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| university:courses:engineering_discovery:lab_2 [08 Apr 2016 23:17] – Jonathan Pearson | university:courses:engineering_discovery:lab_2 [03 Jan 2018 19:35] (current) – [Observations and Conclusions] Doug Mercer |
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| Resistors, capacitors, and inductors are the basic passive building blocks of many circuits. These elements can be used to control timing and frequency response. In this experiment we will investigate how circuits comprised of resistors and capacitors behave when their voltages and currents are switched. We will watch the voltage increase on a capacitor as it charges over a relatively long period of time, then observe shorter-term effects with a resistor-capacitor (RC) circuit. | Resistors, capacitors, and inductors are the basic passive building blocks of many circuits. These elements can be used to control timing and frequency response. In this experiment we will investigate how circuits comprised of resistors and capacitors behave when their voltages and currents are switched. We will watch the voltage increase on a capacitor as it charges over a relatively long period of time, then observe shorter-term effects with a resistor-capacitor (RC) circuit. |
| ==== Objective ==== | ==== Objective ==== |
| To study how RC circuits behave with switched input voltages. Following completion of this lab you should be able to explain how a capacitor charges when a step voltage is applied to it through a resistor, describe the shape of the voltage across a capacitor when a square voltage wave is applied to it through a resistor, calculate the time constant of a RC circuit and know how many time constants it takes to charge a capacitor to approximately 99.3% of the voltage applied to it through the resistor, observe polarity requirements of electrolytic capacitors, and give a basic explanation of dielectric absorption. | To study how RC circuits behave with switched input voltages. Following completion of this lab you should be able to explain how a capacitor charges when a step voltage is applied to it through a resistor, describe the shape of the voltage across a capacitor when a square voltage wave is applied to it through a resistor, calculate the time constant of a RC circuit and know to what level the capacitor charges in one time constant, determine one of the more commonly-accepted time intervals that it takes to fully charge a capacitor when a step voltage is applied to it through a resistor, observe polarity requirements of electrolytic capacitors, and give a basic explanation of dielectric absorption. |
| ==== Materials and Apparatus ==== | ==== Materials and Apparatus ==== |
| * Resistor and capacitor code handouts | * Resistor and capacitor code handouts |
| * A capacitor in a simple RC circuit moves to 63% of the difference between its current value and a step voltage applied to the circuit in one time constant | * A capacitor in a simple RC circuit moves to 63% of the difference between its current value and a step voltage applied to the circuit in one time constant |
| * A commonly accepted time for a capacitor to fully charge is equal to five time constants | * A commonly accepted time for a capacitor to fully charge is equal to five time constants |
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