Ask What the Wiring Is Holding Still

You'll learnwhy capacitance is fixed by the hardware before anything is wired up, which quantity the wiring pins when the plates move, and why doubling the battery quadruples the stored energy.

Pull a capacitor's plates from one millimetre apart to two. With the battery attached, the charge halves; disconnect it first and the voltage doubles instead, while the field does not move at all. Twelve short steps; press Next for each one.

12 STEPS · 6 QUICK CHECKS · C IS HARDWARE · WHAT IS PINNED · SQUARE THE RATIO · v2

C is hardware · then ask what the wiring is holding still

Before you start

What you're looking at

A parallel plate capacitor seen edge on, with charge marks on the plates and the field drawn between them. A battery attached holds the voltage; a break in the wire strands the charge.

The question

If you move a capacitor's plates, which of its quantities are free to change and which one is held still?

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