Experiment No.

02 Date -------------
Dielectric constant

AIM: To determine the dielectric constant of a parallel plate capacitor.

APPARATUS: 10V DC Power supply, Multimeter, 2-way Plug key, Capacitor (1000μF, 63V),
Resistor (330KΩ), and Scale.

PRINCIPLE: On charging and discharging of a capacitor, the time taken for charge to decrease (or
increase) to half its maximum value is obtained using the formula,
t1/ 2  0.693CR = 228sec

Therefore,
t1/ 2
C
0.693R
The capacitance of a parallel plate capacitor is
 0 r A
C
d
Therefore, knowing A,d ,  0 and C ,  r can be calculated.

PROCEDURE:
1. Open a 1000 μF, 63 V electrolytic capacitor.
2. Calculate the area ( A  l  b ) of the dielectric/parallel plate constituting the capacitor by
measuring the length and breadth.
3. Measure the thickness of the dielectric material preferably by air wedge method or using screw
gauge.
4. Make the circuit connections as shown in the diagram.
5. Charge the capacitor by Keeping K1 closed and K2 open. Note down the voltage across the
capacitor using multimeter for every 30 seconds till the voltage becomes maximum.
6. Discharge the capacitor by Keeping K2 closed and K1 open. Note down the voltage across the
capacitor using multimeter for every 30 seconds till the voltage becomes minimum.
7. Plot voltage versus time graph for both charging and discharging on the same graph sheet. The
point of intersection corresponds to t1 / 2 .
8. Calculate dielectric constant using the formula.
FORMULA:
The dielectric constant of a material of a capacitor is given by,
t1 / 2 d 10 6
r 
0.693 0 AR

Where,
t1 / 2 ------ Time taken for the charge to decrease or increase to half
its maximum value in second
d ----- Thickness of the dielectric material in meter
 0 ---- Permittivity of free space or vacuum = 8.854 x 10 -12 Fm-1

A ------ Area of the dielectric material in m2

R –----- Resistance used in the Circuit in 
 r ------ Relative permittivity of the dielectric material

10-6 ---- Correction factor (Since the layer of Al2O3 formed on

the plate is not measurable, the correction factor in ‘d’ is 10-6).
EXPECTED GRAPH:

Charging

in volt
Discharging

in sec
CIRCUIT DIAGRAM:

C=1000μf
R= 330kOhm
R
OBSERVATIONS:
Dielectric Length, l  48.2  102 m , Breadth b = 1.8x10-2 m
Dielectric Thickness, d = 0.132 x 10-3 m
Dielectric Area, A  l  b = m2
Trial No. Time Voltage across Voltage across
(s) capacitance capacitance
while charging while discharging
(V) (V)
1 00 00 9.37
2 30 0.98 8.48
3 60 1.8 7.70
4 90 2.53 7.0
5 120 3.19 6.33
6 150 3.78 5.77
7 180 4.32 5.23
8 210 4.81 4.77
9 240 5.24 4.33
10 270 5.65 4.15
11 300 6.02 3.02
12 330 6.34 3.25
13 360 6.64 2.95
14 390 6.91 2.77
15 420 7.16 2.43
16 450 7.38 2.22
17 480 7.58 2.02
18 510 7.62 1.87
19 540 7.76 1.67
20 570 7.93 1.52
21 600 8.08 1.34
22 630 8.21 1.26
23 660 8.34 1.15
24 690 8.45 1.05
25 720 8.55 0.95
26 750 8.65 0.81
 27 780 8.75 0.79
28 810 8.81 0.72
29 840 8.88 0.65
30 870 8.94 0.59
31 900 9.00 0.54
32 930 9.06 0.49
33 960 9.10 0.45
34 990 9.15 0.40
35 1020 9.22 0.37
36 1050 9.25 0.34
37 1080 9.28 0.31
38 1110 9.31 0.28
39 1140 9.33 0.26
40 1170 9.35 0.23
41 1200 9.37 0.21

CALCULATION:
Half time period t1/2 = ----------------- s (from graph)

Relative permittivity of dielectric material.

t1/ 2 d 10 6
r 
0.693 0 AR

RESULT: The dielectric constant of the material,  r 