Objective

Familiarization with charging and discharging process, time constant

concept and series-parallel connection.

Theory
A capacitor (originally known as a condenser) is a passive two-terminal electrical
component used to store electrical energy temporarily in an electric field. The forms
of practical capacitors vary widely, but all contain at least two electrical conductors
(plates) separated by a dielectric (i.e. an insulator that can store energy by becoming
polarized). The conductors can be thin films, foils or sintered beads of metal or
conductive electrolyte, etc. The nonconducting dielectric acts to increase the
capacitor's charge capacity. A dielectric can be glass, ceramic, plastic film, air,
vacuum, paper, mica, oxide layer etc. Capacitors are widely used as parts of electrical
circuits in many common electrical devices. Unlike a resistor, an ideal capacitor does
not dissipate energy. Instead, a capacitor stores energy in the form of an electrostatic
.field between its plates
When there is a potential difference across the conductors (e.g., when a capacitor is
attached across a battery), an electric field develops across the dielectric, causing
positive charge +Q to collect on one plate and negative charge Q to collect on the
other plate. If a battery has been attached to a capacitor for a sufficient amount of
time, no current can flow through the capacitor. However, if a time-varying voltage is
.applied across the leads of the capacitor, a displacement current can flow

Equipment
DC source, decade resistor box, two capacitor, stop watch and
multimeter.

Procedure
A. Charging Process
1 Connect the circuit as shown in figure(5.6) with R = 1M.
2 Close switch S1 and measure the capacitor voltage every 10
seconds.
3 Calculate the capacitor voltage and current for the given
periods of time.
4 Plot the capacitor charging curve (voltage and current).
B. Discharging Process
1 Connect the circuit as shown in figure(5.7) with R = 1M.

2 Open S2 and close S1 for two minutes. During this time, the
capacitor will be charged.
3 Open S1 and close S2. Measure the voltage across the
capacitor every 10 seconds.
4 Calculate the capacitor voltage and current for the given
periods of time.
5 Plot the capacitor charging curve (voltage and current).
C. Series Connection
1. Connect the circuit shown in figure (5.8)
2. Close S1 and measure the time required for the capacitors to
charge to a voltage equals 63% times the value of the voltage
source.
3. Calculate the effective capacitance.
Using the measured time constant, find the effective
4.
capacitance where
= RCeff.
D. Parallel Connection
1. Connect the circuit as shown in figure (5.9)
2. Close S1 measure the time required for the capacitors to
charge to a voltage equals 63% times the value of the voltage
source.
3. Calculate the effective capacitance.
Using the measured time constant, find the effective
4.
capacitance where = RCeff.

Result
Table(5.1): Charging of Capacitor
Charging
Measured
Calculated
Calculated
time(sec.)
voltage(V)
voltage(V)
current(A)
10
15.4
15.8
9.19
22
19.04
21.61
3.38
30
19.06
23.75
1.24
40
19.29
24.54
0.45
50
19.29
24.83
0.168
60
19.29
24.93
0.06
70
19.36
24.97
0.022
80
19.48
24.99
0.008
90
19.48
24.99
0.003
100
19.48
24.99
0.001
Consider t = 10sec, E = 25V, = 10sec.
Calculated voltage(V) = E ( 1-e-t/RC )
= 25 ( 1-e-10/10 )

= 15.8V
25
20
15
10
5
0
0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Figure 1 : Charging of Capacitor (voltage-time relationship)

10
8
6
4
2
0
0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Figure 2 : Charging of Capacitor (current-time relationship)

Table(5.2): Discharging of Capacitor

Charging
Measured
Calculated
Calculated
time(sec.)
voltage(V)
voltage(V)
current(A)
10
6.43
9.19
9.19
20
3.08
3.38
3.38
30
1.4
1.24
1.24
40
0.6
0.45
0.45
50
0.3
0.168
0.168
60
0.14
0.06
0.06
70
0.08
0.022
0.022
80
0.049
0.008
0.008
90
0.03
0.003
0.003
100
0.028
0.001
0.001
Consider t = 10sec, E = 25V, = 10sec.

Calculated voltage(V) = E e-t/RC

= 25 e-10/10
= 9.19V

7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Figure 3 : Discharging of Capacitor (voltage-time relationship)

10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Figure 4 : Discharging of Capacitor (current-time relationship)

C1(F)
10

Table (5.3) : Series Connection

Calculated
Time
effective
C2(F)
constant(se
capacitance(
c.)
F)
10
5
7.5

Table (5.4) : Parallel Connection

Measured
effective
capacitance(
F)
7.8

C1(F)

C2(F)

10

10

Calculated
effective
capacitance(
F)
20

Time
constant(se
c.)
27.8

Measured
effective
capacitance(
F)
27.8