Capacitance and Rc Circuits
An Investigation on Capacitance and RC circuit
Hamdy Hamdy Abdel Moneim Abdou, Jaime Lorenzo C. Olivares, and Karol Giuseppe A. Jubilo
National Institute of Physics, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City
Abstract This experiment is designed to further the understanding of the relationship between voltage, charge, and capacitance of capacitors. This also explains how values of effective capacitance for series and parallel combinations of capacitors are obtained using effective equations. Accurate observations and results from devices such as the Labquest with a volt probe were used in the measurement of the voltage passing through the system in the calculations for the effective capacitances and the time constant of the capacitors. The theoretical and experimental data were used in the measurement of the percent error of the acquired values. It is anticipated that this paper will be consistent with the intuition of the students and serve as a reference for problems concerning the analysis of capacitors and RC circuits.
1. Introduction A capacitor is a device that stores energy in the form of an electric field and can release that energy when necessary. Since capacitors can be made in more complex forms, the simplest form of capacitors, the parallel plate capacitor, was used in this experiment for simplification purposes. It works by insulating two metal plates and isolating them from each other using a dielectric material. When the capacitor is connected to a power supply, positive charges will collect in one of the plates, corresponding to an equal collection of negative charges in the opposite plate. This results in an electric field formed in between the two plates, with a corresponding charge equal to the absolute value of the charge collected in one of the plates. The maximum amount of energy a capacitor can contain is called the capacitance, and this is given by C = Q/V, where Q is the total
Hamdy Hamdy Abdel Moneim Abdou, Jaime Lorenzo C. Olivares, and Karol Giuseppe A. Jubilo
National Institute of Physics, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City
Abstract This experiment is designed to further the understanding of the relationship between voltage, charge, and capacitance of capacitors. This also explains how values of effective capacitance for series and parallel combinations of capacitors are obtained using effective equations. Accurate observations and results from devices such as the Labquest with a volt probe were used in the measurement of the voltage passing through the system in the calculations for the effective capacitances and the time constant of the capacitors. The theoretical and experimental data were used in the measurement of the percent error of the acquired values. It is anticipated that this paper will be consistent with the intuition of the students and serve as a reference for problems concerning the analysis of capacitors and RC circuits.
1. Introduction A capacitor is a device that stores energy in the form of an electric field and can release that energy when necessary. Since capacitors can be made in more complex forms, the simplest form of capacitors, the parallel plate capacitor, was used in this experiment for simplification purposes. It works by insulating two metal plates and isolating them from each other using a dielectric material. When the capacitor is connected to a power supply, positive charges will collect in one of the plates, corresponding to an equal collection of negative charges in the opposite plate. This results in an electric field formed in between the two plates, with a corresponding charge equal to the absolute value of the charge collected in one of the plates. The maximum amount of energy a capacitor can contain is called the capacitance, and this is given by C = Q/V, where Q is the total
References: 1. Resnick, Robert; Halliday, David; Krane, Kenneth. Physics: Fifth Edition, Vol. 2. John Wiley & Sons, Inc, 1960, 1962, 1966, 1978, 1992, 2002. 2. Young and Freedman. University Physics: 11th Edition. Addison Wesley Longman, Inc, 2000. ----------------------- Figure 1.2 charging of the series set-up Figure 1.3 discharging of the series set-up Figure 1.5 discharging of the parallel set-up Figure 1.4 charging of the parallel set-up