What if the material is different but the spacing and surface area
are the same?
Is the capacitance value always the same?
No, because the dielectric constant of the two materials may be
different and the capacitance is directly related to the dielectric
constant. And the dielectric constant is dependant on the dipole
moment of the material. (see the previous posted link)
What you said is true though. If you had a really good insulator
that could be made ipmossibly thin without breaking down it would
also make a good capacitor.
--- In Electronics_101@y..., verhap@o... wrote:
The purpose of the dielectric is to modify the field between
the oppositely charged plates. The differences in the field leads to
different capacitances.
A good dielectric allows you to bring the plates closer together
without arcing. Capacitance is a function of plate area and plate
gap. Larger plates or smaller gaps give you a greater capacitance.
Once the gap breaks down, you've lost capacitance.
Paul
