If the distance between the plates of a capacitor is reduced while plate area stays the same, the capacitance will

If the distance between the plates of a capacitor is reduced while plate area stays the same, the capacitance will

• A. Increase
• B. Decrease
• C. No change
• D. Oscillate

Answer: (A)

Capacitance is how much charge a capacitor can store per volt, and for a parallel-plate capacitor with a constant plate area, it follows C = ε0 A / d. Here, A is fixed and d (the separation) gets smaller, so the denominator shrinks and C increases. Intuitively, bringing the plates closer strengthens their electrical interaction, allowing more charge to be stored for each volt of applied voltage. The relationship shows why the capacitance rises as the distance between plates decreases.

Capacitance is how much charge a capacitor can store per volt, and for a parallel-plate capacitor with a constant plate area, it follows C = ε0 A / d. Here, A is fixed and d (the separation) gets smaller, so the denominator shrinks and C increases. Intuitively, bringing the plates closer strengthens their electrical interaction, allowing more charge to be stored for each volt of applied voltage. The relationship shows why the capacitance rises as the distance between plates decreases.