...the negative plate gets extra electrons that repel the electrons in the positive plate and a current flows until the forces balance out and we have a charged capacitor
What distinguishes an insulator from a semiconductor or a metal is the energy gap between the electrons in the outermost shell and any free electrons that may be present
Dielectics are useful but not essential to creating a capacitor.
From the definition it might seem strange to apply the dielectric model to a vacuum, however, it is both the simplest and the most accurate example of a dielectric
henrybot said:but I think that you might be obfuscating the problem.
crashsite said:Your post does clearly state how the change in the dielectric constant acts, in a quantitative way, but I still don't get a sense of "why" it works as it does.
crashsite said:I don't know if I'm obfuscating the problem...
I did repost this same question earlier today with a slightly different slant (as a new thread).
Your post does clearly state how the change in the dielectric constant acts, in a quantitative way, but I still don't get a sense of "why" it works as it does.
I've used capacitors on a pretty regular basis all my life and have even made a few of them (rolling up tin foil and paper, etching plates in opposite sides of double-sided pc board, even made a capacitor bridge to measure fluid level once that used the variation of capacitance due to the change in the dielectric, etc.) and have often figured out the values from the formula in my little Radio Shack Electronic Data Handbook.
20 years ago I felt like I had a pretty good handle on it but, I guess I'm getting more introspective because I realize I really don't have a good feel for what's actually happening at all (and, I don'[t like it).
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