Topic 2 - Capacitor Circuits

In the exam you are expected to know:

Maximum working voltage;
Temperature coefficient;
Polarisation and leakage current;
Use of data sheets;
Relative advantages and disadvantages of different kinds of capacitor;
Use of
Use of
R! as the time taken for a capacitor to discharge completely;
Reactance to sinusoidal wave"forms only;
Use of
#ketch graph of the variation of reactance with fre$uency;
#imple R! filter circuits as a voltage divider;
#$uare waveforms%
Use of the !R&%

How do Capacitors Work?
A capacitor is a device for storing of small amounts of charge. At its simplest
it consists of two metal plates separated by a few mm of air or other insulating
material. It stores a charge because electrons crowd onto the negative plate,
and repel electrons on the positive plate, thereby inducing an equal and
opposite charge.


You will be familiar with the units of the capacitor, Farads (F), and the
relationships associated with them. If you are not sure, this is a useful time to
revise ' ( !), as well as * ( + '), and * ( + !)
,
. hese relationships will
not be discussed further, and familiarity with them will be assumed. !efer to
A" #odule $

%apacitance is defined as&

The ratio of charge stored on an isolated conductor to the change in
potential.

'ince we have a positive and negative plate, we have an electric field.

A ( farad capacitor with its plates separated by ( mm of air would need plates
() *m () *m, which is rather impractical. A farad is a very big unit, and we
are much more li*ely to use microfarads (F) or nanofarads (nF).

he insulating gap between the plates of a capacitor is called the dielectric.
he reference dielectric is a vacuum, but air gives a value that is very similar.
+e can use a dielectric other than air. 'ome insulating materials do not affect
the capacitance of the capacitor at all, but there are others, for e,ample
polythene or wa,ed paper that ma*e the capacitance rise quite a lot.

%lic* -.!. if you want to find out about the /hysics of %apacitors.


Practical Capacitors
0ery few capacitors consist of flat plates that we have loo*ed at so far. Instead,
they consist of two layers of aluminium foil alternating between two layers of
dielectric. he whole lot is rolled up li*e a 'wiss roll to ma*e a compact shape.

Non electroltic capacitors have a mica or polyester dielectric. he value of
the capacitors made in this way is quite low, up to about () F.

!lectroltic capacitors are capable of holding a much bigger charge. he
aluminium metal plates are either side of a sheet of paper soa*ed in aluminium
borate. +hen the capacitor is charged up, there is a chemical reaction that
deposits an aluminium o,ide layer on the positive plate. his acts as the
dielectric. he electrolyte soa*ed paper acts as the negative plate.


he electrolyte itself acts as the negative plate
he aluminium o,ide layer is the dielectric.
he dielectric layer is very thin (()
1$
m), which results in a very large
capacitance. his can be as much as ()) ))) F.

"uestion # 2escribe the difference between an electrolytic and a non3
electrolytic capacitor. $N%W!&


'eakage Current
In an electrolytic capacitor there has to be a current to maintain the aluminium
o,ide layer. his is about ( mA. 4ver a period of time the charge lea*s away.
his is called the leakage current. Also it is important that the polarit of the
capacitor is correct, otherwise the aluminium o,ide layer is not made and the
component will conduct. he resulting heating effect can result in the capacitor
e,ploding.

Working (oltage
All capacitors have a ma,imum working )oltage. All insulators have a
ma,imum voltage at which they will retain their insulating properties. he
*reakdown )oltage is quoted in units of )olts per metre, so it is actually an
electric field. he brea*down voltage of air is 5))) 06mm, so a 7 mm gap will
insulate up to (7 ))) 0. he actual voltage at which the brea*down occurs
depends on the thic*ness of the material. he thinner the material, the lower
the voltage that is needed before spar*ing will occur. If spar*ing occurs over a
dielectric, then a hole will be burned in the dielectric and that is the end of the
useful life for the capacitor.

