Themes > Science > Physics > Electromagnetism > Electrostatics > Capacitors & Dielectrics > Capacitors and Dielectrics > Capacitors in Combination > Example: Multi-plate Capacitor

A multi-plate capacitor, such as used in radios, consists of four parallel plates arranged one above the other as shown in Figure 5. The area of each plate is A, and the distance between adjacent plates is d. What is the capacitance of this arrangement ?

 

Figure 5. A Multi-plate Capacitor.

The multiple capacitor shown in Figure 5 is equivalent to three identical capacitors connected in parallel (see Figure 6). The capacitance of each of the three capacitors is equal and given by

 

(19)

The total capacitance of the multi-plate capacitor can be calculated using eq.(14):

 

(20)

 

 

Figure 6. Schematic of Multi-plate Capacitor shown in Figure 5.


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