Parallel Plate Capacitor

The Parallel Plate Capacitor helps students understand the principle of capacitance, its relationship with charge and voltage, its dependence on THE surface area of conductors, and the dielectric medium between two plates.

This apparatus features two 120 mm circular metal discs mounted on insulated supports. These supports slide on an extruded aluminum section to adjust the distance between the two discs. The distance is listed with the discs' respective positions along the scale on the aluminum section.

The capacitor includes three different dielectric materials: glass, cardboard, and Perspex.