%apacitors with a high wor*ing voltage tend to be rather larger than capacitors
of the same value at a low wor*ing voltage. his is because the dielectrics tend
to be thic*er.

"uestion 2 +hat is meant by wor*ing voltage8 +hat would happen if
you used a capacitor with a wor*ing voltage of (9 0 at a voltage of $) 08
$N%W!&


%ta*ilit
As capacitors age, their values can change. his too can lead to poor stability
in circuits. he graph below shows the capacitance change with age for an
electrolytic capacitor at ()7
o
%.


From this graph, we can see that the capacitance falls as the capacitor gets
older. he effect is more mar*ed with higher temperature.

"uestion + An electronics engineer is loo*ing for a capacitor with a very
specific value. -e cannot find the right type in the catalogue but comes across
e,actly the right type in a bo, of old recycled components. +ould he be wise
to use it8
$N%W!&

Temperature Coefficient
%apacitors, especially electrolytic, can lose their capacitance, i.e. hold less
charge, when they get hot. /hysical and chemical changes can occur which
would adversely affect the performance of the capacitor (in an electrolytic
capacitor, this could be as simple as the electrolyte drying out). he e,tent to
which they do this is referred to as the temperature coefficient, which can be
used to measure how much capacitance is lost.

emperature coefficient is measured in parts per million per ,el)in (ppm6:).
You will find nothing about temperature coefficient in the standard A3level
te,ts, but it can be measured easily in a school physics laboratory.


+e can see the effect qualitatively by setting up the simple e,periment as
above&
If the capacitor is cooled down with the free;er spray, we observe that the
capacitance falls.
If we heat the capacitor with a hair dryer, we see the capacitance rise to a
ma,imum, then it starts to fall away.
+e can wor* out the temperature coefficient by wor*ing out the fraction
by which the capacitance has changed and dividing that by the temperature
change.
+e can then convert that into parts per million. ( < = () ))) ppm.

+e can show this as a graph&

>ote&
If we increase the temperature, a ma,imum value is reached, and then the
capacitance then falls away.
A mica capacitor shows hardly any change at all with temperature. Its
capacitance is stable compared with that of a ceramic bead capacitor.


his is important when capacitors are used in hot environments. his graph
shows how the capacitance of a capacitor falls as the temperature rises&


+e should note the following about this graph&
he data was gained from a "" F capacitor operating at () 0.
he capacitor was operating at (") -;
he capacitance change was measured after ())) hours.

he decrease in capacitance can change the characteristics of the circuit so
much that it will not wor* properly.

"uestion - .,plain why it is essential that the temperature in which the
circuit is going to operate at, is ta*en into consideration when choosing
capacitors. $N%W!&



Data Sheets
.lectronic engineers need to *now the specifications of the components they
are going to use. hey refer to data sheets in catalogues, which give them all
the information that they need to ma*e a choice. For capacitors, data sheets
might include&
olerance
+or*ing voltage
emperature coefficient
/hysical si;e
/rice

he table below shows data on several different values of ceramic capacitor.
hese are actual values from a catalogue.

Value (pF) Tolerance
( %)
Working
Voltage (V)
Temperature
Coefficient
(ppm/K)
Size
Thickness
iameter
(mm)
!rice
(pence
)
$.? )."7 ()) )
".7 7
(5
55) 7 ()) @57) to
3()))
".7 7
(5
$?)) () ())
()) ))) ".7 A
(5
"" ))) 3") to @A) 95
"") ))) ".7 ()
(5

>otice that some tolerances are very slac*. In many applications, this doesnBt
matter, but in others, such as tuned circuits, this can be significant.

If we needed a $?)) pF ($.? nF) capacitor to wor* in a hot environment, we
would see that its value is quite li*ely to be different to what we would e,pect,
as it has a temperature coefficient that is ()<. A high stability silvered mica
capacitor has a much lower temperature coefficient (57 ppm6:), so would be
more useful. -owever it would cost C(3"), almost () times as much.
.ifferent tpes of Capacitor


he photograph shows a variety of capacitors&

l

here are a variety of other capacitors including&
Ceramic capacitors that are suitable for use in high frequency
applications. hey have a low capacitance, but are stable at high
frequency. hey can also wor* in hot environments.
Tantalum *ead capacitors, which use an electrolytic principle.
hey are very small in si;e, but can have values of up to () F.

