Investigating the Effect of Resistance on a Capacitor Circuit :: Papers

Investigating the Effect of Resistance on a Capacitor Circuit Method We ordain set up the following circuit. We will measure the electrical capacity pd. (Vc) with the cell connected. Then we will remove the cell and connect point A to point B, at the same moment starting a stopwatch. We will record the distance of time (t) for the Vc to decay to 3.75 Volts. We intend to repeat this procedure using variant resistors. IMAGE Resistance (kW) Time (s) 33 33 68 72 coulomb 97 150 153 330 320 680 584 Conclusion From the graph we tummy clearly involve that the time interpreted for the capacitor to dis counsel is directly proportional to the enemy. This is because the graph shows a definite straight line going through or near most of the points. This means that the higher resistor you use the chronic it will take for the capacitor to discharge. The experiment has therefore proved the expectation correct i.e. the resistance s hould be directly proportionate to the time taken for the capacitor to de-charge. This can be explained by the following Capacitors store galvanic charge. When current is passing through the circuit the capacitor charges up as the current cant jump between the gap of the two plates but charge is held there because of the force of the opposite poles. This means that more and more electrical energy is stored until it reaches its full capacity. But when the circuit is broken the capacitor de-charges releasing electrical energy through the circuit. The resistor slows down the current causing congestion and means that the capacitor has to de-charge slower because only a limited amount of charge can travel through a circuit with a high resistance at any one given time. Evaluation The method was a good way of carrying out the experiment as it was quite tardily to conduct once the circuit was connected, the results seem