Experiment#2

Objective:
To find the dielectric constant of glass sheet by using RLC-series circuit.

Apparatus:
Capacitor, Inductor, Resistor, Ammeter, Variable voltage supply.

Theory:
RLC Circuit:
An RLC circuit (or LCR circuit) is an electrical circuit consisting of a
resistor, an inductor, and a capacitor, connected in series or in parallel. The
RLC part of the name is due to those letters being the usual electrical symbols for
resistance, inductance and capacitance respectively. The circuit forms a harmonic
oscillator for current and will resonate in a similar way as an LC circuit will. The
main difference that the presence of the resistor makes is that any oscillation
induced in the circuit will die away over time if it is not kept going by a source.
This effect of the resistor is called damping. The presence of the resistance also
reduces the peak resonant frequency. Some resistance is unavoidable in real
circuits, even if a resistor is not specifically included as a component.

Derivations of equations used in RLC circuits:

In all these components there are different phases between voltage and current. In
case of resistor the phase difference between voltage and current is 0 ,in capacitor
voltage is leading the current by 90 while in inductor current leads the voltage by
90 .
0

For resistance:
Input sinusoidal voltage is:
V=Vo Sin

t- )

Where V is value of applied voltage, Vo is the amplitude of applied voltage, is

the frequency of voltage source, t is time for which the source is applied and is
the phase angle between current and voltage.
and equation for current is
I=io Sin

t- )

Where I is value of current of applied source, io is the amplitude of current, is the

frequency of source, t is time for which the source is applied and is the phase
angle between current and voltage.
According to ohms Law:
V=iR
V is voltage drop across resistor, i is current flowing through resistor and R is
value of resistor.
So voltage across resistor is :
VR= iR Sin

t- ) ____________________(1)

Voltage across capacitor:

Capacitance of a capacitor is:
C=q/V
Where C is capacitance of the capacitor, q is charge of the stored on the capacitor
and V is voltage across the plates of capacitor.
So voltage across capacitor is:
V=q /c
As
i = dq/dt
So
dq = idt
Taking integral, we get
q=
Current flowing through the capacitor is given by
I = ioSin(t-)
VC=

- io XCCos(t-)

(2)

Where
XC=1/C
Xc is reactance of capacitor, frequency of source signal, C is capacitance.
As
Cos =Sin(-/2)
so
VC = - io XCSin(t-- /2)

Voltage across inductor:

As
VL=L
Current flowinf through inductor:
i=ioSin(t-)
=io cos(t-)
So
VL=ioL iCos(t-)
Where
XL=L
XL is reactance of inductor, frequency of source signal, L is inductance.
So
VL=io XL iCos(t-)_______________(3)
As
Sin(+ /2)=Cos
VL=io XLSin(t-+ /2)

According to Kirchhoffs Law:

V=VR+VC+VL
By putting values from eq. 1,2,3 in eq. 4
VoSint = io RSin(t-) - ioXCCos(t-) + ioXLCos(t-)

(4)

Vosint = io[R2+(XL-XC)2]1/2sint
Vo= io[R2+(XL-XC)2]1/2
Total current flowing through the circuit is:
io=Vo/ io[R2+(XL-XC)2]1/2
Resonance frequency:
In RLC circuits, when we keep on varrying the frequency of applied source a point
comes when we get maximum value of output current. This value of applied
frequency is known as resonance frequency. Here the capacitive resistance and
inductive resistance becomes equal and neglect each other here the circuit is totally
resistive.
XL=XC
2fL=1/2fC
f2=1/2(LC)1/2
For air as medium between capacitor plates the value of resonance frequency:
f2air=1/42LCo
while when there is some other medium between the plates of the capacitor, value
of resonance frequency is:
f2med=1/42LCmed

Dielectric medium between the plates of capacitor:

To increase the capacitance of capacitor we place a dielectric medium between the
plates of the capacitor. The value of increase in capacitance of the capacitor
depends on the value of dielectric constant of that material.
So the capacitance is:
Co = kC
k= dielectric constant >1
Where Co is the capacitance in the presence of the dielectric.

The value of k can be find by taking the ratio of resonance frequency when there is
no medium to the frequency when there is a medium between capacitor plates.
f2air/ f2med=1/42LCo/1/42LCmed
f2air/ f2med=k

Dielectric polarization:
In the classical approach to the dielectric model, a material is made up of atoms.
Each atom consists of a cloud of negative charge (Electrons) bound to and
surrounding a positive point charge at its center. In the presence of an electric field
the charge cloud is distorted, as shown in the top right of the figure.
This can be reduced to a simple dipole
using the superposition principle. A dipole
is characterized by its dipole moment, a
vector quantity shown in the figure as the
blue arrow labeled M. It is the relationship
between the electric field and the dipole
moment that gives rise to the behavior of
the dielectric. (Note that the dipole moment
is shown to be pointing in the same
direction as the electric field. This isn't
always correct, and it is a major
simplification, but it is suitable for many materials.)
When the electric field is removed the atom returns to its original state. The time
required to do so is the so-called relaxation time; an exponential decay.

Phenomenon of dielectric:
When a dielectric is inserted between the plates of a parallel plate capacitor the
dielectric becomes polarized so an electric field is induced in the dielectric that
opposes the field between the plates. When the two electric fields are superposed,
the new field between the plates becomes smaller. Thus the voltage between the
plates decreases so the capacitance increases.

Practical work:
1. Connect the capacitor, resistor, inductor and frequency source in series.
2. Measure the value of current by connecting the ammeter between any two
components.
3. Note down atleast 12 readings and find out the resonance frequency.
4. Repeat the experiment by placing a glass sheet between the plates of
capacitor and again measure the resonance frequency.
5. Calculate the value of dielectric constant.
6. Plot a graph between frequency of source signal and current flowing through
the circuit.

Observations and Calculations:

For Air :
Number of
observation

Frequency(f) Current(I)
(KHz)
(A)
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
60

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
9)
10)
11)

14.5
23.3
35.7
55.8
102.2
170
63.4
13.5
0.8
0.7
0.5
fair = 35 kHz

180
160
140

current(A)

120
100
80
60
40
20
0
-20

10

20

30

40

frequency(KHz)

50

60

70

For glass medium:

Number of
observation
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
9)
10)

Frequency(f) Current(I)
(KHz)
(A)
10
8
15
15.5
20
34
25
96.6
30
37.7
35
8.8
40
0.8
45
0.3
50
0.2
55
0.1
fmed = 25 kHz

120
100

current(A)

80
60
40
20
0
0

10

20

30
frequancy(KHz)

40

50

60

Dielectric constant for glass plate:

As:
k = f2air/ f2med
k=352/252
k = 1.96
So the value of dielectric constant for glass sheet is 1.96.

____________________