+e can sum up the advantages and disadvantages of each type in the table
below&

"lectrol#tic $on electrol#tic
Advantages&
-igh capacitance
%an have high wor*ing
voltages

Advantages&
2o not lose charge
/olarity does not matter
'table up to ()
9
-; (or more)
2isadvantages&
/olarity important
2isadvantages&
Dow capacitance
-igh lea*age current
>ot stable above () *-;
%an be damaged by A%



he electrolytic capacitor depends on the polarity to ma*e the aluminium o,ide
layer. It can be damaged by reverse polarity, which ma*es the capacitor less
suitable for use with alternating currents. In high frequency applications, the
o,ide layer doesnBt have time to form. herefore the capacitor ta*es an
unpredictable value, which leads to poor sta*ilit in the capacitor and the
associated circuitry.

he )aria*le capacitor consists of several plates in two stac*s. 4ne stac* is
fi,ed, while the other can be moved. he effect of this is that the overlapping
area can be altered, hence the capacitance. he variable capacitor is used in
tuning a radio


"uestion / Eive two reasons why an electrolytic capacitor is not suited to
high frequency applications.

$N%W!&

Capacitors in Series an !arallel
+e will loo* at how we can wor* out the single capacitor equivalent for
various combinations of parallel and series capacitors in a very similar way to
networ*s of resistors.

!arallel Capacitors
-ere is a circuit consisting of two capacitors in parallel. hey have values !
-

and !
,
and are connected to a battery of voltage ).

+e can see that the plates on !
-
have charge .'
-
and /'
-
, while the charge on
!
,
is .'
,
and /'
,
.

Di*e all parallel circuits the voltage across the capacitors is the same.
he total charge is the sum of the charges on the capacitors. ItBs li*e the
currents in parallel resistors adding up.

+e can say that the charge '
tot
= '
-
. '
,


+e *now that ' ( !)

!
tot
) ( !
-
) . !
,
)

he 0Bs cancel out.

C
tot
% C
&
' C
(


his is true for any number of parallel capacitors, so

C
tot
% C
&
' C
(
' C
)
' * ' C
n

"uestion 0 +hat is the single capacitor equivalent of this circuit below8
+hat is the charge on each capacitor8 +hat is the total charge8


$N%W!&



Series Capacitors
-ere is a circuit consisting of two capacitors in series. hey have values !
-

and !
,
and are connected to a battery of voltage ).

In a series circuit&
he voltages add up to the battery voltage
he current is the same all the way round. 'ince ' ( It, it is reasonable
to say that the charge that has moved is the same all the way round. If a
number of electrons of total charge of ' crowds onto the negative plates of
!
,
then the same number of electrons are repelled away from the positive
plates. hese crowd onto the negative plates of !
-
and repel the same
number away from the positive plates.

>ow we *now that ) ( '0! and that )
tot
( )
-
. )
,
. 'o we can write&



he '1s cancel out to leave us with&




his gives us a general relationship for any number of series capacitors&




"uestion 1 +hat is the single capacitor equivalent of this circuit above8
+hat is the charge on each capacitor8 +hat are the voltmeter readings8
$N%W!&

If we add up these voltages, we find that they add up to (" volts.

+e can tac*le problems that involve both series and parallel capacitors in a
similar way to the way we tac*le problems with combined series and parallel
arrays of resistors.

+hen you tac*le problems involving both series and parallel capacitors in the
same circuit, you may find it helpful to adopt the following problem solving
strategy&
+or* out the single capacitor equivalent of the parallel capacitors
hen use this answer to wor* out the single capacitor equivalent of the
series capacitors.

he following e,ample gets you to do this.

