DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS

SRI CHAITANYA TECHNO SCHOOL

No. 79, Athipalayam Road , Near JAS college of
education, Chinnavedampatti , Coimbatore - 641049

A PROJECT REPORT ON THE TITLE

To study and construct a circuit of capacitor storage LED

FOR
AISSCE 2023 -2024 EXAMINATION

As a part of the
“PHYSICS”

SUBMITTEDBY

Harshini.S

Under the guidance of

 This is to certify that the project report entitled “To study and
construct a circuit of capacitor storage LED” is a bonafide work
done by Harshini.S of grade 12 is submitted in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the completion of CBSE’s AISSCE Examination
2023- 2024 and has been carried out under my direct supervision and
guidance. This report or a similar report on the topic has not been
submitted for any other examination and does not form a part of any
other course undergone by the candidate.

Internal Examiner External Examiner

 DECLARATION

I hereby declare that my project on the title “To

study and construct a circuit of capacitor storage
LED” is submitted in partial fulfillment of CBSE’s
AISSCE Examination 2023-24 and has been carried out
by me under the guidance and supervision of Physics
Teacher.

Chinnavedampatti,Coimbatore. Harshini.S
 ACKNOWLEDGMENT

At the outset, I bow down before the God Almighty

for his blessings without which I would not have
completed this endeavor successfully.

I am thankful to Dr. Gladis Diana Sivakumar,

Principal, Sri Chaitanya Techno School,
Chinnavedampatti, for her approval of the project and
her valuable guidance.

I gratefully acknowledge my indebtedness to my

guide Physics teacher for his meticulous guidance and
constant encouragement throughout my project. I would
like to extend my wholehearted gratitude to the
Management and all those who have directly and
indirectly helped me during the course of my work.

Harshini.S
 INDEX
1. Certificate

2. Declaration

3. Acknowledgement

4. Objective

5. Introduction

6. Principle

7. Construction

8. Theory

9. Apparatus

required

10.Procedure

11.Observation

12.Result

13.Sources of error

14.Precautions

15.Bibliography
 OBJECTIVE

To study and construct a circuit of capacitor storage LED.

 INTRODUCTION

A capacitor is a two-terminal electrical device that can store energy in

the form of an electric charge. It consists of two electrical conductors
that are separated by a distance. The space between the conductors
may be filled by vacuum or with an insulating material known as a
dielectric.

Capacitors store energy by holding apart pairs of opposite charges.

The simplest design for a capacitor is a parallel plate, which consists
of two metal plates with a gap between them.

A capacitor in an LED bulb helps to smooth out the voltage and

current supplied to the LED, which can improve the performance and
lifespan of the bulb. It also helps to reduce flicker and improve the
overall stability of the light output.

An LED needs to be a diode, specifically because the way the charge

carriers recombine in the forward-biased diode junction releases the
correct amount of energy to create photons in the visible range.
 PRINCIPLE
A capacitor is a device that stores charge in an electrical circuit. It
works on the principle that the capacitance of a conductor increases
when an earthed conductor is brought near it. A capacitor has two
parallel plates facing each other in opposite directions and separated
by some distance gap. When two neutral conductors are placed nearby
and a potential difference is applied to them, equal and opposite
charges are induced on them, and energy is stored in the form of an
electric field in the gap between them.
 CONSTRUCTION

Connect your batteries in series (negative connected to positive).

Connect R1 ohm resistor from positive to a row in the middle of the
board. Connect capacitor positive lead to R1 ohm resistor and
negative lead back to ground. Connect capacitor positive lead to R1
ohm resistor and negative lead back to ground. Connect transistor’s
emitter in between the R1 resistor and the capacitor’s positive lead.
Connect the collector a couple of holes over. Don’t connect the base.
Hold the transistor with the flat side facing you. The pin on the left is
the emitter, the pin on the right is the collector, the pin in the middle is
the base. Connect led’s positive lead (the long one) to the transistor’s
collector and connect the negative lead to the R2 ohm resistor and
connect that to ground.

General circuit diagram for capacitor storage LED.

 THEORY

The conducting plates have some charges Q1 and Q2 (Usually, if one

plate has +q, the other has –q charge). The electric field in the region
between the plates depends on the charge given to the conducting
plates. We also know that potential difference (V) is directly
proportional to the electric field hence we can say,

𝑄𝛼𝑉

𝑄 = 𝐶𝑉

𝑄
𝐶=
𝑉

This constant of proportionality is known as the capacitance of the

capacitor. The capacitance of any capacitor can be either fixed or
variable, depending on its usage. From the equation, it may seem that
‘C’ depends on charge and voltage. Actually, it depends on the shape
and size of the capacitor and also on the insulator used between the
conducting plates. The equation gives the total energy that can be
extracted from a fully charged capacitor:

1
𝑈=(
2) 𝐶𝑉2

The main difference between a capacitor and a battery lies in the

technique they employ to store energy. Unlike batteries, the
capacitor’s ability to store energy doesn’t come from chemical
reactions but from the physical design that allows it to hold negative
and positive charges apart.

Capacitance of a Parallel Plate Capacitor:

The parallel plate capacitor as shown in the figure has two identical
conducting plates, each having a surface area A and
separated by a distance d. When voltage V is applied
to the plates, it stores charge Q.

