Which factor does NOT increase capacitance?

Capacitance is defined as the ability of a system to store an electric charge, and it is influenced by several key factors. Among those factors, increasing the surface area of the conductive plates, decreasing the distance between them, and utilizing a dielectric material with higher permittivity are all methods that enhance capacitance by allowing more charge to be stored.

Reducing the number of plates, however, does not help increase capacitance. In fact, in a traditional parallel plate capacitor setup, capacitance is directly related to the surface area of the plates and the distance between them. The formula for capacitance shows that reducing the effective surface area available for charge accumulation will limit the total amount of charge that can be stored, thereby decreasing capacitance. Thus, this factor stands out as one that does not contribute positively to increasing capacitance.