Go to the simulation at http://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/capacitor-lab (or

Question

Go to the simulation at http://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/capacitor-lab (or http://phet.colorado.edu/sims/capacitor-lab/capacitor-lab_en.jnlp). On a Windows machine, you will probably need to click "Download" and then "Open". [If this will not run on your computer, please try another browser or computer. It should work on campus lab computers and the computers in the Learning Resource Center in Osmond 207.] Use the "Introduction" Tab. Make sure the Capacitance Meter & Plate Charge Views are selected and the battery is turned on (set to 1.5 V).

You want to maximize the stored energy on the capacitor (turn on the "Stored Energy" meter). What's the largest stored energy you can achieve with this setup? (Think outside the box on how to do this - it's not a trivial thing to determine.) [Note: you should still be in the "Introduction" tab.] U = J

You want to maximize the stored energy on the capacitor (turn on the "Stored Energy" meter). What's the largest stored energy you can achieve with this setup? [Note: you should still be in the "Dielectric" tab.] This is a bit of a challenge and requires some playing around to hit upon the solution (it's not trivial). U = J

Explanation / Answer

The largest stored energy you can achieve with this setup is U = CV2/2

(Dielectric Tab) -----> U = CV2/2k

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