ANKARA UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING
DEPARTMENT OF BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING

PHY0152 PHYSICS LABORATORY II

PHY162 PHYSICS LABORATORY II

EXPERIMENT 5
Charging and Discharging a Capacitor
(RC Circuits)

STUDENT GUIDE

06.04.2021

1
1. Purpose
The purpose of this experiment is:
1. To determine the speed of charge / discharge of a capacitor in a RC circuit,
2. To establish a connection with the circuit element values and charging/discharging time,
3. To provide an understanding of “time constant” concept of charging and discharging
circuits.
ATTENTION: This information will be gained by measuring the current passing through
the charging and discharging RC circuits and by analysing how the current changes
according to time.
2. Capacitor

Figure 1: A capacitor consists of two conductors.

Consider two conductors carrying charges of equal magnitude but of opposite sign, as shown
in Figure 1. Such a combination of two conductors is called a capacitor. The conductors are
called plates. A potential difference ∆𝑉 exists between the conductors due to the presence of
the charges. Because the unit of potential difference is the volt, a potential difference is often
called a voltage. We shall use this term to describe the potential difference across a circuit
element or between two points in space. What determines how much charge is on the plates of
a capacitor for a given voltage? Experiments show that the quantity of charge 𝑄 on a capacitor
is linearly proportional to the potential difference between the conductors. The proportionality
constant depends on the shape and separation of the conductors! This relationship can be
written as 𝑄 = 𝐶∆𝑉. The capacitance 𝐶 of a capacitor is defined as the ratio of the
magnitude of the charge on either conductor to the magnitude of the potential difference
between the conductors:
𝑄
𝐶= (1)
∆𝑉

2
Note that by definition capacitance is always a positive quantity. Furthermore, the charge 𝑄
and the potential difference ∆𝑉 are always expressed in Equation (1) as positive quantities.
Because the potential difference increases linearly with the charge, the ratio 𝑄/∆𝑉 is constant
for a given capacitor. Therefore, capacitance is a measure of a capacitor’s ability to store
charge and electric potential energy.
From Equation (1), we see that capacitance has SI units of coulombs per volt. The SI unit of
capacitance is the farad (F), which was named in honour of Michael Faraday: 𝟏 𝑭 = 𝟏 𝑪/𝑽.
ATTENTION:
 Any two conductors separated by an insulator (or vacuum) form a capacitor. A capacitor is
a circuit element that accumulates charge when connected to a circuit. This accumulating
charge gives rise to a voltage difference ∆𝑉 across its terminals (plates). In most practical
applications, each conductor initially has zero net charge and electrons are transferred from
one conductor to the other. This is called charging the capacitor. Then, the two conductors
have charges with equal magnitude and opposite sign, and the net charge on the capacitor as
a whole remains zero.
 When we say that a capacitor has charge 𝑄 (or, a charge 𝑄 is stored on the capacitor), we
mean that the conductor at higher potential has charge +𝑄 and the conductor at lower potential
has charge – 𝑄.
 The electric field at any point in the region between the conductors is proportional to the
magnitude 𝑄 of charge on each conductor. It follows that the potential difference between the
conductors is also proportional to 𝑄.
 In the simple act of charging or discharging a capacitor, we find a situation in which
the currents, voltages and powers do change with time!
3. RC Circuits
In DC circuits containing capacitors, the current is always in the same direction but may vary
in magnitude at different times. A circuit containing a series combination of a resistor and a
capacitor is called an RC circuit.
4. Charging a Capacitor
Figure 2a shows a simple series RC circuit. Let us assume that the capacitor in this circuit is
initially uncharged. There is no current while switch is open (Figure 2b). If the switch is
thrown to position 𝑎 at 𝑡 = 0 (Figure 2c), however, charge begins to flow, setting up a current
in the circuit, and the capacitor begins to charge. Note that during charging, charges do not
jump across the capacitor plates because the gap between the plates represents an open circuit.
3
Instead, charge is transferred between each plate and its connecting wire due to the electric field
established in the wires by the battery, until the capacitor is fully charged. As the plates are
being charged, the potential difference across the capacitor increases. The value of the
maximum charge depends on the voltage of the battery. Once the maximum charge is
reached, the current in the circuit is zero because the potential difference across the
capacitor matches that supplied by the battery.

