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JEE Advanced 2021 Paper 2 · Physics · Capacitors · medium

A parallel-plate capacitor with plate area A and separation d has capacitance C0 and stays connected to a battery of emf V0. A dielectric slab of…

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A parallel-plate capacitor with plate area AA and separation dd has capacitance C0C_0 and stays connected to a battery of emf V0V_0. A dielectric slab of constant κ=3\kappa=3, thickness d/2d/2 and area AA is then slowly pushed in until it lies flat against one plate, filling half the gap. Which of the following is/are correct?
  1. A. The final capacitance is 1.5 C01.5\,C_0.
  2. B. The electric field in the air gap becomes 1.5 V0/d1.5\,V_0/d.
  3. C. The external agent that inserts the slab does +0.25 C0V02+0.25\,C_0V_0^2 of work.
  4. D. The electric field inside the dielectric becomes V0/dV_0/d.
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Answer: A, B

The slab and the air layer act as two capacitors in series, so the final capacitance is C=ε0A/(d2+d2κ)=ε0A2d/3=1.5 C0C=\varepsilon_0A\big/\left(\tfrac d2+\tfrac{d}{2\kappa}\right)=\dfrac{\varepsilon_0A}{2d/3}=1.5\,C_0; (A) is true. The charge is Q=1.5C0V0Q=1.5C_0V_0, so the field in the air gap is Ea=Q/ε0A=1.5V0/dE_a=Q/\varepsilon_0A=1.5V_0/d, and (B) is true. The field in the dielectric is Ea/κ=0.5V0/dE_a/\kappa=0.5V_0/d, making (D) false; as a check, Ead2+Edd2=0.75V0+0.25V0=V0E_a\frac d2+E_d\frac d2=0.75V_0+0.25V_0=V_0. Energy balance: the battery supplies ΔQ V0=0.5C0V02\Delta Q\,V_0=0.5C_0V_0^2, the stored energy rises by 12(1.5−1)C0V02=0.25C0V02\tfrac12(1.5-1)C_0V_0^2=0.25C_0V_0^2, so the external agent's work is 0.25−0.50=−0.25 C0V020.25-0.50=-0.25\,C_0V_0^2. The slab is pulled in, so the agent does negative work and (C) is false.
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