"uestion 2 +hat is the single capacitor equivalent of this circuit below8



$N%W!&

Charging+ Discharging+ Time Constant
+hen a capacitor is discharged, the graph of voltage against time is an
e3ponential deca. .,ponential decays have a half-life. !efer to A" #odule
$ for the e3ponential discharge of a capacitor and A" #odule 7 for half-life

he graph below shows the voltage decay of a 5)) F and a 9)) F capacitor.

he capacitors are discharged through a ()))) resistor.



"uestion 4 +hat is meant by the half life of a capacitor8 +hat is the half
life of the 5)) F and the 9)) F capacitor8 $N%W!&



>otice that&
he !% time constant is 5 s for the small capacitor and 9 s for the
large.
he slope of the curve is determined by both the resistance of the
resistor and the capacitance of the capacitor. he shape is e,ponential.

he general equation for the discharge of a capacitor is&

) ( )
2
e
"3t0R!4


F) is the voltageG )
2
is the start voltageG t is the time in secondsG R is the
resistanceG ! is the capacitance in farads.H

+e can use the same pattern of equation to describe the fall off in charge and
current&

' ( '
2
e
"3t0R!4
or I ( I
2
e
"3t0R!4


he term R! is called the time constant and is found by multiplying the
resistance by the capacitance. he units for time constant are seconds. +e
would have to go bac* to base units to show the e,traordinary sounding fact
that Farads 4hms = 'econds.

he voltage is after R! seconds can be wor*ed out&

) ( )
2
e
"3R!0R!4
( )
2
e
"-
e
"-
= ).59A ) ( ).59A )
2


'o the voltage (or charge or current) falls to about 5? < of its original value
after R! seconds. If we loo* at our graph above, we can see that it ta*es after 9
seconds the voltage is ).5? $) = ($.A 0.

"uestion #5 A $?) F capacitor discharges through a (" * resistor. +hat
is the time constant8 +hat is the voltage at !% seconds if the initial voltage
were (" 08

$N%W!&
.lectronic engineers use the time constant in preference to the half3life. In
theory the e,ponential decay should never allow a capacitor to discharge
completely, but in practice, a rule of thumb is that the capacitor is discharged
completely after 7R! seconds. Det us loo* at that claim in more detail&

) ( )
2
e
"3R!0R!4
( )
2
e
"
e
"
= 9.? ()
35

) ( 9.? ()
35
)
2


his is a small fraction of the original voltage, so it is reasonable to say that the
capacitor is almost completely discharged. In an electrolytic capacitor, the
lea*age current would ensure that the capacitor is completely discharged.

-igh value capacitors are used in the smoothing circuits of many electronic
components. In a 0 set, these smoothing capacitors are charged to a very high
voltage and can give a fatal shoc*, even after the set is disconnected from the
supply. .lectronic engineers are trained to discharge the capacitors before they
start wor*.
&eactance of a Capacitor
Iac* to 2ifferent :inds of %apacitor

Iac* to opic "

he following demonstration shows how a capacitor Jbloc*sK direct current,
but JallowsK alternating current to flow.


%ircuit A is connected to a 2% supply, whereas %ircuit I is connected to
an A% supply.
In %ircuit A the lamp might flash momentarily, but would then remain
unlit. In %ircuit I the lamp remains glowing at normal brightness.

It seems that in %ircuit A the current is being bloc*ed, while in %ircuit I the
current is being allowed to pass.

+e see this because the capacitor is being continually charged and discharged.
No current is flowing through the capacitor. It cannot because there is an
insulating layer. -owever we will treat the capacitor as if it were allowing a
current to flow.

If we replace the ())) F capacitor with one of ()) F, the charging and
discharging currents are less. herefore the bulb will glow less brightly. +e
can ma*e the bulb brighter again by increasing the frequency.

