PHYSICS

PROJECT

To study the variations, in current flowing in a circuit containing a

LDR, because of a variation:-

 In the power of the incandescent lamp, used to ‘illuminate’ the

LDR. (Keeping all the lamps at a fixed distance).

 In the distance of an incandescent lamp, (of fixed power), used to

‘illuminate’ the LDR.

By

A.ARAVIND
 PHYSICS PROJECT
2020-21
BONAFIDE CERTIFICATE

Certified to be the bonafide project done by

of class XII in GURUKSHETRA PUBLIC SCHOOL,

Kanchipuram during the year 2020-21.

Date: Teacher in charge:

Submitted for AISSCE practical examination held on

At GURUKSHETRA PUBLIC SCHOOL, Kanchipuram.

Name of the Candidate:

Register No:

Center Code:

Project Title: Determination of variation of electric current flowing in

a circuit containing a LDR with respect to the luminous intensity
and distance of the incandescent lamp.

External Examiner: Principal:

 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
In the accomplishment of this project successfully, many people
have bestowed upon me their blessing and the heart pledged
support. Let me use this opportunity to thank all the people who
helped and supported.

In the accomplishment of this project successfully, many people

have bestowed upon me their blessing and the heart pledged
support. Let me use this opportunity to thank all the people who
helped and supported.

I owe my sincere thank to my principal Mr. K. Santhosh kumar for

his constant support and motivation to conclude this project in a
knowledgeable way.

I would like to thank my Physics Teacher Mr. S. Rajapandian

whose valuable guidance has enriched this project and made it a full
proof success. His suggestions and instructions were the major
contributors towards the completion of the project.

I would like to thank my parents and classmates who have helped

me with their valuable suggestions and guidance in the completion
of project.
 INDEX
CERTIFICATE
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
INTRODUCTION
OBJECTIVE
THEORY
Structure
Characteristic of Photoconductive Cells
Advantages
Disadvantages
Applications
CIRCUIT DIAGRAM
MATERIALS REQUIRED
PROCEDURE
SOURCES OF ERROR
PRECAUTIONS
OBSERVATION
INFERENCE
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
 INTRODUCTION
A Light Dependent Resistor (also known as a photoresistor / LDR) is a device
whose resistivity is a function of the incident electromagnetic radiation. Hence,
they are light-sensitive devices. They are also called as photoconductors,
photoconductive cells / simply photocells.

A photoresistor (Light Decreasing Resistance, / light-dependent

resistor, / photo-conductive cell) is an active component that decreases
resistance with respect to receiving luminosity (light) on the component's
sensitive surface. The resistance of a photoresistor decreases with increase in
incident light intensity; in other words, it exhibits photoconductivity. A
photoresistor can be applied in light-sensitive detector circuits and light-
activated and dark-activated switching circuits acting as a
resistance semiconductor. In the dark, a photoresistor can have a resistance as
high as several mega ohms (MΩ), while in the light, a photoresistor can have a
resistance as low as a few hundred ohms. If incident light on a photoresistor
exceeds a certain frequency, photons absorbed by the semiconductor give
bound electrons enough energy to jump into the conduction band. The resulting
free electrons (and their whole partners) conduct electricity, thereby
lowering resistance. The resistance range and sensitivity of a photoresistor can
substantially differ among dissimilar devices. Moreover, unique photoresistors
may react substantially differently to photons within certain wavelength bands.

A photoelectric device can be either intrinsic or extrinsic. An intrinsic

semiconductor has its own charge carriers and is not an efficient semiconductor,
for example, silicon. In intrinsic devices, the only available electrons are in
the valence band, and hence the photon must have enough energy to excite the
electron across the entire band gap. Extrinsic devices have impurities, also
called dopants, and added whose ground state energy is closer to the conduction
band; since the electrons do not have as far to jump, lower energy photons (that
is, longer wavelengths and lower frequencies) are sufficient to trigger the
device. If a sample of silicon has some of its atoms replaced by phosphorus
atoms (impurities), there will be extra electrons available for conduction. This is
an example of an extrinsic semiconductor.

Photo resistors, or light dependent resistors have been in use for very many
years. Photo resistors have been seen in early forms since the nineteenth
century when photoconductivity in selenium was discovered by Smith in 1873.
Since then many variants of photoconductive devices have been made.

Much useful work was conducted by T. W. Case in 1920 when he published a

paper entitled "Thalofide Cell - a new photo-electric cell".

