Suppose that instead of placing an insulating layer between the plates you inserted a metal slab of the same thickness, just barely not touching the plates. In the same circuit, would this capacitor...

Suppose that instead of placing an insulating layer between the plates you inserted a metal slab of the same thickness, just

barely not touching the plates. In the same circuit, would this capacitor keep the current more nearly constant or less so than

capacitor 2 in Exercise 20.X.45?

Note that this is essentially equivalent to making a capacitor with a shorter distance between the plates, and this result is

consistent with what we found for a narrower capacitor.