Charging and discharging of an electrolytic capacitor

Principle

The experiment uses a voltage sensor to investigate the charging and discharging process of an electrolytic capacitor over time. A changeover switch is used to switch the electrolytic capacitor and a resistor back and forth between a circuit with a power supply unit (charging process) and without a power supply unit (discharging process).

Tasks

1. Investigate the voltage curve of the electrolytic capacitor over time during the charging and discharging process.

Learning objectives

The aim of this experiment is to investigate and understand the voltage curve of the electrolytic capacitor over time during the charging and discharging process.

Advantages

• Simple setup in just a few minutes.
• High resolution data acquisition (up to 10 kHz).
• Improved media competence.
• Safe student power supply (RiSU-compliant).