Field Theory

EEL1176

FT1

Experiment FT1: Measurement of Dielectric Constant Name: ___________________________ 1. Objecti e:

(i) To measure the dielectric constant of paper and plastic film. (ii) To examine the energy storage capacity of a practical capacitor.

ID: _________________

!. "pparatus#components:
D po!er supply Digital multimeter !ith capacitance measurement function "# papers and plastic films (transparency)$ 1% sheets each &icrometer (to measure thic'ness of papers and plastic films) Electrolytic capacitors$ (%) 1%%% F and **%% F +esistor$ 1% '

$. T%eor&:
apacitor$ also 'no!n as an electrical condenser$ is a de,ice that can store electric charge or energy. -t can also .e used in ,arious types of circuit functions in,ol,ing/ i) 0scillator (alternate charging and discharging of the capacitor)1 ii) 2loc'ing the flo! of direct current1 iii) Filter (,arying impedance !ith respect to fre3uency). -n its simplest form$ a capacitor consists of t!o metallic plates (conductors) separated .y a non4conducti,e layer called the dielectric. The dielectric is a good

insulator (incapa.le of passing electrical current$ .ut is capa.le of passing electrical flux). 5hen a ,oltage is applied across a capacitor$ one plate .ecomes positi,ely charged$ the other negati,ely charged$ !ith the corresponding electric field directed from the positi,e to the negati,e. The capacity of a capacitor is represented .y its capacitance$ the amount of electric charge it can hold per ,olt$ or 6 7 8 ). The charge stored in a capacitor is gi,en .y 76 ) 9age 1 of 7 (1)

Field Theory !here

EEL1176 7 6 3uantity of electrical charge on one plate 6 capacitance of the capacitor ) 6 ,oltage drop across the capacitor

FT1

The capacitance of a capacitor is dependent on the si:e of the plates$ the spacing .et!een them$ and the 'ind of dielectric medium used as the insulator. For a parallel4 plate configuration$ the relationship is expressed as follo!/
C= A % r A = d d

(*)

!here 6 apacitance in farads$ F " 6 o,erlapping area of the plates in s3uare meters$ m* d 6 separation distance .et!een plates in meters$ m 6 dielectric constant of the dielectric medium o 6 free space dielectric constant (;.;(# x 1% 41* F8m) r 6 relati,e dielectric constant of the dielectric medium The a.o,e e3uation indicates that the capacitance is directly proportional to the surface area of the plates and the dielectric property of the dielectric medium. The capacitance is in,ersely proportional to the spacing .et!een the plates. For example$ dou.ling the surface area of the plates dou.les the capacitance$ and reducing the thic'ness of the dielectric .y one4half also dou.les the capacitance of a capacitor. " capacitor can .e formed !ith air (!here r 6 1) as the insulator .et!een the metal plates. 5hen air space is replaced !ith a plastic film$ it !ould .e found that the capacitance !ill increase. This increase in capacitance sho!s that plastic has a higher dielectric constant than air. -f is measured and plotted against 18d$ a straight line !ill .e o.tained$ the slope of !hich !ill .e % r A . <no!ing % and "$ the ,alue of r can .e calculated. 5hen a .attery is connected to the t!o metal plates$ the capacitor !ill .e charged up to the ,oltage of the .attery. 5hen the .attery is remo,ed$ the charges stored in the capacitor !ill remain on the metal plates. =ence$ the ,oltage across the capacitor !ill stay e,en though the .attery has .een remo,ed. This phenomenon sho!s that the capacitor is a.le to store electric charge or energy. 5hen a light .ul. is connected to the capacitor terminals$ it !ill light up. The light intensity !ill decay as the capacitor discharges through the light .ul.. The charge 3uantity decreases as the capacitor release the stored energy to the light .ul.. 9ractical capacitors use thin dielectric media !ith high dielectric constant to reduce the physical si:e of capacitor for the desired capacitance. The common types of dielectric media include aluminum oxide (electrolytic capacitor)$ mica$ glass$ ceramic$ and plastic films (polyethylene$ polypropylene$ polystyrene$ and polycar.onate).

9age * of 7

Field Theory

EEL1176

FT1

'. (roce)ure:
*i+ Measurement of Dielectric Constant 1. &easure the o,erlapping area of the parallel plates$ ".

Plate 1 Overlapping area, A Plate 2

*. >. #. (. 6. 7.

" sheet of "# si:e paper is to .e inserted .et!een the t!o plates. " fixed pressure is to .e applied .et!een the t!o plates. &easure the capacitance using a multimeter. +epeat step > .y progressi,ely adding the num.er of papers .et!een the t!o plates (up to 1% sheets). ?sing a micrometer$ measure the thic'ness for 1% sheets of papers. "ssuming the thic'ness for e,ery sheet is the same$ calculate the thic'ness for 1 sheet of paper. 9lot the graph of ,ersus 18d and determine the relati,e dielectric constant (@r) of the paper. +epeat steps * A 6 !ith plastic sheets.

