A capacitor is a device for storing charge. In this simulation, you can investigate a relatively simple capacitor, known as a parallel-plate capacitor. It consists of two identical metal plates, placed parallel to one another. The capacitor can be charged by connecting one plate to the positive terminal of a battery and the other plate to the negative terminal. In this situation, the battery acts as a pump, pumping electrons from one capacitor plate to the other until the potential difference across the capacitor matches the battery voltage. Use this simulation to see how you can maximize the charge stored, the capacitance, the potential difference, the electric field, and the energy stored.

Please note that this resource requires at least version 1.5 of Java (JRE).