Solution:
Let’s solve the problem step by step:
Given:
- Initial capacitance:
- The separation between the plates is doubled, and a dielectric medium is inserted.
- The new capacitance becomes .
Step 1: Capacitance formula
The capacitance of a parallel plate capacitor is given by:
where:
- is the capacitance,
- is the permittivity of free space,
- is the area of the plates, and
- is the separation between the plates.
Step 2: Effect of doubling the separation and adding a dielectric
When the separation is doubled, the capacitance would normally decrease by a factor of 2 (since capacitance is inversely proportional to ).
Now, when a dielectric of dielectric constant is inserted, the capacitance increases by a factor of . So, the new capacitance is:
We are told that the new capacitance is , so:
Step 3: Solve for
Final Answer:
The dielectric constant of the medium is 4.
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