(a) (b)

(c) (d)
Figure 2: A pictorial representation of a capacitor in series with a resistor, switch, and battery
(a), a circuit diagram of a capacitor in series with a resistor, switch, and battery (b), when the
switch is thrown to position 𝑎 (c), and when the switch is thrown to position 𝑏 (d).
To analyse this circuit quantitatively, let’s apply Kirchhoff’s loop rule to the circuit after the
switch is thrown to position 𝑎. Traversing the loop in Figure 2c clockwise gives
𝑞(𝑡)
𝜀− − 𝑖(𝑡)𝑅 = 0 (2)
𝐶

where, 𝑞/𝐶 is the potential difference across the capacitor and 𝑖𝑅 is the potential difference
across the resistor. The electromotive force (emf) 𝜀 of a battery is the maximum possible voltage
the battery can provide between its terminals. The capacitor is traversed in the direction

4
from the positive plate to the negative plate, which represents a decrease in potential.
Therefore, we use a negative sign for this potential difference in Equation (2). Note that
lowercase 𝑞(𝑡 ) and 𝑖 (𝑡 ) are instantaneous values that depend on time as the capacitor is being
charged.
We can use Equation (2) to find the initial current 𝐼𝑖 in the circuit and the maximum charge
𝑄𝑚𝑎𝑥 on the capacitor. At the instant the switch is thrown to position 𝑎 (𝒕 = 𝟎), the charge
on the capacitor is zero. Equation (2) shows that the initial current 𝑰𝒊 in the circuit is a
maximum and is given by
𝜀
𝐼𝑖 = (current at 𝑡 = 0) (3)
𝑅
At this time, the potential difference from the battery terminals appears entirely across the
resistor. Later, when the capacitor is charged to its maximum value 𝑸𝒎𝒂𝒙 , charges cease to
flow, the current in the circuit is zero, and the potential difference from the battery terminals
appears entirely across the capacitor. Substituting 𝑖 = 0 into Equation (2) gives the maximum
charge on the capacitor:
𝑄𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 𝐶𝜀 (maximum charge) (4)
To determine analytical expressions for the time dependence of the charge and current, we
must solve Equation (2), a single equation containing two variables 𝑞 and 𝑖 . The current in
all parts of the series circuit must be the same. Therefore, the current in the resistance 𝑅
must be the same as the current between each capacitor plate and the wire connected to it. This
current is equal to the time rate of change of the charge on the capacitor plates. Therefore,
we substitute 𝑖 = 𝑑𝑞/𝑑𝑡 into Equation (2) and rearrange the equation:
𝑑𝑞 𝜀 𝑞
= − (5)
𝑑𝑡 𝑅 𝑅𝐶

To find an expression for 𝑞 , we solve this separable differential equation as follows. First
combine the terms on the right-hand side:
𝑑𝑞 𝐶𝜀 𝑞 𝑞−𝐶𝜀
= − =− (6)
𝑑𝑡 𝑅𝐶 𝑅𝐶 𝑅𝐶

Multiply this equation by 𝑑𝑡 and divide by 𝑞 − 𝐶𝜀 :

𝑑𝑞 1
=− 𝑑𝑡 (7)
𝑞−𝐶𝜀 𝑅𝐶

Integrate this expression, using 𝑞 = 0 at 𝑡 = 0:

𝑞 𝑑𝑞 1 𝑡
∫0 =− ∫ 𝑑𝑡 (8)
𝑞−𝐶𝜀 𝑅𝐶 0

5
 𝑞−𝐶𝜀 𝑡
ln ( ) = − 𝑅𝐶 (9)
−𝐶𝜀
From the definition of the natural logarithm, we can write this expression as

𝒒(𝒕) = 𝑪𝜺(𝟏 − 𝒆−𝒕/𝑹𝑪 ) = 𝑸𝒎𝒂𝒙 (𝟏 − 𝒆−𝒕/𝑹𝑪 ) (10)

where 𝑒 is the base of the natural logarithm and we have made the substitution from Equation
(9).
We can find an expression for the charging current by differentiating Equation (10) with
respect to time. Using 𝑖 = 𝑑𝑞/𝑑𝑡 , we find that
𝜺
𝒊(𝒕) = 𝒆−𝒕/𝑹𝑪 (11)
𝑹
Plots of capacitor charge and circuit current versus time are shown in Figure 3. Notice that
the charge is zero at 𝒕 = 𝟎 and approaches the maximum value 𝑪𝜺 as 𝒕 ⟶ ∞. The
current has its maximum value 𝑰𝒊 = 𝜺/𝑹 at 𝒕 = 𝟎 and decays exponentially to zero as
𝒕 ⟶ ∞. The quantity 𝑹𝑪, which appears in the exponents of Equations (10) and (11), is
called the time constant 𝝉 of the circuit:
𝝉 = 𝑹𝑪 (12)
The time constant represents the time interval during which the current decreases to 𝟏/𝒆
of its initial value; that is, after a time interval 𝝉, the current decreases to 𝒊 = 𝒆−𝟏 𝑰𝒊 =
𝟎. 𝟑𝟔𝟖𝑰𝒊 . After a time interval 2𝜏, the current decreases to 𝑖 = 𝑒 −2 𝐼𝑖 = 0.135𝐼𝑖 , and so forth.
Likewise, in a time interval 𝜏, the charge increases from zero to 𝐶𝜀 = [1 − 𝑒 −1 ] = 0.632𝐶𝜀 .

(a) (b)
Figure 3: Plot of capacitor charge versus time for the circuit shown in Figure 2c (a) and
Plot of current versus time for the circuit shown in Figure 2c (b).