From this we can conclude&
Darge capacitors offer Jless oppositionK to A%.
Increasing the frequency increases the current in a circuit containing a
capacitor since the same charge flows on and off the plates in a shorter
time.

+e can sum this up in the ne,t diagram&

he reactance of a capacitor is the ratio of the voltage to the current. he
symbol for reactance is 5
!
and the units are ohms (). It is the JeffectiveK
resistance of the capacitor at a particular frequency. he reactance is lin*ed to
the capacitance, !, and the frequency, f, in the following relationship&



where&
f is the frequency in -ert;
! is the capacitance in farads.

+e can also define the reactance in terms of the rms voltage and the rms
current of a sinusoidal waveform&

5
!
( )
rms
0I
rms

*xample
A $)) F capacitor is connected to a 79 -; supply. If the supply voltage is ($ 0
rms, what is the rms current through the capacitor8
Lse to wor* out the capacitative reactance.
%urrent = ($ 0 ?.(( = #.41 $


>otice that in calculations we treat reactance li*e resistance as in 4hmBs Daw.

"uestion ## A "" F capacitor is connected to a (" 0 rms supply. It is
found that the current is () mA. +hat is the reactance of the capacitor8 +hat
is the frequency8

$N%W!&

+e can plot a graph of how the reactance varies as frequency. As 5
!
(6f, the
graph will be a hper*ola.

o get a straight line, we would need to plot 5
!
against (6f, the reciprocal of the
frequency, which is T, the period. he gradient will be "!.


he essential difference between a reacti)e and a resisti)e circuit is that&
/ower is dissipated in a resistive component
>o power is dissipated in a reactive component.

At the very simplest level&
In a resistive circuit, energy is dissipated as heat.
In a reactive circuit with a capacitor, the energy is used to build up the
electric field.


RC Filters
A capacitor in series or parallel with a resistor can be used to ma*e a filter
circuit that allows us to select frequencies. A filter circuit consisting of a
capacitor in series with a resistor can be made to act as a )oltage di)ider, in the
same way as two series resistors form a potential divider.

A series circuit with a capacitor ! and a resistor R is connected to an A% supply
of rms voltage )
s
and frequency f.


+e *now that for a series circuit, the current is the same all the way round. For
any frequency we *now that&

and that )
!
( I 5
!


+e also *now that )
R
( IR

-owever, if we add the voltages across the resistor and the capacitor, they 24
>4 add up to the supply voltage. Instead impedance is wor*ed out by )ector
addition&

"uestion #2 A series circuit consisting of a ).( F capacitor and a ")))
resistor is connected to a " 0 supply set at a frequency of ())) -;.
(a) +hat is the reactance of the capacitor8
(b) +hat is the impedance of the circuit8
(c) +or* out the current.
(d) +or* out the voltage across and the resistor.
(e) +or* out the voltage across the capacitor.

$N%W!&

If we add these two voltages up, we find that they donBt add up to " volts, but
their squares do add up to $ 0
"
.


The Function of an &C Circuit
here are occasions where a filter circuit is useful&
o boost low frequency sounds when music is played at low level. he
ear does not detect low frequency sounds very well.
Eets rid of high frequency noise such as a tape hiss
%ompensates for imperfection in sound sources.

he !% circuit we have loo*ed at is a passi)e filter circuit. It cuts treble or
bass frequencies, but cannot boost them. o boost the treble or bass, we need
an amplifier in the circuitG this is an acti)e circuit.

he !% circuit is li*e a potential divider. he potential divider is a voltage
balance, the voltages determined by the values of the resistors&


If !
(
is smaller than !
"
, then the voltage across !
"
(0
out
) will be larger
than the voltage across !
(
, and vice versa.
he voltages across both resistors add up to the supply voltage.
+e can alter the voltage balance by changing either of the resistances.