Other substances including PbS, PbSe and PbTe were studied in the 1930s and
1940s, and then in 1952, Rollin and Simmons developed their photoconductors
using silicon and germanium.
 OBJECTIVE

To study the variations, in current flowing in a circuit containing a LDR,

because of a variation:-

 In the power of the incandescent lamp, used to ‘illuminate’ the LDR.

(Keeping all the lamps at a fixed distance).

 In the distance of an incandescent lamp, (of fixed power), used to

‘illuminate’ the LDR.
 THEORY

STRUCTURE

The snake like track shown below is the Cadmium Sulphide (CdS) film which
also passes through the sides. On the top and bottom are metal films which are
connected to the terminal leads. It is designed in such a way as to provide
maximum possible contact area with the two metal films. The structure is
housed in a clear plastic or resin case, to provide free access to external light.

As explained above, the main component for the construction of LDR is

cadmium sulphide (CdS), which is used as the photoconductor and contains no
or very few electrons when not illuminated. In the absence of light it is designed
to have a high resistance in the range of megaohms. As soon as light falls on the
sensor, the electrons are liberated and the conductivity of the material increases.
When the light intensity exceeds a certain frequency, the photons absorbed by
the semiconductor give band electrons the energy required to jump into the
conduction band. This causes the free electrons or holes to conduct electricity
and thus dropping the resistance dramatically (< 1 Kilo ohm).

CHARACTERISTIC OF PHOTOCONDUCTIVE CELLS

Now when the device is kept in darkness, its resistance is called as dark
resistance. This resistance is typically of the order of 1013 ohms. When light
falls on it, its resistance decreases up to several kilo ohms or even hundreds of
ohms, depending on the intensity of light, falling on it. The spectral response
characteristics of two commercial cells were compared in our laboratory, and
we found that there is almost no response to the radiation of a wavelength which
was shorter than 300nm. It was very interesting to note that the Cadmium
Sulphide cell has a peak response nearer or within the green color of the
spectrum within a range of 520nm. Thus it can be used nearer to the infra-red
region up to 750nm. It was found that the maximum response of Cadmium
Sulphoselenide is in the yellow-orange range at 615nm and also it can be used
in the infra-red region up to about 970nm.

When light is incident on the LDR , a photon is absorbed and thereby it excites
an electron from valence band into conduction band. Due to such new electrons
coming up in conduction band area, the electrical resistance of the device
decreases. Thus the LDR or photo-conductive transducer has the resistance
which is the inverse function of radiation intensity.

ADVANTAGES

 Collection of parts of the circuit is easily available.

 Accuracy of this circuit is more than accuracy of other circuits.
 By using laser, it can be used for security purposes.
 It can be used to stop the wastage of electricity.
 The cost of circuit is low.
 This circuit saves the men's power.

DISADVANTAGES
  Highly inaccurate with a response time of about tens or hundreds of
milliseconds.

APPLICATIONS
Photo resistors come in many types. Inexpensive cadmium sulfide cells can be
found in many consumer items such as camera light meters, clock radios, alarm
devices (as the detector for a light beam), nightlights, outdoor clocks, solar
street lamps, and solar road studs, etc.

Photoresistors can be placed in streetlights to control when the light is on.

Ambient light falling on the photoresistor causes the streetlight to turn off. Thus
energy is saved by ensuring the light is only on during hours of darkness.

Lead sulfide (PbS) and indium antimonide (InSb) LDRs (light-dependent

resistors) are used for the mid-infrared spectral region. Ge:Cu photoconductors
are among the best far-infrared detectors available, and are used for infrared
astronomy and infrared spectroscopy.

 It can be used in street lights.

 It can be used for safety purposes.
 It can be used in houses.
 MATERIALS REQUIRED

 Light Dependent Resistor (LDR)

 Connecting Wires
 Source of different power rating (bulbs)
 Bulb Holder
 Metre scale
 Multi Meter
 Battery

CIRCIUT DIAGRAM
 PROCEDURE

 Choose a specific position for the source and mount it using a holder,
make sure it is stable.
 Select the bulb with the lowest power rating and connect it to the holder
as shown in the figure.
 Connect the LDR, battery (6V) and the multimeter in series.
 Set the multimeter to ohm section and select suitable range and measure
the resistance with a bulb on.

 Similarly switch to current section and move to micro ampere in the

multimeter. This gives the value of the current.

