Capacitors

School :- SMK Seafield, Jalan USJ 2/5, Subang Jaya, , Selangor

Candidate :- __________________________________________
I / C No. :- __________________________________________ Date :- ( Expt. Day ) .
Expt. No. :- 6 Index No. :- ________________________

Topic :- Capacitor
Title :- Capacitance and time constant
Objective :- To determine the capacitance of a capacitor and the time constant of an R – C circuit.
Theory :- The diagram shows an R – C circuit.

V C R

When the switch S is closed, charging of the capacitor occurs.

The charge Q o stored in a fully charged capacitor of capacitance C under a charging voltage V is
given by
Qo = CV .

When the switch S is opened, the capacitor will discharge through the resistor of resistance R .
The potential differences across C and R , VC and VR respectively, are now related by

VC - VR = 0 .
 Capacitors (2)
If Q = charge on the capacitor at time t.
I = current flowing at time t,
then, Q , , dQ ,
Vc = VR = IR I = -
C dt
( I = positive, dQ = negative )

and now Q
- IR = 0 ,
C
dQ Q
or - R = .
dt C
Integration followed by differentiation gives
t
-

Q = Qo e
t
-

I = Io e
where Q o = initial charge,
I o = initial current,
 = CR = time constant .
Apparatus : - (i) A 6 V d.c. power supply (vi) Two connecting wires each with a crocodile
(ii) A switch clip at one end.
(iii) A d.c. Milliammeter (vii) Some connecting wires
(iv) A stopwatch (viii) A capacitor labelled C
(v) A resistor - pack
 Capacitors (3)
Procedure :- S
mA
6 V d.c. + X
power C To resistor - pack R
supply - Y

(a) The apparatus as shown in the diagram is set up, R being the effective resistance across X and Y.
(b) Starting with R = 6600 Ω , switch S is closed and R is decreased in stages by proper selection
of combination of resistors in the resistor –pack until the reading of current I o in the milliammeter is
about 1.0 mA. The values of I o and the corresponding resistance R o are recorded and tabulated.
(c) Keeping the value of R o with the value of I o about 1 mA, switch S is opened and the terminals
of the capacitor are shorted with a short connecting wire to fully discharge it.
(d) Switch S is closed again to charge the capacitor until the reading of the milliammeter shows I o .
(e) Switch S is then opened and simultaneously a stopwatch is started and the reading of the
milliammeter is observed. The stopwatch is stopped when the current reaches a certain value of I .
The values of I and the corresponding time t are recorded.
(f) Steps (d) and (e) are repeated until I ≃ 0.
I æI ö
(g) Values of I , t , o , and ln çç o ÷
I çè I ø÷
÷ are also tabulated.
æI ö
 ln çç o ÷
æI o ö÷ çè I ÷
÷
ø
(h) A graph of ln ç
çç ÷ versus t is plotted and its gradient , k = , is also determined.
è I ø÷ t
1
(i) The time constant τ for the R – C circuit is calculated using the expression  =.
k

(j) The capacitance C of the capacitor is determined using the expression C = .
Ro
æI o ö
(k) From the graph of ln ççç ÷ ÷ versus t , an expression for current I as a function of time t is deduced.
è I ø÷
 Capacitors (4)
Results :- Determination of I o and the corresponding Ro

( I o ± 0.01 ) mA
R/Ω
(i) ( ii ) mean
6600
6500
6400
6300
6200

Hence,
current Io = __________________ mA

resistance Ro = __________________ Ω
 Capacitors (5)
Variation of I with t

( I ± 0.01 ) Time ( t ± 0.1 ) s Io I 

ln  o 
mA (i) ( ii ) mean I  I 

t I 
t   ln  o 
n I   I 
 ln  o   
  I  n

 
æI o ö
÷
Centroid = ( á t ñ , á ln ç
ç ÷ñ )
÷ = ( ? , ? )
ç
èI ø
 Capacitors (6)
Graph :-
æI ö
Graph of ln çç o ÷
çè I ÷
÷ versus t / s
ø

æI ö
ln çç o ÷
çè I ÷
÷
ø

centroid
( ? , ? )

⊛ I 
 ln  o   ?  ?
 I 

t = ?- ? s
0 t /s
 Capacitors (7)
Calculations :-
 Io 
From the graph of ln   versus t / s,
 I 
æI ö
 ln çç o ÷÷
÷
çè I ø
slope k =
 (t / s )
? - ? 1
=
? - ? s
= s- 1
@ ______________ s- 1 .

1
Hence, time constant  =
k
1 1
=
? s- 1
= s
@ __________ s ,


capacitance C =
Ro
= F
= F
F
= _____________ μF .
 Capacitors (8)
I 
As the graph of ln  o  versus t / s is a straight line through the origin with slope k,
 I 

æI ö
we have ln çç o ÷÷
÷ = kt + 0
çè I ø
Io
or
= e kt
I
I
or = e - kt
Io
- kt
or I = Ioe
- ? t
and I = ? e mA for the experiment results,

which shows that current I is a decreasing exponential function of time t for a discharging capacitor.
 Capacitors (9)
Discussion :-
(a) Precautions
1. Switch S must be switched off when the power supply is no longer needed so that the electromotive
force ( e.m.f. ) of the power supply does not deteriorate as deteriorated e.m.f. cannot provide the
same current I o as required each time the experiment is repeated.
2. Also ensure that the power supply is not accidentally short –circuited while discharging the capacitor, by
ensuring switch S be opened , as this can damage the cells.
3. While taking readings from the milliammeter or stop-watch ( analogue type ), make sure that the
direction of vision is perpendicular to the scale at the point whose reading is required to avoid parallax
error.
4. Ensure that all electrical connections are clean and tight.

(b) Reliability of results

1. The results obtained for  and C are accurate to 2 or 3 significant figures only.
2. It is assumed that the capacitor and resistor are in good working condition ; any leakage or
malfunction can affect the accuracy of the results.

(c) Comment
1. The power supply from a fully charged accumulator can provide a steadier current than a power pack
of dry cells and is therefore preferred.
2. It is important to ensure that the polar electrolytic capacitor under test be correctly connected to the
circuit, i.e. , with its positive and negative terminals be connected to the positive and the negative
terminals of the power supply respectively.
Wrong connection can cause the capacitor to explode besides giving erroneous results.
 Capacitors (10)
Conclusion :-

1. Time constant,  = ______________ s.

2. Capacitance, C = ______________ F.

3. Current I of a discharging capacitor decreases exponentially with time t, i.e. , for the C – R circuit,

I = Io e - k t

- ? t
or I = ? e mA .