How does increasing the distance between the plates of a capacitor affect its capacitance?

When the distance between the plates of a capacitor increases, the capacitance decreases because capacitance is inversely proportional to the distance between the plates. The formula for capacitance is:

C=ε0⋅A/d

Where:

  • is the capacitance,
  • ε0 is the permittivity of free space,
  • is the area of the plates,
  • is the distance between the plates.

As increases, the capacitance decreases because the plates can store less charge at a given voltage.