SHRI GURU HARIKRSHAN

PUBLIC SCHOOL

PHYSICS INVESTIGATORY
PROJECT

MEASURING CURRENT

USING HALF WAVE

RECTIFIER
NAME:-MANAS GANDOTRA
CLASS;-XII-B

ROLL NO:-2212794
 Index
Sl.No Content

1 Acknowledgement

2 Introduction

3 Theory

4
Experiment

5 Observation Table
6 Result

7 Conclusion

8 Bibliography
 Acknowledgement

I would like to thank the Physics Lab Teacher

Mr.MANOJ for giving the extraordinary idea about
this project and guiding this project until finish line.

My thanks does not stop alone with teachers. Our

friends and parents even played a big part in it-I see
this project as a result of hardwork from us and
innovation from our teacher So, i once again thank all
of them who put their hands in it and made successful

INTRODUCTION
A rectifier a simple diode or group of diodes which
converts the Alternating Current (AC) into Direct
Current (DC).
We know that a diode allows electric current in one
direction and blocks electric current in another
direction. We are using this principle to construct
various types of rectifiers.
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Rectifiers are classified into different types based on
the number of diodes used in the circuit or arrangement
of diodes in the circuit. The basic types of rectifiers are:
half wave rectifier and full wave rectifier.
A half wave rectifier is a type of rectifier which
converts the positive half cycle (positive current) of the
input signal into pulsating DC (Direct Current) output
signal. The half wave rectifier is the simplest form of
the rectifier, We use only a single diode to construct
the half wave rectifier.
The half wave rectifier is made up of an AC source,
transformer (step-down), diode, and resistor (load).
The diode is placed between the transformer and
resistor (load).

2
 THEORY
The half-wave rectifier circuit is made by using a
semiconductor diode (D) with a load resistance RL The
diode is connected in series with the secondary of the
transformer and the load resistance RL The primary of
the transformer is being connected to the ac supply
mains.
The ac voltage across the secondary winding changes
polarities after every half cycle of input wave. During
the positive half-cycles of the input ac voltage i.e. when
upper end of the secondary winding is positive wur.t. its
lower end, the diode is forward biased and therefore
conducts current. If the forward resistance of the diode
is assumed to be zero (in practice, however, a small
resistance exists) the input voltage during the positive
half-cycles is directly applied to the load resistance RL,
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making its upper end positive w.r.t. its lower end. The
waveforms of the output current and output voltage are
of the same shape as that of the input ac voltage.
During the negative half cycles of the input ac voltage
i.e. when the lower end of the secondary winding is
positive w.r.t. its upper end, the diode is reverse biased
and so does not conduct, Thus during the negative half
cycles of the input ac voltage, the current through and
voltage across the load remains zero. The reverse
current, being very small in magnitude, is neglected.
Thus for the negative half cycles no power is delivered
to the load.
Thus the output voltage (VL) developed across load
resistance RL is a series of positive half cycles of
alternating voltage, with intervening very small constant
negative voltage levels, It is Obvious from the figure that
the output is not a steady dc, but only a pulsating dc
wave. To make the output wave smooth and useful in a
DC power supply, we have to use a filter across the load.
Since only half-cycles of the input wave are used, it is
called a half wave rectifier,

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Output of half wave rectifier is not a constant DC
voltage. In real life applications, we need a power supply
with smooth wave forms. In other words, we desire a DC
power supply with constant output voltage. A constant
output voltage from the DC power supply is vet)'
important as it directly impacts the reliability of the
electronic device we connect to the power supply.
We can make the output of half wave rectifier smooth
by using a filter (a capacitor filter or an inductor filter)
across the diode. In some cases an resistor-capacitor
coupled filter (RC) is also used.

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 EXPERIMENT

MEASUREMENT OF CURRENT USING

HALFWAVE RECTFIER

To determine the current by measuring voltage

and resistance using Halfwave Rectifier.

MATERIAL REQUIRED:-

• Diode
• Capacitor(50v)
• Voltmeter
• Resistance box
• Ac supply

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• Wires for connection

PROCEDURE
Take a AC Supply and connect it to switch.
Connect the terminal part of the AC to the p part of the
diode using wire.
iii. Now Connect other part of the AC terminal to the
Capacitor.
Connect the n-part of the diode to the capacitor.
v. Connect the both ends of a capacitor to the resistance
box.
Place a connection between voltmeter and resistance
box by joining the terminals of voltmeter.
Now power on the switch and find out the resultant
voltage by changing the resistance box.
Calculate the current by measuring the mean voltage
and resistance using ohm's law.

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 CIRCUIT DIAGRAM

Smoothing

AC Input Wavefo•rm Resultant Output 'Waveform

OBSERVATION:-

RESISTANCE(in ohm) VOLT(in V)

1 0.7

2 1 .1
 3 1.4

4 16
5 1.8

CALCULATIONS:-
Mean v=O.7+1.1+1.4+1.6+1.8 =1.32 v
5
Mean resistance=I+2+3+4+5 =3 ohm
5

Current I = Mean V / Mean R

= 1.32 / 3
= 0.264 Ampere.

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RESULT:-
The average current produced by the halfwave rectifier
= 0.264 Ampere.

CONCLUSION
A half wave rectifier is rarely used in practice. It is never
preferred as the power supply of an audio circuit
because of the very high ripple factor. High ripple factor
will result in noises in input audio signal, which in turn
will affect audio quality.
Advantage of a half wave rectifier is only that its cheap,
simple and easy to construct. It is cheap because of the
low number of components involved. Simple because of
the straight forwardness in circuit design Measuring the
mean current flow helps us to understand the amount of
AC current passed through the circuit.

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PRECAUTIONS:-
+ DO NOT SWITCH ON THE CIRCUIT BEFORE
CHECKING WHEATHER IT IS CORRECT OR NOT

*THE CONNECTION BETWEEN VOLTMETER AND

RESISTANCE BOX SHOULD BE MADE CORRECTLY
.

*CONNECT ALL THE WIRES PROPERLY. LOOSE

CONNECTION MAY END UP IN FAILURE OF
CIRCUIT.

#CAPACITOR OF LESS VOLT MAY BE

CONNECTED TO THE DIODE.

SOURCES OF ERROR:-
o The p and n parts of the diode may be changed.

o The wire connection may be loose.

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 BIBILOGRAPHY

• http://www.physics-and-
radioelectronics.com/electronic-devices-
andcircuits/rectifier/halfwaverectifier.html e
http://www.electronicstutorials.ws/diode/dio
de 5.html

• http://www.circuitstoday.com/half-
waverectifiers

• GOOGLE IMAGES
• www.wikipedia.com e NCERT Physics book
• Comprehensive Lab Manual 15