Page "Variable capacitor" Paragraph 5

A vacuum variable capacitor uses a set of plates made from concentric cylinders that can be slid in or out of an opposing set of cylinders ( sleeve and plunger ).

These plates are then sealed inside of a non-conductive envelope such as glass or ceramic and placed under a high vacuum.

The movable part ( plunger ) is mounted on a flexible metal membrane that seals and maintains the vacuum.

A screw shaft is attached to the plunger, when the shaft is turned the plunger moves in or out of the sleeve and the value of the capacitor changes.

The vacuum not only increases the working voltage and current handling capacity of the capacitor it also greatly reduces the chance of arcing across the plates.

The most common usage for vacuum variables are in high powered transmitters such as those used for broadcasting, military and amateur radio as well as high powered RF tuning networks.

Vacuum variables can also be more convenient since the elements are under a vacuum the working voltage can be higher than an air variable the same size, allowing the size of the vacuum capacitor to be reduced.