JAWAHAR

NAVODAYA
VIDHYALAYA
PHYSICS INVESTIGATORY PROJECT
CHARGING AND DISCHARGING OF
CAPACITOR

SUBMITTED BY SUBMITTED TO
DARSHAN RATHWA SH. SANTOSH BAHUGUNA
XII-SCI(A) (PGT PHYSICS)
PURPOSE

THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO verify that 63%

charge is stored in a capacitor in an R-C circuit at its time
constant and 63% charge remains when capacitor is
discharged and hence plot a graph between voltage and
time.
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INTRODUCTION
An r-c circuit is a circuit containing a resistor and
capacitor in series to a power source. such circuits
find very important applications in various areas of
science and in basic circuits which act as building
blocks of modern technological devices. it should be
really helpful if we get comfortable with the
terminologies charging and discharging of
capacitors. (1)
charging of capacitor :- a capacitor is a passive two-
terminal electrical component used to store energy
in an electric field. in the hydraulic analogy, charge
carriers flowing through a wire are analogous to
water flowing through a pipe. a capacitor is like a
rubber membrane sealed inside a pipe. water
molecules cannot pass through the membrane, but
some water can move by stretching the membrane.
the analogy clarifies a few aspects of capacitors: the
flow of current alters the charge on a capacitor, just
as the flow of water changes

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The position of the membrane. more specifically, the
effect of an electric current is to increase the charge
of one plate of the capacitor, and decrease the
charge of the other plate by an equal amount. this is
just like how, when water flow moves the rubber
membrane, it increases the amount of water on one
side of the membrane, and decreases the amount of
water on the other side.
 The more a capacitor is charged, the larger its
voltage drop, i.e., the more it "pushes back" against
the charging current. this is analogous to the fact
that the more a membrane is stretched, the more it
pushes back on the water.
 Current can flow "through" a capacitor even though
no individual electron can get from one side to the
other. this is analogous to the fact that water can
flow through the pipe even though no water
molecule can pass through the rubber membrane.
of course, the flow cannot continue the same
direction forever; the capacitor will experience
dielectric breakdown, and analogous to the fact that
water can flow through the pipe even though no
water molecule can pass through the rubber
membrane . of course, the flow cannot continue the
same direction forever; the capacitor will
experience dielectric breakdown, And analogously
the membrane will eventually break.

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  The capacitance describes how much charge can
be stored on one plate of a capacitor for a given
“push”(voltage drop) .a very stretchy,
flexible membrane corresponds to a higher capacitance
than a stiff membrane. •a charged-up capacitor is storing
potential energy, analogously to a stretched membrane.
(11) discharging of capacitor:- using hydraulic analogy
only we can understand that when the capacitor is
charged the membrane is stretched, but now if you allow
the water to come out slowly and let the membrane relax,
then it is called discharging of capacitor. in other words
when the charge on each of the plates becomes zero and
the potential difference across its terminals drops to zero.
below is a graphical description of capacitor as a pipe with
a membrane:-
1. relaxed membrane (uncharged)

2. stretched membrane (charged)

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MATERIAL REQUIRED
1. BREAD BOARD
2. 100µF CAPACITOR
3. 1ΜΩ RESISTOR
4. MULTIMETER
5. 9V BATTERY
6. WIRE STRIPPER
7. CONNECTING WIRES
8. BATTERY CONNECTOR
9. STOPWATCH

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THEORY
When a capacitor of capacitance c is connected in series
with a resistor of resistance r and then connected to a
battery of emf e it gets charged but since some resistance
has been introduced, this charging process takes some
time and hence the potential difference between the
plates of the capacitor varies as an exponential function of
time, i.e
.

The circuit diagram for this experiment is given below:-

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Applying kirchhoff's law in the above circuit during
charging, i.e. capacitor is connected to the battery
E -VC - IR= O ................. (1)
Vc= Q / C
Putting above value in eq. (i)
E-Q / C-IR = 0
SINCE I = dQ / dt
THEREFORE, E – Q/C –(dQ/dt)R = 0
E –Q/C = (dQ/dt)R
EC – Q = (dQ/dt)RC
INTEGRATING BOTH SIDES
t Q

∫( 1
RC)dt=∫
1
(
−Q dQ )
0 0 EC

-ln (EC-Q/EC) = t/RC ………….(ii)

1-Q/EC =e −t / RC

Hence we get . Q =EC(1-e −t / RC

)
Since EC=Q 0 Therefore,
Q =Q (1-e 0
−t / RC
) ………….(iii)
Here , Q Charge at time ‘ t ’
Q0 Max charge