The force between charges increases with charge

values and decreases with the distance between
them. The bigger the area of the plates, the more charge they can
store. Hence, the value of C is greater for a large value of A.
Similarly, the closer the plates are, the greater the attraction of the
opposite charges on them. Therefore C is greater for a smaller d.

The formula gives the charge density on the plates

𝑄
𝜎=
𝐴
When the distance of separation (d) is small, the electric field between
the plates is fairly uniform, and its magnitude is given by:
𝜎
𝐸=
𝜖ₒ

As the electric field between the plates is uniform, the potential

difference between the plates is given by
𝜎𝑑 𝑄𝑑
𝐸 = 𝑉𝑑 = =
𝗀ₒ 𝗀ₒ𝐴

Substituting the above value of V in the capacitance formula, we get

𝑄 𝑄
𝐶= = 𝗀ₒ𝐴
𝑉 𝑄𝑑 = 𝑑
𝜖ₒ𝐴

The capacitance of a parallel plate capacitor is given by the formula

𝗀ₒ𝐴
𝐶= 𝑑
 APPARATUS REQUIRED

1. PNP Transistor 2. Resistor value 470 Ω

3. Resistor value 100k Ω 4. Capacitor

5. LED 6. Breadboard
7. Jumper wires
 PROCEDURE
1. Add the two PNP transistors (2907A) and the jumper wires from
the power BUS to the emitter of each transistor. Because of the
way it is inserted the two transistors the emitter is on the left side
of both transistors.
2. Connect the two capacitors (10µF) to the circuit. Connect the
positive lead of the first capacitor to the collector of transistor 2.
Next connect the negative lead of the same capacitor to the base of
transistor 1.
3. Repeat the above process for the second capacitor. Connect the
positive lead of the second capacitor to the collector of transistor 1.
Connect the negative lead of the same capacitor to the base of
transistor 2.
4. Next connect the 100k resistors to the transistors. One lead of the
resistor connects to the Base of the transistor, the other lead
connects to ground. Do this for both transistors.
5. Finally add the two 470 Ohm resistors along with the two LEDs.
Add a picture of a transistor to identify the Emitter, Base, and
Collector. Connect one wire of the first resistor to the collector of
transistor 1. The the other resistor wire then connects to the
positive wire of the first LED. The negative wire of the LED is
then connected to ground.
6. Follow the same steps for the other resistor and LED. Connect one
wire of the second resistor to the collector of transistor 2. The the
 other resistor wire then connects to the positive wire of the second
LED. The negative wire of the LED is then connected to ground.
7. The last step is to supply power and watch the LEDs blink. Use a 9
volt battery and it worked fine.
 OBSERVATION
We can observe that when positive and negative charges coalesce on
the capacitor plates, the capacitor becomes charged. A capacitor can
retain its electric field -- hold its charge -- because the positive and
negative charges on each of the plates attract each other but never
reach each other.

At some point the capacitor plates will be so full of charges that they
just can't accept any more. There are enough negative charges on one
plate that they can repel any others that try to join. This is where
the capacitance (farads) of a capacitor comes into play, which tells
you the maximum amount of charge the cap can store.

If a path in the circuit is created, which allows the charges to find

another path to each other, they'll leave the capacitor, and it
will discharge. An LED placed in series with the cap could provide a
path for the current, and the energy stored in the capacitor could be
used to briefly illuminate the LED.

the total energy that can be extracted from a fully charged capacitor:

1
𝑈 = ( ) 𝐶𝑉 2
2

1
𝑈 = ( ) × 10µ𝐹 × 92
2

𝑈 = 405µ𝐽
 RESULT

We can get a blinking LED circuit from the above observed value of
energy of the capacitor.
 SOURCES OF ERROR

1. Check the loose wire connections.

2. Dielectric failure.

3. Overload current.

4. Overload voltage.
 PRECAUTIONS

1. Capacitors, as well as other capacitors used for other purposes

in circuits, can store charge long after they have been
disconnected from the circuit, or after the power was
disconnected from the device.

2. High voltage capacitors can accumulate charge even if they

have never been used due to electrostatic charge buildup. As
such, they pose an electrical shock hazard.

3. It is necessary to discharge capacitors before handling them to

prevent injury. High voltage and high energy capacitors should
be stored with their terminals shorted to prevent charge buildup
over time.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. https://byjus.com/physics/capacitor-and-
capacitance/#:~:text=FAQs-
,What%20Is%20a%20Capacitor%3F,material%20known%20as
%20a%20dielectric.

2. https://eepower.com/capacitor-guide/applications/energy-
storage/#:~:text=Capacitors%20are%20devices%20which%20st
ore,they%20are%20similar%20to%20batteries.

3. https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-purpose-of-a-capacitor-in-
LED- bulbs#:~:text=A%20capacitor%20in%20an
%20LED,116.1K%2 0answer%20views%206y

4. https://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/400790/why-
does-an-led-have-to-be-a- diode#:~:text=The%20existing
%20answers%20miss%20the,ph otons%20in%20the
%20visible%20range.

5. Simple Blinking LED Circuit : 5 Steps (with Pictures) - Instructables

6. Capacitors - SparkFun Learn

7. PHYSICS INVESTIGATORY PROJECT 2017-18 | PDF (slideshare.net)

8. https://www.protoexpress.com/blog/common-errors-in-discrete-
components/#:~:text=Overload%20current%20and%20voltage,a
nd%20resulting%20in%20short%2Dcircuit.