PHY2010S Experiment 2

LRC Resonance

Instructions
The deliverable for this practical is a laboratory report. Include your name and student
number and your lab partner’s name and student number on the front page of your
submission. All content must be produced digitally, i.e., in Word or similar. A digital
copy, in pdf format, must be uploaded to Vula the Friday following your scheduled lab
session before 14h00. Late submissions will automatically incur a 5% penalty per day.

Aim
In this experiment you will build and use an LCR series circuit to determine the value of
the inductance, L. You will use two indirect methods to determine the inductance: (1)
calculating the resonance frequency of the circuit, and (2) measuring the phase shift. For
each method you will need to determine the uncertainty in the measurement to compare
and comment upon the results.

Theory and Background

Figure 1: Schematic of the LCR resonance circuit, where L is the inductor, C the capacitor
and R the resistor. The impedance matching amplifier is included in order to ensure that
only a very small current is drawn from the signal generator, and that this current is
essentially independent of the impedance of the LRC circuit. The output of the signal
generator should be a pure sine wave.

The theory of the series LRC circuit is quite simple and should be worked through.
Figure 1 shows the LRC circuit you will be constructing and using to measure inductance.
ω
If the applied voltage is V = V0 cos(ωt) (where frequency f = 2π ), the current through

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the circuit is given by:

I = I0 cos(ωt − φ), where the amplitude of the current is

V0
I0 = q
,
1 2
RT2 + ωL − ωC

and the total circuit resistance is RT = R + RL . (Note that the inductor has a resistance
RL as well as inductance L.) The phase shift φ is given by:
1
ωL − ωC
tan φ = .
RT

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As ω is varied I0 varies, going through a maximum when (ωL − ωC
= 0), i.e., when

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ω = ω0 ≡ √ .
LC
Thus the resonance frequency of the circuit is:
ω0 1
f0 = = √ .
2π 2π LC
With some manipulation, the phase shift at frequency f can be written as:

L (f 2 − f02 )
tan φ = 2π .
RT f

Experimental procedure
You are provided with an oscillator (function generator), an amplifier, an oscilloscope,
an ohmmeter and a box containing a resistor, a capacitor and an inductor connected
in series. One way of determining resonance is by measuring the resonance curve to
determine the resonance frequency, provided the value of the capacitor is known. The
other way is by measuring the phase shift between the signal across the resistor and that
across the whole circuit.
You will need to set up the circuit as shown in Figure 1. Connect the oscilloscope so
that one channel is used to measure V , the applied voltage, and the other VR , the voltage
across the resistor R. A good plan is to adjust the size of the V signal on the oscilloscope
to be some convenient peak-to-peak value e.g. 5V. The output from the amplifier should
be a pure sine wave.
You can minimise the time taken to do this experiment if you collect data for parts (1)
and (2) simultaneously. Be sure that you read through the entire manual and understand
the requirements before you start taking measurements.

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Method 1: Determine the resonance frequency
You will need to plot the resonance curve to determine the resonance frequency f0 ,
providing the value of the capacitor is known. This should be very familiar to you from
PHYLAB1. You can measure the capacitance of your capacitor directly with the Atlas,
Model LCR40 ‘Passive Component Analysers’. Note that you have to do an evaluation
of the uncertainty in the measurement and you will need to look up the specification on
the instrument used (see http://www.peakelec.co.uk/acatalog/jz_lcr40.html)
First determine a rough estimate for f0 by changing the oscillator frequency while observ-
ing the oscilloscope trace. You should be able to observe the change in signal amplitude
with frequency and hence determine the approximate location of the resonance.
Measure VR /V for frequencies in the range (0.5f0 )–(2f0 ) Hz. Remember to write down all
measurements and settings in your lab notebook - this is your record of the experiment
and will be the reference material for your write-up.
Plot the graph roughly while doing the experiment to enable you to concentrate the
readings in the vicinity of the resonance maximum. For the write-up you will need to
plot the graph properly with Excel or similar. From your graph determine the resonance
frequency f0 and hence the inductance L.
Method 2: Determine the phase shift
You will need to measure the phase shift between the signal across the resistor and that
across the whole circuit.

Figure 2: Demonstration of the time difference ∆T between two sine waves with period
T . Note that the phase difference φ, in radians, is related to the time difference by
φ = 2π∆T /T . It is possible for φ to be negative.

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Measure the phase difference between VR and V for frequencies in the range of roughly
(0.5 – 2)f0 Hz. Measuring the time difference ∆T and converting this to a phase difference
is the best way do this. See Figure 2 for a pictorial representation of the phase shift.
Plot an appropriate function of the phase shift against an appropriate function of the
frequency to determine the value of L. You will have to estimate the uncertainties in
∆T and convert these to uncertainties in phase (or tan φ) in order to do a weighted least
squares fit.
Hint: you need to linearise the equation relating phase angle to frequency.
Check with a demonstrator before you leave the lab that you have all of the
necessary information.

Data Analysis and Report Write Up

You have 10 days to complete a detailed analysis and write up.
1. Write a brief aim, introduction and some discussion behind the theory of your
experiment.
2. Write a short section on the experimental method. Include a description and dia-
gram (with useful caption) of your experimental set-up, and concisely explain what
measurements you needed to take. Do not include photos. [200 words]
3. Present your results from this experiment, including properly formatted plots of the
(a) resonance curve, and (b) linearized phase-shift. Explain how you have analysed
your data to determine the inductance for each method. Produce an uncertainty
budget for each of your two measurements. You need to integrate all figures and
equations into the text. [200 words]
4. Write some discussion in a paragraph about each of your results in a scientific report
style. Stand-alone figures earn you few marks. Your report should not exceed
6 A4 pages (single column) with data presented concisely.
5. Write a short conclusion. Compare your two calculated values from 3. Discuss
which measurement is most accurate, most precise and most reliable. Explain why.
[100–200 words]

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Hints and Tips
Take great care in connecting the circuit. Understand the colour coding on the instrument
terminals and the oscilloscope leads.
In physics we usually deal with the amplitude of sinusoidal signals. It is usually easier to
measure the peak-to-peak value, i.e. the difference between the maximum and minimum
of the sinusoid. This is of course twice the amplitude.
Decide on an appropriate way to measure the time difference between the two oscilloscope
traces.
All oscilloscope readings have an associated uncertainty, for both the voltage and time
axes. You will need to take account of this.
Refer to the PHYLAB1 guide to reporting and measurement on Vula for additional
information on plotting graphs and fitting curves to data.