CAREY FOSTER BRIDGE

EXPT NO.

Total Marks: 8

AIM: To Determine The Resistance Per Unit Length Of A Bridge Wire And To Determine An
Unk nown Resistance By Carey-Fosters Method
Rh
E

Rx
G

B
Fig 1: Schematic circuit diagram
AB : Bridge Wire , 1m length
R : Fractional resistance box
Rx : Unknown resistance
P,Q : Standard resistance
G : Table galvanometer
E : Lechlanches cell
C : Plug commutator
Rh : Rheostat

()

WORKING FORMULA:
When the Carey Fosters bridge is balanced by putting resistance R on the left end and unknown
resistance RX on the right end of the bridge, the null point is obtained at l 1 cm from the left end .
Then plotting R vs. l1, we get a straight line with slope M1.
Again when the Carey Fosters bridge is balanced by putting unknown resistance R X on the
left end and R on the
right end of the bridge, the null point is obtained at l 2 cm from the left end. Then plotting R vs. l 2
on the same graph,
we get another straight line with slope M2.
These two straight lines do not pass through the origin.
The resistance per unit length of the bridge wire is given by:

1
M1

From the intersection of these two straight lines, we obtain the unknown resistance R X.
APPARATUS USED:
Carey Fosters Bridge of wire 1 m long.
Fractional resistance box.
Unknown resistance
P,Q: Standard 1 ohm resistance coils
Plug commutator
Power supply
Table galvanometer
EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS:

Table 1: Readings for null points

(2)

A : ( to measure L 1 cm from the left end with R in left gap and R X in the right gap )
Obs.

Resistance
Left gap
Right gap
R (ohm)
(ohm)

Null point in cm
Direct

Reverse

Mean( L1)

RX

B : (L2 from the left end with RX in the left gap and R in the right gap)
Obs.

Resistance
Right gap
Left gap
R (ohm)
(ohm)

RX

(2)

Null point in cm
Direct

Reverse

Mean( L2)

Table 2 : Consolidated Results from graph (SHOW THE CALCULATIONS OF THE TWO SLOPES)
(1)

Slope M1
From L1 vs.
R graph

Slope M2
from L2 vs. R
graph

= 1 / (M2 M1)
ohm/cm

GRAPH

PERCENTAGE ERROR: (Show The Calculation)

l 2 l 1
l

2
=
l 2 l 1
l 2 l 1

Unknown
resistance R X
Ohm

( 1 1/2)

(1)
l = minimum division of the meter scale

L 1 = Max. value of null point from Table1A

and L 2 = Min. value of null point from Table1B
P.E. =

100%

PRECAUTIONS:
1. By Carey-Fosters bridge the end corrections can be eliminated from the calculation of unknown
resistance which is not possible using a meter bridge.
2. As the bridge wire is not perfectly uniform, R should be chosen such that the length ( l 2- l1) between
two null point is as large as possible.
3. To prevent the flow of harmfully large currents in the battery circuit the rheostat (Rh) has been
employed.
4. The ratio of P and Q should be equal to 1 or nearly equal to one, otherwise null points may not be
obtained within the bridge wire. For greater sensitiveness of the bridge, the values of P and Q should
be each equal to one ohm.
5. For first observation, the value in R should be so chosen that the two balance points should be very
near to the two ends of the bridge wire. By this (l2- l1) will be more accurate so that the calculated
value of is nearer to accuracy. For the
successive observations the value of R should be so chosen so as to shift the null point gradually
towards the middle of the wire by steps of about 5cm.

PROCEDURE :

1.
Disconnect the resistance box R and the unknown resistance R x and the gap should be connected
by a metal strip.
2. Find the null point (This should be around 50). This is called electric midpoint
3 a)
Connect the resistance box R and unknown resistance R x in the left gap and right gap
respectively.
b) Now, keeping the jockey still at the electric midpoint, choose R such that the null point is again
obtained at the electric
midpoint. This value of R gives you a rough estimation of the value of the unknown resistance.
4. Choose a resistance (R1) from the resistance box so that the null point should be found between 5-10cm
and similarly
choose another resistance (R2) so that the null point should be found between 90-95 cm.
5. Obtain the null points for different resistances between R 1 and R 2. The values should be so chosen that
they are at regular
intervals.
6.
The same steps should be repeated for the previous values of R after interchanging the positions of
R and Rx.
7.
A graph should be plotted by taking resistance along x-axis and null point along y-axis.

l in cm

NATURE OF THE GRAPH :

Rx
R in ohm