*ii+ Ener,& -tora,e Capacit& 1. Bet the ,oltage of the dc po!er supply to 1*). *. onnect the negati,e terminal of the 1%%%4F electrolytic capacitor to the negati,e terminal of the dc po!er supply. onnect the other terminal of the capacitor to the positi,e terminal of the dc po!er supply. >. &easure the ,oltage across the capacitor$ )1. #. 5ithout s!itching off the dc po!er supply$ remo,e the !ire connected to the capacitor. (. &easure the ,oltage across the capacitor$ )*. 6. onnect a 1%4' resistor to the terminals of the capacitor. +ecord the discharging time or time duration for the capacitor ,oltage to decay to 1 ,olt. 7. +epeat steps 1 A 6 !ith the **%%4F electrolytic capacitor.

.. (recautions:
&a'e sure that the t!o plates are pressed !ell !ith a fixed !eight placed flat on the plates. This !ill a,oid air gaps .et!een ,arious layers. &a'e sure that the t!o plates are not shorted during the experiment. 9age > of 7

Field Theory

EEL1176

FT1

/. Measurement 0esults: *i+ Dielectric Constants of (aper an) (lastic O erlappin, "rea of (arallel (lates1 " 2 _______ m! T%ic3ness for 14 s%eets of paper1 tp10 2 _________ mm T%ic3ness for 1 s%eet of paper1 tp 2 _________ mm Table 1: Dielectric Constant of (aper
No. of (apers1 n d = n tp *mm+ 1#d *mm51+ Capacitance *nF+

1 ! $ ' . / 6 7 8 14 T%ic3ness for 14 s%eets of plastic film1 tf10 2 _________ mm T%ic3ness for 1 s%eet of plastic film1 tf 2 _________ mm Table !: Dielectric Constant of (lastic
No. of (lastic films1 n d = n tf *mm+ 1#d *mm51+ Capacitance *nF+

1 ! $ ' . / 6 7 8 14
9age # of 7

Field Theory

EEL1176

FT1

For paper1 t%e ,ra)ient of t%e ,rap%1 9C#9*1#)+ 2 ________ nF5mm T%e relati e )ielectric constant of paper1 * r+paper 2 _________ For plastic1 t%e ,ra)ient of t%e ,rap%1 9C#9*1#)+ 2 ________ nF5mm T%e relati e )ielectric constant of plastic1 * r+plastic 2 _________ Discussions: 1. Descri.e ho! !e ma'e sure the o,erlapping area of the parallel plates is consistent throughout the experimentC *. 9ropose a method to reduce the error in measuring the thic'ness of the paper 8 plastic films. >. Dustify !hether it is reasona.le to assume the thic'ness for e,ery sheet of paper 8 plastic film is the same as far as the dielectric constant measurement method concerned. #. -s the graph of ,ersus (18d) a perfect straight lineC -f not$ analy:e the causes of this de,iation. (. Dustify !hether the measurement results are satisfactory.

9age ( of 7

Field Theory

EEL1176

FT1

*ii+ Ener,& -tora,e Capacit& For 14445 F electrol&tic capacitor: :olta,e ;it% )c po;er suppl& connecte)1 :1 2 _________ : :olta,e ;it% )c po;er suppl& )isconnecte)1 :! 2 _________ : Time5constant of )isc%ar,in, circuit1 2 0 C 2 _______ s Disc%ar,in, Time1 T 2 ________ s For !!445 F electrol&tic capacitor: :olta,e ;it% )c po;er suppl& connecte)1 :1 2 _________ : :olta,e ;it% )c po;er suppl& )isconnecte)1 :! 2 _________ : Time5constant of )isc%ar,in, circuit1 2 0 C 2 _______ s Disc%ar,in, Time1 T 2 ________ s Discussions: 6. Descri.e ho! !e ma'e sure that the ,oltage is measured as accurately as possi.le. 7. 9ropose a method to reduce the error in measuring the discharging time. ;. Examine the relationship .et!een the discharging time and the time4 constant of the discharging circuit. E. Dustify !hether the measurement results are satisfactory. 1%. -f !e assume the thic'ness of dielectric media in the electrolytic capacitors is 1 m$ and the relati,e dielectric constant is *%$ compute the re3uired si:es for the parallel plates. ompare these ,alues !ith the actual si:e of the capacitors. Deduce ho! the manufacturers manage to pac' the parallel plates into the actual ,olumetric dimensions of the capacitorsC

9age 6 of 7

Field Theory

EEL1176

FT1

6. <"=O0"TO0> 0E(O0T The report should contain the follo!ing/ (1) This la. sheet (co,ering the 0.Fecti,es$ List of instruments8components$ 2asic Theory$ and Ta.ulation of o.ser,ed and computed data). (*) Graphs of the measurement results (>) Discussion$ and 9lease o.tain signature from the (#) onclusion. lecturer .efore you lea,e the la./

Date /

IM(O0T"NT NOTE- TO T?E -T@DENT-: 1. +ead the la. sheet .efore attending the experiment session. *. 2ring along the necessary G+"9= 9"9E+B and calculator to the la.. >. The completed la.oratory report must .e su.mitted to the la.oratory technician "T T=E EHD 0F T=E EI9E+-&EHT BEBB-0H. #. Each student is re3uired to su.mit an -HD-)-D?"L +E90+T.

9age 7 of 7