The Capacitor Lab

Go to the following website (if the link doesn’t work directly within Blackboard
simply copy and paste in a tab, you may need to update Java on your computer to
run this simulation):

http://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/capacitor

-
lab
This
simulation
let
s
you explor
e the properties of a capacitor.
Disconnect the battery to explore the intrinsic properties of the capaci
tor. You can
turn on the capacitance meter and the electric field sensor by clicking on the boxes
by these items on the
upper
RHS of the screen.
1.
What, if anything, happens to the capacitance value when you add charges
onto the plates?
2.
Does this make sens
e using what you know about how the capacitance is
defined for two parallel plates?
Explain completely.
3.
Exploring the
Introduction
simulation, clearly state
all the ways
you c
an
c
hange the capacitance value
of the parallel plates
.
Now,
click on the Dielec
tric Tab, you will see the same plates and battery and now
an additional material that can slide through the capacitor
.
4.
Use the
dielectric
slider and
sliding the dielectric material through the plates,
describe
how the capacitance changes as you change th
e dielectric constant.
5.
Using what you noticed in question
#4 and
the same
size
parallel plates
would glass or Teflon
between the plates
lead to
a larger intrinsic
capacitance value?
Why?
(You can see the dielectrics constants
for these
materials
by using
the drop down Materials button
above the dielectric
slide
.)
6.
When inserting the dielectric material into ½ of the plate area, and turning
on the battery to 1.5 volts, what happens to the
collection of charges on
the
plates? Explain clearly. Why do you think
this occurs? (You may want to use
the electric field sensor to explore the field between the plates.)
7.
Looking at the charge distribution
on the plates
and the potential across the
plates (voltmeter), how could you
have
anticipate
d
what the dielectric
mate
rial does to the intrinsic capacitance?

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