A
parallel plate capacitor is to be designed with a voltage rating 1
kV, using a material of dielectric constant 3 and dielectric strength
about 107
Vm−1.
(Dielectric strength is the maximum electric field a material can
tolerate without breakdown, i.e., without starting to conduct
electricity through partial ionisation.) For safety, we should like
the field never to exceed, say 10% of the dielectric strength. What
minimum area of the plates is required to have a capacitance of 50
pF?