PROJECT FILE

PHYSICS
academic year 2024-25

Project Name –
The Factors Affecting the Capacitance of
Parallel Plate Capacitor

Submitted to- Mrs. Renu Singh

Submitted by- Pankaj Choudhary
Roll No.-
Class- XII NEET
Branch- Sector 37-C
1
 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that Pankaj Choudhary

of class XII has successfully completed
this Biology project on the topic “The
Factors Affecting the Parallel Plate
Capacitors” prescribed by Mr. Nirmal
Modi Sir, during academic session
2024-2025 as per the guidelines issues
by Central Board of Secondary
Education.

Signature of internal Signature of extrernal

2
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I, Pankaj choudhary of class XII would like to
express my heart felt gratitude towards my
mentor, guide and Physics teacher, Mrs. Renu
Singh Ma’am. His constant encouragement and
constructive criticism helped me to successfully
complete my Physics Project titled “THE
FACTORS AFFECTING THE CAPACITANCE OF
PARALLEL PLATE CAPACITORS”. This gave me a
golden opportunity to explore my skills and
imagination and carry out research under his
skillful guidance.
I am greatly indebted to my esteemed
principal, Jayasree Vemula Madam for granting
me permission and providing requisite facilities
to complete my project.
I am also thankful to my dean, Gargi Arya
Madam for her constant support and
encouraging words. I am grateful to my beloved
parents and brother for always Being there for
me and giving me the confidence and
inspiration in all my endeavours.

3
4
 INDEX

1. CERTIFICATE
2. ACKNOWLEDGE
3. AIM
4. INTRODUCTION
5. APPARATUS REQUIRED
6. FORMULA
7. CONSTRUCTION
8. PROCEDURE
9. OBSERVATION
10. CONCLUSION
11. APPLICATION
12. PRECAUTION
13. BIBLIOGRAPHY

5
 AIM

TO STUDY
THE FACTORS AFFECTING
THE CAPACITANCE OF
PARALLEL PLATE CAPACITORS

6
 INTRODUCTION

Capacitance
Capacitance is the ability of a component or circuit to collect and store energy in
the form of an electrical charge. Capacitors are energy-storing devices available
in many sizes and shapes . Capacitance is a function only of the geometry of the
design of the capacitor, e.g., the opposing surface area of the plates and the
distance between them, and the permittivity of the dielectric material between
the plates.

For many dielectric materials, the permittivity and thus the capacitance, is
independent of the potential difference between the conductors and the total
charge on them.

The SI unit of capacitance is the farad (symbol: F), named after the English
physicist Michael Faraday .

C =q ÷ V

Where, C is capacitance

q is charge v is electric

potential

Capacitance in electric circuits is deliberately introduced by a device called a

capacitor. It was discovered by the Prussian scientist Ewald Georg von
Kleist in 1745 and independently by the Dutch physicist Pieter van Musschenbroek at
about the same time, while in the process of investigating electrostatic
phenomena. They discovered that electricity obtained from an electrostatic
machine could be stored for a period of time and then released.

7
A capacitor, also called a condenser, is thus essentially a sandwich of two plates
of conducting material separated by an insulating material, or dielectric. Its
primary function is to store electrical energy. Capacitors differ in the size and
geometrical arrangement of the plates and in the kind of dielectric material used.
Hence, they have such names as mica, paper, ceramic, air, and electrolytic
capacitors. Their capacitance may be fixed or adjustable over a range of values
for use in tuning circuits.

The capacitance of the majority of capacitors used in electronic circuits is

generally several orders of magnitude smaller than the farad. The most common
subunits of capacitance in use today are microfarad (mF), nanofarad (µF),
picofarad (pF), and, in microcircuits, femtofarad (fF). However, specially made
supercapacitors can be much larger (as much as hundreds of farads), and
parasitic capacitive elements can be less than a femtofarad.

Capacitance can be calculated if the geometry of the conductors and the

dielectric properties of the insulator between the conductors are known. Once a
positive charge is put unto a conductor, this charge creates an electrical field,
repelling any other positive charge to be moved onto the conductor; i.e.,
increasing the necessary voltage. But if nearby there is another conductor with a
negative charge on it, the electrical field of the positive conductor repelling the
second positive charge is weakened (the second positive charge also feels the
attracting force of the negative charge). So due to the second conductor with a
negative charge, it becomes easier to put a positive charge on the already
positive charged first conductor, and vice versa; i.e., the necessary voltage is
lowered.
As a quantitative example consider the capacitance of a capacitor constructed of
two parallel plates both of area A separated by a distance d. If d is sufficiently
small with respect to the smallest chord of A, there holds, to a high level of
accuracy.

8
A capacitance meter is a piece of electronic test equipment used to measure
capacitance, mainly of discrete capacitors. For most purposes and in most cases
the capacitor must be disconnected from circuit.

Many DVMs (digital volt meters) have a capacitance-measuring function. These

usually operate by charging and discharging the capacitor under test with a
known current and measuring the rate of rise of the resulting voltage; the slower
the rate of rise, the larger the capacitance. DVMs can usually measure
capacitance from nanofarads to a few hundred microfarads, but wider ranges are
not unusual. It is also possible to measure capacitance by passing a known
highfrequency alternating current through the device under test and measuring
the resulting voltage across it (does not work for polarised capacitors).

9
 APPARATUS
REQUIRED

 Capacitor plate with different area

 Capacitor stand
 LCR Meter with connecting wire
 Battery [9 volt]
 Different dielectric [ex: glass]

10
 FORMULA
FACTORS AFFECTING CAPACITANCE
There are three major factors that can affect the value of capacitance in a

conductor ;

 The area of the plate used.

