Experiment Description

Experiment

Experiment DL14    RC Circuit - Charge and Discharge

Objectives
  • Study the charging and discharging processes using data-logger
  • Estimate capacitance from the half-time of a capacitor
  • Learn the techniques of charging and discharging a capacitor alternately using a square wave
Description
In this activity, you will use a Voltage Sensor to monitor the variation of charge in a capacitor during the charging and discharging processes. The variation of current in the circuit will be given by the Interface unit.

In Experiment 1, you will charge and discharge a capacitor using a manual changeover switch. The voltage across the capacitor is measured by the Voltage Sensor. It is proportional to the charge stored in the capacitor.

In Experiment 2, you will charge and discharge a capacitor using a square wave. Sampled data are displayed to show the variations of voltage and current with time.
Apparatus
Science Workshop 750 Interface [1]
Voltage sensor [1]
Changeover switch [1]
capacitor (330 mF) [1]
resistor (100 ohm) [1]
AC/DC Electronics Lab (alternative) [1]
Experiment