Partially Filled Capacitor

A parallel-plate capacitor with only air between its plates is charged by connecting the capacitor to a battery. The capacitor is then disconnected from the battery, without any of the charge leaving the plates.

Part 1

A voltmeter reads 55.0 \(\textrm{ V}\) when placed across the capacitor. When a dielectric is inserted between the plates, completely filling the space, the voltmeter 13.0 \(\textrm{ V}\). What is the dielectric constant of the material?

Answer Section

Please enter a numeric value.

Part 2

What will the voltmeter read if the dielectric is now pulled away out so it fills only \(1/\)4 of the space between the plates?

Answer Section

Please enter a numeric value.

Attribution

Problem is from the OpenStax University Physics Volume 2 textbook, licensed under the CC-BY 4.0 license.