+e can lay out the !% circuit in e,actly the same way.

o analyse the circuit, we need the equations&

) ( IR

)c ( I5c

In this case the circuit is acting as a treble cut filter&
At low frequencies, the reactance of the capacitor is high. his means
that the voltage across the capacitor is high, since the current is the same
throughout the circuit.
he voltage across the resistor is low at low frequencies.
he voltages add up as vectors ()s
,
( )
R
,
. )c
,
).
At high frequencies, the reactance of the capacitor is low, so the voltage
across it is low.
here is a frequency at which the voltage across the capacitor is the same
as the voltage across the resistor. his is called the *reak fre6uenc.
herefore the reactance and the resistance are the same&


"uestion #+ A filter circuit has a () mF capacitor in series with a (
*ilohm resistor. +hat is the brea* frequency8

$N%W!&

+e can measure the voltage across the capacitor at different frequencies and
plot the log of the )oltage against the log of the fre6uenc.

A logarithm is a number e,pressed as a power of (). 'o () ))) = ()
$
.
herefore log
()
()))) = $. 'ogarithmic scales allow for a much larger range
of values to be displayed than a linear scale. 4ften they are called decade
scales.

>ote that&
he plot is almost level until the brea* frequency. here is a change in
the voltage balance, but remember that the effect will be less mar*ed as the
voltages add up as vectors. he effect is made even less by the logarithmic
scale.
he plot passes under the frequency a,is at ( volt, since log
()
( = ).
0oltages of less than ( volt will show up as negative values on the log
()
0
a,is.

If we place the input to an amplifier at 0
out
, the amplifier would amplify
preferentially the lower frequencies, since the voltage produced by higher
frequencies would be very small.

If we turn the !% circuit upside down, we get a passive *ass cut filter.


If we increase the frequency, the reactance of the capacitor goes down.
herefore the voltage across the capacitor must go down as well. 'o the
voltage balance shifts and the voltage across the resistor goes up. 0
out
will be
high when the frequency is high. A graph can be plotted of log
()
voltage
against log
()
frequency&

%6uare Wa)eforms

Iac* to opic "

Iac* to 2ifferent ypes of %apacitor

Iac* to !eactance of a %apacitor
'quare waves are used in digital circuits, which respond to signals that are
either 4> (also called JhighK and represented by () or 4FF (also called JlowK
and represented by )). #ost signal generators found in school physics labs will
have a square wave function. he photograph shows a %!4 display of square
waves.


he diagram shows how the voltage varies with time for a square wave.


+e can see that these waves have Must two values, ) 0 and @)
#
. here are no
intermediate values. hese are the *inds of waves that we find in a computer, a
series of digital pulses, the ) representing 4FF or ), and the @)
#
representing
4> or (.

If the !% circuit is connected to a square wave source, the output voltage
across the capacitor can be e,amined with a %!4.


he %!4 will not display square waves, but a saw3tooth profile.

he pattern can be e,plained&
+hen the voltage is at .)
#
, we see the capacitor charging up, and the
voltage increasing with the charge. he voltage rises e,ponentially.
+hen the voltage is ), the capacitor voltage decays e,ponentially.


he picture above shows the voltage display of a 7)) -; square wave across a
).( F capacitor in series with a ())) resistor. ( hori;ontal division (cm)
corresponds to a time period of ).7 milliseconds.

he R! time constant = ).( ()
39
F ())) = (.) ()
3$
s = 5.# ms.

/eriod, T = (6f = (67)) = ).))" s = 2 ms.

herefore the time ta*e for ( half3cycle is ( ms. If we consider that the time
ta*en for the capacitor to charge fully is about 7 R!, we can see that the
capacitor is fully charged by ).7 ms, which is ( cm on the %!4 screen.

he diagram below shows the voltage across the capacitor compared the source
square wave&

+e can alter the profile of the saw tooth by changing the R! time constant.
-ere we see a profile of a ).7 F capacitor. he !% time constant is ).7 ms.
he frequency is still 7)) -;.

-ere we can see that the capacitor has not quite fully charged up before the
reverse half cycle.

he higher the frequency, or the longer the R! time constant, the less the
capacitor gets charged up. 'o the capacitor voltage is less. his ne,t picture
shows the voltage display of the ).7 F capacitor at a frequency of ())) -;.


