Subject Title: Circuit 2 Lab

Exp: 4

Capacitance
Measurement by
Oscilloscope
[Type the document subtitle]

By
Shaibal Kumar Dey
Lab Instructor(Dept. of EEE)
Southern University Bangladesh

Southern University Bangladesh (Dept. of EEE)

Experiment 4
Measurement of Unknown Capacitance
Experiment Name: Measurement of value of capacitor by oscilloscope.
Objective:

To observe the wave of capacitors charge and discharge.

To measure value of capacitor by oscilloscope.

Theory
A capacitor is a passive component used to store electrical energy temporarily in an electrical
field. A storage oscilloscope enables the voltage/time graph for a capacitor charging through a
resistor to be displayed and, from the print-out, a value of the time constant for the circuit to be
calculated. This provides all the information required for calculating the value of the capacitor.
When an uncharged capacitor is connected to a d.c. supply through a resistor, the potential
difference across its plates (Vc) increases rapidly at first but then slows down until the value is
equal to that of the d.c. supply (Vs). When Vc = Vs then there is no current flowing through the
resistor and the capacitor is fully charged. The time constant of the circuit, t, is defined as the
time taken for the value of Vc to reach 63.2% of the final value which can be taken as Vs.

We also have that

t = RC
Or, C=t/R.
Where R is the value of the resistor in ohms and C is the capacitor value in farads.
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Southern University Bangladesh (Dept. of EEE)

Experiment Apparatus:

Oscilloscope with two probe

Variable Resistor (22k/100K)
Function Generator
Bread Board
Alligator Clip
LCR meter

Circuit Diagram:

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Southern University Bangladesh (Dept. of EEE)

Figure: 2(a) & 2(b)

Experiment Procedure:

Calibrate the oscilloscope.

Set the Function to 100-300 Hz.
Connect the function generators probe with DMM and set the amplitude knob of Function
Generator to obtain 2V.
Connect the circuit as shown in above figure.
Vary the frequency and variable resistors value to obtain wave as figure 2(b), at Channel 2.
Calculate the time required (t) for the capacitor to charge 63.2% of full voltage.
Data Table: Input voltage: 2V (AC)(Square Wave)
Sl

Capacitor

Frequency Resistance t

C(LCR)

C(Calculated)(equation)

Data Analysis:

Or,

So, C= 0.1008*10^-6

Lab Report:
This should be the cover page of the report. When writing the cover page of the lab report, the
following should be included:
Your Name
ID
Semester
Section
Exp. Name
Course Title
Course code
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Southern University Bangladesh (Dept. of EEE)

Objectives of the Experiment.

List of the components.
Circuit diagram
Table and Data Analysis
Result
Conclusions

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