. Since the electric field strength is proportional to the density of
field lines, it is also proportional to the amount of charge on the capacitor.

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The field is proportional to the charge:
E∝Q,
where the symbol ∝ means “proportional to.” From the
discussion in Electric Potential in a Uniform Electric Field,
we know that the voltage across parallel plates is
V = Ed.
Thus, V∝E. It follows, then, that V∝Q, and conversely,
Q∝V.
This is true in general: The greater the voltage applied to any
capacitor, the greater the charge stored in it.
Different capacitors will store different amounts of charge for
the same applied voltage, depending on their physical
characteristics. We define their capacitance C to be such that the
charge Q stored in a capacitor is proportional to C. The charge
stored in a capacitor is given by
Q = CV.
This equation expresses the two major factors affecting the
amount of charge stored. Those factors are the physical
characteristics of the capacitor, C, and the voltage, V.
Rearranging the equation, we see that capacitance C is the
amount of charge stored per volt, or
C=Q/V

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 • Capacitance;
Capacitance C is the amount of charge stored per volt, or
C=Q/V

The unit of capacitance is the farad (F), named for Michael

Faraday (1791–1867), an English scientist who contributed to
the fields of electromagnetism and electrochemistry. Since
capacitance is charge per unit voltage, we see that a farad is a
coulomb per volt, or
1 F= 1C/1V
A 1-farad capacitor would be able to store 1 coulomb (a very
large amount of charge) with the application of only 1 volt. One
farad is, thus, a very large capacitance. Typical capacitors range
from fractions of a picofarad (1 pF = 10−12 F) to millifarads (1
mF = 10−3 F).
Figure 3 shows some common capacitors. Capacitors are
primarily made of ceramic, glass, or plastic, depending upon
purpose and size. Insulating materials, called dielectrics, are
commonly used in their construction, as discussed below.
Figure 3. Some typical capacitors. Size and value
of capacitance are not necessarily related. (credit:
Windell Oskay)

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 a) There were 2 main inventors of Capacitor;
1. Ewald Georg Von Kleist (1745)
2. Pieter Van Musschenbroek (1746)
b) There are a few types of capacitors;
1. Parallel Plate Capacitor
2. Spherical Capacitor
3. Cylindrical Capacitor

o Parallel Plate Capacitor;

The parallel plate capacitor shown in Figure 4 has two identical
conducting plates, each having a surface area A, separated by a
distance d (with no material between the plates). When a
voltage V is applied to the capacitor, it stores a charge Q, as
shown. We can see how its capacitance depends on A and d by
considering the characteristics of the Coulomb force. We know
that like charges repel, unlike charges attract, and the force
between charges decreases with distance. So, it seems quite
reasonable that the bigger the plates are, the more charge they
can store—because the charges can spread out more.
Thus, C should be greater for larger A. Similarly, the closer the
plates are together, the greater the attraction of the opposite
charges on them. So, C should be greater for smaller d.
It can be shown that for a parallel plate capacitor there are only
two factors (A and d) that affect its capacitance C. The
capacitance of a parallel plate capacitor in equation form is
given by,
C= ϵoA/d
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Figure 4. Parallel plate capacitor with plates separated by a
distance d. Each plate has an area A.

Capacitance of a parallel plate capacitor;

C = ϵoA/d
A is the area of one plate in square meters,
and d is the distance between the plates in
meters. The constant ε0 is the permittivity of
free space; its numerical value in SI units
is ε0 = 8.85 × 10−12 F/m. The units of F/m are equivalent to
C2/N · m2. The small numerical value of ε0 is related to the large
size of the farad. A parallel plate capacitor must have a large
area to have a capacitance approaching a farad.

o Spherical Capacitor;
Spherical capacitors consist of two concentric conducting
spherical shells of radii R1 and R2. The shells are given equal
and opposite charges +Q and –Q respectively. The electric field
between shells is directed radially outward. The magnitude of
the field can be obtained by applying Gauss law over a spherical
Gaussian surface of radius r concentric with the shells.

Vnet = kq/R1 – kq/R2

= kq (1/R1 – 1/R2)

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 = kq (R2-R1/ R1R2)
As we know that,
C = Q/V
= q/ kq (R2-R1/R1R2)
= 1/ [1/4πE0* (R2-R1/R1R2)]
Hence,
We get, C= 4πE0R1R2/ R2-R1

Uses of Capacitor;
The capacitors have both electrical and electronic
applications. They are used for several things such as filters,
energy storage systems, engine starters, signal processing
devices, etc.
a) Capacitors are used for storing energy, which can be
used by the device for temporary power outages
whenever they need additional power. Since the late 18th
century, capacitors have been used to store electrical
energy. Individual capacitors do not hold much energy,
providing only enough power for electronic devices
during temporary power outages or when they need
additional power. Many applications use capacitors as
energy sources, and a few of them are as follows:
• Audio equipment

