Question

What is the effect of increasing plate separation \[d\] on capacitance?

Options

• Capacitance increases, because \[C\propto d\]

• Capacitance decreases, because \[C\propto\frac{1}{d}\]

• Capacitance has no effect, because \[d\] does not appear in the formula

• Capacitance decreases, because \[C\propto d^2\]

Answer 1

Capacitance is inversely proportional to plate separation. Greater separation reduces the electric field interaction between the plates, so capacitance decreases.