Capacitance Questions: Troubleshooting Parallel Plate Capacitors

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on troubleshooting capacitance measurements using the AMS PCAP02 device with parallel plate capacitors. The user reports that when the ground connection is removed, the device becomes sensitive to external influences, indicating potential issues with stray capacitance or measurement resolution. The device can measure capacitances as low as 0 fF to 752 pF, but the user is attempting to measure a very low capacitance of approximately 141 pF, which may be below the device's effective resolution. Recommendations include verifying the connection layout and understanding the device's limitations regarding low capacitance measurements.

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  • Understanding of capacitance measurement principles
  • Familiarity with the AMS PCAP02 capacitance meter
  • Knowledge of dielectric materials and their properties
  • Basic electrical circuit analysis skills
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  • Research the AMS PCAP02 datasheet and user guide for detailed operational insights
  • Learn about parasitic capacitance and its effects on measurements
  • Investigate techniques for measuring low capacitance values accurately
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Electronics engineers, researchers in electrical engineering, and anyone involved in capacitance measurement and analysis, particularly in low-capacitance applications.

  • #31
sysprog said:
we say that the speed of light is 1 something?.
In the 'natural system', c would to be dimensionless. The resulting values of distance and time would have suitably adjusted units so that the ratio would be 1. Once you choose the second (say, the units of distance would end up as 3e8 m so that c would measure as 1. (Other combinations are available)
 
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  • #32
sysprog said:
Please remember that 2019 is the year in which they/we screwed around with the units by assigning the speed of light/causation to be 1 -- oh and yeah, that speed is still somewhere around 286,000 miles per second -- where does that information go when we say that the speed of light is 1 something?.
WOW! Someone really screwed around with something since the last I knew the speed of light in a vacuum was 186,282 miles per second.
 
  • #33
sysprog said:
that speed is still somewhere around 286,000 miles per second
I guess the mile can be defined in terms of the distance traveled by light in 1s but I think it is actually defined as 1,609.344 metres. The last time I used the 186k miles per second value in anger was in secondary School in the early 60s. The mile is a quaint unit but we still use it (UK) when driving around but the fuel consumption figures for new cars don't mention miles. I let the car information display tell me the mpg but does anyone really believe that?
 
  • #34
Averagesupernova said:
WOW! Someone really screwed around with something since the last I knew the speed of light in a vacuum was 186,282 miles per second.
You're right -- my mistake.
sophiecentaur said:
I guess the mile can be defined in terms of the distance traveled by light in 1s but I think it is actually defined as 1,609.344 metres. The last time I used the 186k miles per second value in anger was in secondary School in the early 60s. The mile is a quaint unit but we still use it (UK) when driving around but the fuel consumption figures for new cars don't mention miles. I let the car information display tell me the mpg but does anyone really believe that?
When I was in school the mile was defined as 5280 feet.
 
  • #35
sysprog said:
When I was in school the mile was defined as 5280 feet.
Not "defined" in the strict sense - there are ratios between all length measurements. In the end, you need to start with one single length - in this case, afaik, the metre is the prime unit of length and it is defined in terms of the second and c. All the others follow that.
 
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