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 • Camera flashes
• Power supplies
• Magnetic coils
• Lasers
Supercapacitors are capacitors that have high capacitances
up to 2 kF. These capacitors store large amounts of energy
and offer new technological possibilities in areas such
as electric cars, regenerative braking in the automotive
industry and industrial electrical motors, computer memory
backup during power loss, and many others.

b) Capacitors are used for blocking DC current after getting

fully charged and yet allow the AC current to pass
through the circuit of a circuit.
c) Capacitors are used as sensor for several things like
measuring humidity, fuel levels, mechanical strain,
etc. Two aspects of capacitor construction are used in the
sensing application – the distance between the parallel
plates and the material between them. The former detects
mechanical changes such as acceleration and pressure,
and the latter is used in sensing air humidity.
d) Capacitors can be used in a time-dependent circuit. This
could be connected to any LED or loudspeaker system,
and it’s likely that any flashing light/regular beeping uses
a timing capacitor. Capacitors are also used in
conjunction with inductors to tune circuits to particular

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 frequencies, an effect exploited by radio receivers,
speakers, and analog equalizers.

Facts;
I. Capacitors with high capacitance are made up of material
with high dielectric constant.
II. A Capacitor can take up and temporarily store energy from
a circuit. Then, the capacitor will return the energy to the
circuit later.

• Factors Affecting Capacitance;

a) Dielectric:
The effect of dielectric on capacitance is that the greater the
permittivity of the dielectric, the greater the capacitance,
likewise lesser the permittivity of the dielectric the lesser is
the capacitance. Some materials offer less opposition to the
field flux for a given amount of field force. Materials with
greater permittivity allow more field flux. Hence greater
charge is collected.

b) Plate Spacing:

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The effect of spacing on the capacitance is that it is inversely
proportional to the distance between the plates. Mathematically
it is given as:
C∝1/d

c) Area of the Plates:

The effect of the area of the plate is that the capacitance is

directly proportional to the area. The larger the plate area, the
more the capacitance value. Mathematically it is given as:
C∝A
• Combinations Of Capacitors;
1. Series Combination:
Some of the features of the series combination of capacitors are
as follows:
• There is only one path in a series combination to proceed
from one point to another.
• The individual capacitors have the same charge on each
capacitor in the series capacitor.
• The Series Combination of Capacitors always obeys the
laws of conservation.
• The potential difference will be inversely proportional to its
capacitance, i.e. contrasting parallel capacitance.

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 Series combination can be calculated by; 1/C = 1/C1 + 1/C2

2. Parallel Combination;
When capacitors are connected in parallel, the potential
difference V across each is the same and the charge on C1 and
C2 is different, i.e., Q1 and Q2.
In a parallel combination of a capacitor, every capacitor is
directly connected to the battery or the power supply source.
In this case, the potential difference between every capacitor
is the same as the potential difference applied (V).
When we apply a potential difference to the capacitor’s plates,
they start getting charged. The difference in capacitance leads
to a difference in the charge on each capacitor.

Parallel combination can be calculated by; C= C1 + C2 + C3

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 • The potential
across each
capacitor is the same in
the parallel
combination of
capacitors.
• The charge is proportional to the capacitor’s capacity and is
different in each case.
Q ∝ C thus,
Q1=C1V
Q2=C2V
Q3=C3V
• The parallel combination abides by the law of conservation
of charge
• Therefore,
Q= Q1+Q2+Q3
= C1V + C2V+ C3V
= (C1+C2+C3) V
Equivalent capacitance can be shown as,
Ceq= Q/V = C1+C2+C3

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Dielectrics
What Is Dielectric?
The previous example highlights the difficulty of storing a large
amount of charge in capacitors. If d is made smaller to produce a
larger capacitance, then the maximum voltage must be reduced
proportionally to avoid breakdown since,
E= V/d
An important solution to this difficulty is to put an insulating
material, called a dielectric, between the plates of a capacitor
and allow d to be as small as possible. Not only does the
smaller d make the capacitance greater, but many insulators can
withstand greater electric fields than air before breaking down.
There is another benefit to using a dielectric in a capacitor.
Depending on the material used, the capacitance is greater than
that given by the equation.
C= kϵoA/d
by a factor κ, called the dielectric constant. A parallel plate
capacitor with a dielectric between its plates has a capacitance
given by:
C=kϵ0A/d
(parallel plate capacitor with dielectric).

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Note also that the dielectric constant for air is very close to 1, so
that air-filled capacitors act much like those with vacuum
between their plates except that the air can become conductive if
the electric field strength becomes too great.
E=V/d
(Recall that for a parallel plate capacitor.) Also shown in Table
1 are maximum electric field strengths in V/m, called dielectric
strengths, for several materials. These are the fields above which
the material begins to break down and conduct. The dielectric
strength imposes a limit on the voltage that can be applied for a
given plate separation. For instance, in Example 1, the
separation is 1.00 mm, and so the voltage limit for air is
V=E⋅d
= (3×106 V/m) (1.00×10−3 m)
=3000 V
However, the limit for a 1.00 mm separation filled with Teflon is
60,000 V, since the dielectric strength of Teflon is 60 × 106 V/m.
So, the same capacitor filled with Teflon has a greater
capacitance and can be subjected to a much greater voltage.
Using the capacitance, we calculated in the above example for
the air-filled parallel plate capacitor, we find that the Teflon-
filled capacitor can store a maximum charge of;

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Q= CV
=kCairV
= (2.1) (8.85 nF) (6.0×104 V)
=1.1 mC
This is 42 times the charge of the same air-filled capacitor.