>otice that the voltage (vertical display) is lower than the voltage in the
previous picture. his is because the capacitor has not charged up as much.

his observation is consistent with the previous observations of the reactance
of the capacitor reducing as the frequency gets higher. 'ince ) ( I5c, if ) is
reduced, and I remains the same (as it would in a series circuit), the reactance
5c must be reduced.

>ow we will alter the circuit so that the %!4 reads the voltage across the
resistor&


"uestion #- +hat is the %!4 displaying8 .,plain your answer.
$N%W!&

he wave pattern on the %!4 is shown below&


he pattern can be e,plained&
+hen a capacitor is being charged up, the current falls e,ponentially.
+hen it gets discharged, there is also an e,ponential fall off in the
current. >otice that the current is positive when the capacitor is charged,
and negative when it is discharged.


'ince 0 = I!, we can say that the voltage across the resistor represents the
current.

+hen the charge on a capacitor is ;ero, the current flowing on the plates is a
ma,imum, while the voltage is ;ero.

'o if we increase the frequency, we will see this happening&


>otice that the current does not fall off as much as when the frequency is lower
. If we made the frequency very high the current would be very close at its
ma,imum value. In effect the capacitor would have very little JoppositionK to
the flow of the current. his is consistent with the reactance of the capacitor
being very low at high frequencies.

+e can summarise the behaviour of !% filter circuits in this table&

The Cathode &a 7scilloscope

he most important controls that we use are&
he )ertical sensiti)it setting, calibrated in 06cm.
he time *ase, in s6cm.

he %!4 is a perfect voltmeter as its input resistance is very high indeed.

!emember&
Fre,uenc# V
-
Vc .c
Dow Dow -igh -igh
Irea* Frequency 0c = 0
!
0c = 0
!
Nc = !
-igh -igh Dow Dow
+e measure the )oltage on the )ertical a,is, which is controlled by the
-plates. +e can adMust the sensitivity by turning the *nob mar*ed -gain
or )oltage gain.
he hori;ontal direction is determined by the time *ase setting. It
controls the number of times the beam is swept across the screen every
second. +e can change this by using the time *ase *nob which controls the
3-plates.

As well as analysing the waveform, there are two measurements we can ma*e
with the %!4&
+e can determine the pea* voltage of the A% waveform shown below.
+e can also read the period, which in turn allows us to wor* out its
frequency.

In the e,ample below, the y3gain and the time base are set on " 0 cm
3(
and
).7 ms cm
3(
respectively.

>otice that&
he peak to peak )oltage is (".A 0. 4ften engineers read the pea* to
pea* voltage off the %!4 as the determination of the ) level is not always
easy. he peak )oltage is half of the pea* to pea* voltage.
he root mean square voltage, which we use in electrical calculations, is
the pea* voltage divided by (")


herefore the 0rms = 9.$ " = -./ (


+e can use the %!4 as a voltmeter by placing it in parallel with a component.
+e can also use it as an ammeter by placing it across a resistor of *nown
resistance.


"uestion #/ If this resistor had a resistance of ())) , and the %!4
showed a waveform with a pea* reading of 9.$ 0, show that the pea* current
= 9 mA. +hat is the rms current8

$N%W!&
Summary
Capacitors have operational parameters such as working voltage, temperature
coefficients.

Two kinds of capacitor, electrolytic and non-electrolytic.

Parallel capacitors: C
tot
= C
1
+ C
2


Series capacitors:

RC time constant is time taken to discharge to ! " of original charge#

$alf life is time taken to discharge to %& "# t ' ( &.)* RC#

% RC is time taken to discharge completely#

Reactance:
+nits for reactance are ohms#

,reak fre-uency:

.ith s-uare waves capacitors produce saw-tooth waveforms#

These can /e displayed on a CR0#

1pk ( 2 1rms.