Lemonergy · Studio block

Electromechanical variable-gap capacitor

Parallel-plate field energy and attractive force; a-minus-b motion closes the gap. No fringing or contact model; gap closure refuses.

Implementation ID: variable-gap-capacitor
Reviewed: 2026-10-27

Behavior

Conserving component solved simultaneously with the connected network. Parallel-plate field energy and attractive force; a-minus-b motion closes the gap. No fringing or contact model; gap closure refuses.

Interface

Original Lemonergy interface view. Lines identify ports; they are not a completed simulation circuit.

Ports and observed outputs
Name	Direction	Unit	Meaning
`p`	terminal	V; A	electrical conserving connection; voltage across and current through the connected branch.
`n`	terminal	V; A	electrical conserving connection; voltage across and current through the connected branch.
`a`	terminal	m; m/s; N	translational conserving connection; shared mechanical position or speed with balanced effort.
`b`	terminal	m; m/s; N	translational conserving connection; shared mechanical position or speed with balanced effort.
`current`	output	A	Recorded current measurement from the conserving simulation.
`voltage`	output	V	Recorded voltage measurement from the conserving simulation.
`storedEnergy`	output	J	Recorded stored energy measurement from the conserving simulation.

Parameters

Defaults are initial model values. Select values for your own model and operating conditions.

Configuration fields
Parameter	Unit	Default	Meaning and limits
Exchange area `areaM2`	m2	0.01	Area used by the declared heat-transfer or parallel-plate field equation. Minimum 1e-12; Maximum 1000000
Permittivity `permittivityFm`	F/m	8.8541878128e-12	Permittivity of the uniform material between the capacitor plates. Minimum 1e-15; Maximum 1
Reference plate separation `initialGapM`	m	0.001	Plate separation before relative mechanical displacement is subtracted. Minimum 1e-09; Maximum 1000
Minimum plate separation `minimumGapM`	m	1e-06	Separation at which the model refuses further motion because contact is not modeled. Minimum 1e-12; Maximum 1000
Initial voltage `initialVoltageV`	V	0	Requested initial electrical voltage for the declared storage or target. Minimum -1000000; Maximum 1000000

Equations and rules

gap = initial separation − (xa − xb)
C = permittivity × area / gap
V = q/C; I = dq/dt
F = q²/(2 × permittivity × area)

Worked example

Electromechanical variable-gap capacitor worked example

Editable first-party network. mass: massKg=0.001; target: initialVoltageV=10. Checks below were verified in the native execution engine.

Open Studio example after release →

Numerical checks for the bundled synthetic example
Output	Time (s)	Expected value	Unit	Absolute tolerance
current `target/current`	0.01	`-1.12103877e-42`	A	1e-10
voltage `target/voltage`	0.01	`9.99767578`	V	9.997675775699118e-06
storedEnergy `target/storedEnergy`	0.01	`4.42606495e-09`	J	1e-10

Use in a workflow

Electromechanical variable-gap capacitor worked example

Parallel-plate field energy and attractive force; a-minus-b motion closes the gap. No fringing or contact model; gap closure refuses.

Electromechanical variable-gap capacitor: Conserving component solved simultaneously with the connected network. Parallel-plate field energy and attractive force; a-minus-b motion closes the gap. No fringing or contact model; gap closure refuses.
- Use the block reference for settings and connections.
- Implementation tested locally; public release pending.

Open Studio example after release

Connected concepts

Limits and interpretation

Parallel-plate field energy and attractive force; a-minus-b motion closes the gap. No fringing or contact model; gap closure refuses.
Demonstration parameters are not calibrated hardware data. Singular or incompatible ideal constraints and unsupported state ranges stop the run.

Scientific and mathematical references

These sources explain the scientific and mathematical background. The behavior, interface and limits above define the Lemonergy implementation; a citation does not imply every model option in the source is implemented.

Energy Stored in a Capacitor
OpenStax, Rice University
Technical reference · Underlying physical law or reduced-model basis; Lemonergy implementation choices and limits are documented separately.
Kirchhoff's Rules
OpenStax, Rice University
Technical reference · Underlying physical law or reduced-model basis; Lemonergy implementation choices and limits are documented separately.

Implementation sources

This reference follows the public interface and locally verified numerical checks for an upcoming release.

Contract: Lemonergy Studio public contract · Verification record: verification-2026-10-27

docs/glossary/native-block-verification.json

This implementation and its workflow uses (JSON) · Knowledge graph (JSON-LD)