 Repeat these steps with different power sources at different distances and
note down observations.
 SOURCES OF ERROR

 The LDR may not be perpendicular to the source.

 Connections may be faulty.
 The experiment should be conducted in a dark room.
 Measurements should be taken accurately.

PRECAUTIONS

 Make sure the multimeter is set to appropriate range to measure

resistance.
  The source of light should be adjusted in such a manner that light falls
normally on LDR.

 Perform the experiment preferably in a dark room.

 The zero of the multimeter should be carefully adjusted.
 The box containing an LDR must remain fixed all through the experiment

OBSERVATION

The experiment has been conducted by using various sources with different
power ratings. Voltage of the battery = 6 V.

(a)Variation in current of LDR with lamps of different power, keeping

distance fixed.
Distance – 10cm

S.No. Distance Source(Bulb) Resistance(Ω ) Current(mA)

between Of power
 LDR and
the source imputs(W)
d(cm)
1. 10 15 1310 4.58

2. 10 30 770 7.00

3. 10 60 285 21.00

4. 10 100 195 30.00

Distance - 20cm

1. 20 15 2800 2.14

2. 20 60 650 9.00

3. 20 100 435 13.79

Distance – 30cm
1. 30 15 4300 1.4

2. 30 60 1000 6.00

3. 30 100 660 9.00

(b) Variation in current of LDR with distance.

For 15 W Power Source

S.No. Distance between Resistance(Ω ) Current(µA)

 LDR and the
source d(cm)
1. 4 1010 5.94

2. 6 1350 4.44

3. 8 1490 4.03

4. 10 1610 3.73

5. 12 1740 3.45

6. 14 1880 3.19

7. 16 2300 2.61

8. 18 2540 2.36

9. 20 2800 2.14

10. 22 3000 2.00

For 60 W Power Source

Distance between
S.No. LDR and the Resistance(Ω ) Current(mA)
source d(cm)
1. 4 105 57

2. 6 180 33

3. 8 230 26

4. 10 280 21

5. 12 360 16
 6. 14 440 13

7. 16 500 12

8. 18 575 10

9. 20 675 8.8

10. 22 740 8.1

For 100 W Power Source

Distance between
S.No. LDR and the Resistance(Ω ) Current(mA)
source d(cm)
1. 4 80 75

2. 6 130 46

3. 8 170 35

4. 10 205 29

5. 12 270 22

6. 14 300 20

7. 16 360 16

8. 18 410 14

9. 20 460 13

10. 22 525 11

11. 24 585 10
Now do the following.

1. Plot a graph between resistance of the LDR and power of the bulb, taking
resistance (R) on y-axis and power (P) on x-axis with separation 10cm.
Similar graphs for other values of r = 20cm, 30cm, etc., will be obtained
having similar straight line graphs with different slopes.

2. Plot a graph between resistance (R) of the LDR and the reciprocal of square
of distance (1/x2) of the source from it, taking resistance on y-axis and (1/x 2)
on x-axis. Plot the graph for bulbs of power 15W, 60W and 100W
separately.
 INFERENCE
From the observations and graphs, it is clear that:
 The normal resistance of the LDR (in dark) is very high ~ megaohms
(106 Ω).
 The LDR is exposed to light, and there is significant fall in its resistance.
 The resistance of an LDR falls sharply when it is exposed to light from
bulbs of increasing power kept at the same distance. The corresponding
graphs (R versus P) being straight lines, slope downwards. This indicates
the resistance of an LDR decreases linearly with the increase in intensity
of illumination.

 When a lamp of fixed power is kept at different distances from the LDR,
its resistance increases as the distance increases. The R versus (1/x2 )
curve is a straight line sloping upwards.
 The intensity of light incident on the LDR decreases inversely as the
square of distance, i.e. I ∝ 2 1 x , and
 Resistance of LDR increases linearly with decrease in intensity of
illumination.

CONCLUSION
 The LDR resistance decreases with increase in intensity of light and
hence there is an increase in the flow of current.

 There is an increase in the current as the distance from the source

decreases.
 The intensity decreases as the distance from the source increases
 The error lies within the experimental limit.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

 NCERT CLASS 12 PHYSICS TEXTBOOK

 www.google.co.in
 www.wikipedia.com
 www.yahoo.co.in
 www.electronics2000.co.uk/links/education-hobby/
 www.ecelab.com/