Parallel Plate Capacitor Calculator

A parallel plate capacitor stores electrical charge between two flat, parallel conductive plates — and its storage capacity depends on the plate size, gap between them, and the insulating material in between. Enter your plate area, separation distance, and dielectric constant (or pick a common material like glass, ceramic, or Teflon) into the Parallel Plate Capacitor Calculator to get the capacitance in farads, picofarads, nanofarads, and microfarads.

m²

Overlapping surface area of the plates

m

Distance between the plates

Relative permittivity of the dielectric material

Select a common material to auto-fill dielectric constant

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is capacitance?

Capacitance is the ability of a capacitor to store electric charge. It measures how much charge can be stored per unit voltage and depends only on the capacitor's geometry and the dielectric material between the plates.

How do I calculate the capacitance in a parallel plate capacitor?

Use the formula C = k × ε₀ × A / d, where k is the dielectric constant, ε₀ is the permittivity of free space (8.854 × 10⁻¹² F/m), A is the plate area, and d is the separation distance.

What is the capacitance of two plates with A = 1 m² at 1 mm separation?

With air as the dielectric (k ≈ 1), the capacitance would be approximately 8.85 nF. This is calculated as C = 1 × 8.854 × 10⁻¹² × 1 / 0.001 = 8.854 × 10⁻⁹ F.

What is the difference between capacitor and capacitance?

A capacitor is the physical device that stores electric charge, while capacitance is the property that quantifies how much charge the capacitor can store per unit voltage.

Which dielectric materials have the highest capacitance?

Materials with higher dielectric constants produce higher capacitance. Ceramics (6-10), glass (4.7), and FR4 (4.2) provide much higher capacitance than air (1.0) or Teflon (2.1).

How does plate separation affect capacitance?

Capacitance is inversely proportional to plate separation distance. Reducing the distance between plates increases capacitance, while increasing distance decreases it.