Capacitance Calculator

The Formula

The formula for calculating the capacitance of a parallel plate capacitor is:

\[C = \frac{\varepsilon_0 \varepsilon_r A}{d}\]

Where:

• C: Capacitance (in Farads, F)
• ε_0: Permittivity of free space (8.854 × 10^-12 F/m)
• ε_r: Relative permittivity (dielectric constant) of the material between plates
• A: Area of overlap of the two plates (m²)
• d: Separation between the plates (m)

Calculation Steps

1. Determine the plate area (A), plate separation (d), and dielectric constant (ε_r)
2. Insert these values into the formula
3. Multiply ε_0 by ε_r and A
4. Divide the result by d to get the capacitance

Example Calculation

Let's calculate the capacitance for a capacitor with plate area 0.01 m², plate separation 0.001 m, and a dielectric constant of 1 (air):

\[C = \frac{(8.854 \times 10^{-12})(1)(0.01)}{0.001} = 8.854 \times 10^{-11} F\]

Visual Representation

This visual represents a parallel plate capacitor with the calculated capacitance from our example.