 The dielectric used

 Conductors

 The distance between the two parallel plate

C = ε0A/d
C= Capacitance in Farads ε0 =

Absolute Permittivity of dielectric A =

Area of the capacitor plates d =

Distance between plates in meters

When dielectric is introduced

C = ε(ε0A)/d
ε = Permittivity of dielectric medium

11
 CONSTRUCTION
i. Make sure you have all the apparatus.

ii. Place the capacitor plates in the capacitor stand.

iii. Connect the wire to multimeter and connect the same

wire to the capacitor plates.

12
 PROCEDURE
i. DIFFERENCE IN AREA
After construction of the circuit ,take the reading of the capacitor of the
area 400 cm^2 and change the area of the capacitor.

ii. DIFFERENCE IN DISTANCE BETWEEN THE CAPACITOR PLATES

Keep the area of the capacitor constant and change the distance between
the capacitor plates for example: 0.4 cm, 0.8 cm, 1.2 cm… (Note the
Reading in the multimeter )

And change the area of the capacitor plate and change the distance
between the capacitor plates for example: 0.4 cm, 0.8 cm, 1.2 cm… (Note
the Reading in the multimeter )

iii. DIFFERENT IN DIELECTRIC AT SAME DISTANCE

Take the capacitor plates with area 400cm^2 and change the dielectric
medium between the capacitor plates. Note the reading.

iv. DIFFERENT IN DIELECTRIC AND ALSO DIFFERENT IN

DISTANCE BETWEEN THE PLATES
Now Take the capacitor plates with area 400cm^2 and change the
dielectric medium and also the distance between the capacitor plates.

For example : In the same area keep the distance between the capacitor plates as
1 cm and keep different types of dielectric(air,glass, polyethelene plastic)
between the plates.

keep the distance between the capacitor plates as 2 cm and keep different types
of dielectric(air,glass, polyethelene plastic) between the plates. Continue this
process with varying the distance between the capacitor plates and the
dielectric.

13
 OBSERVATION
i. DIFFERENCE IN AREA
S.NO AREA OF THE PARALLEL PLATE CAPACITANCE
CAPACITOR
1 400 cm^2 0.126 nF
2 766 cm^2 0.196 nF
ii. DIFFERENCE IN DISTANCE BETWEEN THE CAPACITOR PLATES
.
S.NO DISTANCE BETWEEN CAPACIANCE CAPACITANCE
THE PARALLEL PLATES [400 CM] [766]
1 0.4 0.258 0.313
2 0.8 0.108 0.112
3 1.2 0.069 0.078
4 1.6 0.045 0.062
5 2.0 0.038 0.053
iii. DIFFERENCE IN DIELECTRIC AT SAME DISTANCE
S.NO DIELECTRIC USED CAPACITANCE
1 AIR 0.132 nF
2 POLYESTEREN PLASTIC 0.180 nF
3 GLASS 0.226 nF
4 PLYWOOD 0.278 nF
5 PAPER 0.146 nF
6 PLASTIC 0.166 nF
iv. DIFFERENCE IN DIELECTRIC AND ALSO DIFFERENCE IN
DISTANCE BETWEEN THE PLATES
S.NO DISTANCE BETWEEN DIELECTRIC USED CAPACITANCE
THE PARALLEL PLATE
CAPACITORS
1 1 AIR 0.120
2 1 GLASS 0.222
3 1 POLYETHELENE 0.165
PLASTIC

14
4 2 AIR 0.060
5 2 GLASS 0.082
6 2 POLYETHELENE 0.076
PLASTIC
7 3 AIR 0.050
8 3 GLASS 0.056
9 3 POLYETHELENE 0.054
PLASTIC
10 4 AIR 0.044
11 4 GLASS 0.046
12 4 POLYETHELENE 0.044
PLASTIC
13 5 AIR 0.038
14 5 GLASS 0.040
15 5 POLYETHELENE 0.038
PLASTIC

15
 CONCLUSION

i. As the area of capacitor increases capacitance of the

parallel plate increases.

ii. As the distance between the capacitor plates increases

the capacitance of the parallel plate decreases.

iii. As the dielectric changes the capacitance changes.

16
 APPLICATIONS

i. Capacitors are used to store energy.

ii. By studying about the factors affecting the capacitors

we can increase the area of capacitor plates and
decrease the distance of the capacitors to increase the
capacitance.

iii. Capacitors are specially constructed with low-

inductance and highvoltage functionalities to fulfill
massive electric current levels for many pulsed power
devices. These devices may hold electromagnetic
gadgets, generators (especially Marx generators),
pulsed lasers, and particle accelerators.

17
 PRECAUTIONS

 Do not charge by higher current or higher voltage than

specified

 Do not use nor leave the capacitors neither in direct

sunlight nor in hightemperature areas.

 Do not use new and used capacitors together.

 Do not use different types of capacitors together.

 Do not discharge by force.

 Do not heat, disassemble, nor dispose off in fire.

18
 BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books
1. K.L. Gomber and K.L. Gogia, Pradeep’s
Fundamental Physics, Pradeep Publications, 2022.
2. Physics Text Book for class XII, National Council of
Educational Research and Training, 2021.

Webliography

i. https://electricalacademia.com/basic-electrical/
factorsaffecting-capacitance/
ii. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitance
iii. https://engineeringslab.com/tutorial_electrical/
factorsaffecting-capacitance
iv. https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/textbook/direct-
current/ chpt-13/factors-affecting-capacitance/

19