What is the effect of increasing capacitance in a capacitor connected to an AC supply?

Increasing the capacitance in a capacitor connected to an AC supply results in a decrease in the capacitive reactance. Capacitive reactance (XC) is given by the formula ( XC = \frac{1}{2\pi f C} ), where ( f ) is the frequency of the AC supply and ( C ) is the capacitance. As capacitance increases, the denominator of the equation becomes larger, thus lowering the reactance value.

Because reactance opposes the flow of alternating current, a decrease in capacitive reactance means that less opposition is presented to the current. Consequently, this allows more current to flow through the circuit. Therefore, increasing capacitance enhances the ability of the capacitor to conduct AC, allowing for a greater current magnitude, confirming that the relationship between capacitance and current flow in an AC circuit is inversely related through reactance.