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ALSO Q= CV AND Q = CV ,where v and V 0 0 0 are voltage
at time t and max voltage respectively.
Therefore from eq (iii),
CV=CV (1-e 0
−t / RC
)
V= V (1-e
0
−t / RC
) ,This is the required expression.
[ Note: this is the charging equation only, for discharging
equation proceed the same way but only remove e from
kirchhoff law's equation]
Thus equation for Discharging,
V= V (e
0
−t / RC
) When RC = t then equation becomes ,
V= V (e )0
−1

which on solving gives,

V=0.63 V , i.e. the voltage on capacitor at time t=RC
0

becomes 63% of the max voltage, which means 63% of

total charge has been stored in the capacitor.
This product of R and C has been given a new name, i.e.
time constant and is denoted by “τ”, which means for any
capacitor in RC circuit 63% of total charge is stored at
time constant
In my experiment I have used a 100µf capacitor and a
1μω resistor thus time constant = 100×10 ×10 =100 sec. −6 6

PROCEDURE
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1. Connect all the components in the breadboard as
shown in the following picture,

2. Now take multimeter leads and place them in the

two terminals shaped like

3. Before proceeding further we must have a bit of

knowledge about breadboard. a breadboard is a
simple circuit building device used to build temporary
circuits just to test their working. it is very simple to
work with as it does not require any soldering or

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Attachment of components. the components could be just
pushed in the holes and connections could be made easily. a
straight line pattern of holes resembles a wire and the
arrangement of these holes are shown below:-

4. Now take the battery and connect its terminals across

the terminals of the capacitor and start the stop watch.
note the readings at 20sec intervals and write them down.
[note:- reading the previous statement could be
astonishing as it says that measure voltage at 20sec
interval but one could question that current move at very
high speed so how could one measure the changing
readings! but believe me it wasn't an easy task but since
the voltage depends on reciprocal of exponential function
and as time passes by the changing readings will get
slowed down and even after infinite time the capacitor

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could not be charged up to max voltage. also since its
time constant is 100sec which is quite practical to
measure at and hence this experiment is very much
justified.]. take 10 readings and if required the 20sec gap
could be increased because as the time passes by the
change in voltage becomes smaller and smaller.
5. now let the capacitor be charged up to 460 sec
because then it will become 99.99% charged [since we
have a limited time and we can't wait for infinite time for it
to charge completely!]. now remove the battery and now
attach a wire in place of the battery terminals and again
note the multimeter readings changing and record them.
6. plot a graph between voltage and time for charging as
well as discharging

OBSERVATION

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 GRAPH :-
Plot of votage v/s Time,
Time on X- axis And Voltage on Y – axis
 For charging :-

 For discharging :-

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CALCULATION
Now since the graphs are very much similar to the
graphs of charging and discharging of capacitor.

AT T=100sec,
During charging of capacitor the voltage on capacitor is
5.69 volt as it is observed in the experiment. now using the
charging FORMULA:-
V = 9(1 - e )
−t / t

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V = 9(1 – e )
V = 5.67

Which is achieved experimentally as well. similarly during

discharging,
V=9*e −1

V= 3.32 , Which experimentally as well is achieved

experimentally as well .

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CONCLUSION
Hence it is verified experimentally that 63 %
charge is there on capacitor after time constant
during charging and 63% charge is lost at time
constant during discharging .

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PRECAUTIONS
1. Follow directions. Come to lab prepared to perform
the experiment. Follow all written and verbal
instructions. When in doubt, ask.
2. 2. Absolutely no horseplay. Be alert and attentive
at all times. Act like an adult.
3. Report all accidents, injuries or breakage to the
instructor immediately. Also, report any equipment
that you suspect is malfunctioning.
4. Dress appropriately. Avoid wearing overly-bulky
or loose-fitting clothing, or dangling jewelry that may
become entangled in your experimental apparatus.
Pin or tie back long hair and roll up loose sleeves.
5. Use goggles:
1. When heating anything.
2. When using any type of projectile.
3. When instructed to do so.
6. Use equipment with care for the purpose for which
it is intended.
7. Do not perform unauthorized experiments. Get the
instructor's permission before you try something
original.
8. Be careful when working with apparatus that may
be hot. If you must pick it up, use tongs, a wet paper
towel, or other appropriate holder .

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9. when working with electrical circuits, be sure that
the current is turned off before making adjustments in
the circuit .

BIBLOGRAPHY

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