Parallel Plate Capacitor Calculator

Calculator

This calculator can solve for any of the four variables \( C \), \( A \), \( d \), or \( \varepsilon_r \) when you provide the other three.

• Area of the plates (A):
• m² mm² cm²

• Distance between plates (d):
• m cm mm

• Dielectric constant (ε_r):

• Capacitance (C):
• F pF nF µF mF

• Dielectric constant (ε₀):
• F/m

Please fill in exactly three variables.

Calculate

Parallel Plate Capacitor - Explanation

A parallel plate capacitor is a type of capacitor consisting of two conductive plates separated by a dielectric material. The capacitance \( C \) of such a capacitor is determined by the following formula: \[ C = \frac{\varepsilon_0 \varepsilon_r A}{d} \] Where:

• \( C \) is the capacitance (in Farads, \(F\)),
• \( \varepsilon_0 \) is the dielectric constant of vacuum (\( 8.854 \times 10^{-12} \, \text{F/m} \)),
• \( \varepsilon_r \) is the relative dielectric constant of the material between the plates,
• \( A \) is the area of one of the plates (in square meters, \( m^2 \)), and
• \( d \) is the distance between the plates (in meters, \( m \)).

Purpose of the Calculator

This calculator can solve for any of the four variables \( C \), \( A \), \( d \), or \( \varepsilon_r \) when you provide the other three. It uses the following rearranged formulas to solve for each missing variable.

• To solve for \( C \) (capacitance): \[ C = \frac{\varepsilon_0 \varepsilon_r A}{d} \]
• To solve for \( A \) (area): \[ A = \frac{C \cdot d}{\varepsilon_0 \varepsilon_r} \]
• To solve for \( d \) (distance): \[ d = \frac{\varepsilon_0 \varepsilon_r A}{C} \]
• To solve for \( \varepsilon_r \) (relative dielectric constant): \[ \varepsilon_r = \frac{C \cdot d}{A \cdot \varepsilon_0} \]

The capacitance found here can be used directly in the RC time constant, LC resonance frequency, or capacitor energy calculator.

Related Tools

• Capacitor Energy Calculator — compute energy stored with the C you just calculated.
• RC Time Constant Calculator — use the computed C in an RC circuit.
• LC Resonance Frequency Calculator — use the computed C to set an LC resonant frequency.

More calculators: blog.hirnschall.net/tools/.