Discharging a capacitor via resistors with Cobra SMARTsense

Principle

In this experiment, voltage curves are measured during the discharge process of a capacitor in the RC circuit. Various resistors are used to investigate the relationship between the half-life and the respective resistance values.

Tasks

Investigate the influence of electrical resistance on the half-life when discharging a capacitor.

Learning objectives

Students learn to understand the discharging process of a capacitor in an RC circuit and to recognize its dependence on different resistance values. They also determine the relationship between the half-life of the discharge process and the resistance of the capacitor.