• Dielectric Strength;
The maximum electric field strength above which an insulating
material begins to break down and conduct is called its dielectric
strength.
Microscopically, how does a dielectric increase capacitance?
Polarization of the insulator is responsible. The more easily it is
polarized, the greater its dielectric constant κ. Water, for
example, is a polar molecule because one end of the molecule
has a slight positive charge and the other end has a slight
negative charge. The polarity of water causes it to have a
relatively large dielectric constant of 80. The effect of
polarization can be best explained in terms of the characteristics
of the Coulomb force. Figure 5 shows the separation of charge
schematically in the molecules of a dielectric material placed
between the charged plates of a capacitor. The Coulomb force
between the closest ends of the molecules and the charge on the
plates is attractive and very strong, since they are very close
together. This attracts more charge onto the plates than if the
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space were empty and the opposite charges were a
distance d away.

Figure 5. (a) The molecules in the insulating material between the plates of a capacitor are
polarized by the charged plates. This produces a layer of opposite charge on the surface of the
dielectric that attracts more charge onto the plate, increasing its capacitance. (b) The dielectric
reduces the electric field strength inside the capacitor, resulting in a smaller voltage between
the plates for the same charge. The capacitor stores the same charge for a smaller voltage,
implying that it has a larger capacitance because of the dielectric.

Another way to understand how a dielectric increases

capacitance is to consider its effect on the electric field inside
the capacitor. Figure 5(b) shows the electric field lines with a
dielectric in place. Since the field lines end on charges in the
dielectric, there are fewer of them going from one side of the
capacitor to the other. So’ the electric field strength is less than if
there were a vacuum between the plates, even though the same
charge is on the plates. The voltage between the plates is V = Ed,

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so, it too is reduced by the dielectric. Thus, there is a smaller
voltage V for the same charge Q; since,
C= Q/V
The capacitance C is greater.
The dielectric constant is generally defined to be,
κ=E0/E
or the ratio of the electric field in a vacuum to that in the
dielectric material, and is intimately related to the polarizability
of the material.

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 ➢ Polarization is a separation of charge within an atom or
molecule. As has been noted, the planetary model of the
atom pictures it as having a positive nucleus orbited by
negative electrons, analogous to the planets orbiting the
Sun. Although this model is not completely accurate, it is
very helpful in explaining a vast range of phenomena and
will be refined elsewhere, such as in Atomic Physics. The
submicroscopic origin of polarization can be modeled as
shown in Figure 6.
Figure 6. Artist’s conception of a polarized atom. The orbits of electrons around the nucleus are
shifted slightly by the external charges (shown exaggerated). The resulting separation of charge
within the atom means that it is polarized. Note that the unlike charge is now closer to the
external charges, causing the polarization.

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Terminology;
Although the term insulator implies low electrical
conduction, dielectric typically means materials with a
high polarizability. The latter is expressed by a number called
the relative permittivity. Insulator is generally used to indicate
electrical obstruction while dielectric is used to indicate
the energy storing capacity of the material (by means of
polarization). A common example of a dielectric is the
electrically insulating material between the metallic plates of
a capacitor. The polarization of the dielectric by the applied
electric field increases the capacitor's surface charge for the
given electric field strength.
The term dielectric was coined by
Willian Whewell (from Dia + electric) in
response to a request from Michael
Faraday.
A perfect dielectric is a material with
zero electrical conductivity (cf. perfect
conductor infinite electrical
conductivity), thus exhibiting only
a displacement current; therefore it stores and returns electrical
energy as if it were an ideal capacitor.

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Effects of Dielectric on Capacitance;
To know the effect of dielectric on capacitance let us consider a
simple capacitor with parallel plates of area A, separated by a
distance d, we can see that the charge on each plate is +Q and –
Q for a capacitor with charge Q. As the area of the plate is A, the
corresponding charge density can be given as ±σ. Were,
σ = QA
When the two plates have a vacuum between them, potential
difference across the capacitor can be given as,
V0 = E0d = σ/ε0d
The capacitance of the capacitor can thus be given as,
C0 = Q/V0 = E0 A/d.
How does a Dielectric work?
Dielectric materials work by polarizing when subjected to an
electric field, effectively reducing the strength of the field within
the material. This polarization occurs because electric charges
within the dielectric slightly shift from their equilibrium
positions, creating an internal electric field that counteracts the
external field.
Dielectrics are materials that don't allow current to flow. They
are more often called insulators because they are the exact
opposite of conductors. But usually when people call insulators
“dielectrics,” it's because they want to draw attention to a special
property shared by all insulators: polarizability.
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