6
The following dimensional analysis shows that 𝜏 has units of time:
∆𝑉 𝑄 𝑄
[𝜏] = [𝑅𝐶] = [( ) ( )] = [ ] = [∆𝑡] = 𝑇 (13)
𝐼 ∆𝑉 𝑄/∆𝑡

Because 𝜏 = 𝑅𝐶 has units of time, the combination 𝑡/𝑅𝐶 is dimensionless, as it must be to be

an exponent of 𝑒 in Equations (10) and (11).
5. Discharging a Capacitor
Imagine that the capacitor in Figure 2c is completely charged. An initial potential difference
𝑄𝑖 /𝐶 exists across the capacitor, and there is zero potential difference across the resistor
because 𝒊 = 𝟎. If the switch is now thrown to position 𝑏 at 𝑡 = 0 (Figure 2d), the capacitor
begins to discharge through the resistor. At some time 𝑡 during the discharge, the current in
the circuit is 𝑖 (𝑡 ) and the charge on the capacitor is 𝑞(𝑡 ). The circuit in Figure 2d is the same
as the circuit in Figure 2c except for the absence of the battery. Therefore, we eliminate the
emf 𝜀 from Equation (2) to obtain the appropriate loop equation for the circuit in Figure 2d:
𝑞
− − 𝑖(𝑡)𝑅 = 0 (14)
𝐶

When we substitute 𝑖 = 𝑑𝑞/𝑑𝑡 into this expression, it becomes

𝑑𝑞 𝑞
−𝑅 = (15)
𝑑𝑡 𝐶
𝑑𝑞 1
=− 𝑑𝑡 (16)
𝑞 𝑅𝐶

Integrating this expression using 𝑞 = 𝑄𝑖 at 𝑡 = 0 gives

𝑞 𝑑𝑞 1 𝑡
∫𝑄 =− ∫ 𝑑𝑡 (17)
𝑖 𝑞 𝑅𝐶 0
𝑞 𝑡
ln ( ) = − (18)
𝑄 𝑅𝐶𝑖

𝒒(𝒕) = 𝑸𝒊 𝒆−𝒕/𝑹𝑪 (19)

Differentiating Equation (19) with respect to time gives the instantaneous current as a function
of time:
𝑸𝒊
𝒊(𝒕) = − 𝒆−𝒕/𝑹𝑪 (20)
𝑹𝑪

where 𝑄𝑖 /𝑅𝐶 = 𝐼𝑖 is the initial current. The negative sign indicates that as the capacitor
discharges, the current direction is opposite its direction when the capacitor was being
charged. (Compare the current directions in Figures 2c and 2d.) Both the charge on the
capacitor and the current decay exponentially at a rate characterized by the time constant
𝝉 = 𝑹𝑪.

7
6. Experimental Procedures
6.1 Instruments for the Experiment:
 DC Power Supply
 Electricity laboratory set
 Capacitors
 Connection Cables
 Resistors
 AVOmeter
6.2 Section 1 Charging & Discharging a Capacitor (𝑹 = 𝟏𝟎 𝒌𝜴):
1. Construct the RC circuit shown in Figure 4 below by using the board.
2. If the capacitor you are using is a polar capacitor, please note that the positive terminal must
be connected to the positive end of the power supply and the negative terminal to the negative
end of the power supply.

Figure 4: RC circuit.
3. Set the voltage at the output of the power supply to 5 volts by holding the S switch in the
neutral state.
4. Make sure that the initial charge on the capacitor is zero and turn switch S to the “charging”
position. At the same time, start the chronometer and record the current you have read every 2
seconds with an ammeter and write to Table 1.
5. After the capacitor has been fully charged (there is no current passing through the load
circuit), turn the S switch to the “discharging” position. At the same time, start the stopwatch
and record the current data you read every 2 seconds from ammeter to Table 2.
6. Plot the graph of current versus time for “Charging” and “Discharging” of a capacitor
for 𝑅 = 10 𝑘𝛺 on a millimetric paper using Table 1 and Table 2, respectively.
Do not forget that Ammeters are connected in series so that the current flows through them.
The ideal ammeter has a resistance of zero. Real ammeters have some internal resistance.
8
Voltmeters are connected in parallel to elements in the circuit so that they measure the potential
difference across (on each side of) the element.
Table 1: Current measured during the charging of the capacitor for 𝑅 = 10 𝑘𝛺.
𝒕 (𝒔) 𝑰 (𝒎𝑨) 𝒕 (𝒔) 𝑰 (𝒎𝑨)
0 26
2 28
4 30
6 32
8 34
10 36
12 38
14 40
16 42
18 44
20 46
22 48
24 50

Table 2: Current measured during the discharging of the capacitor for 𝑅 = 10 𝑘𝛺.
𝒕 (𝒔) 𝑰 (𝒎𝑨) 𝒕 (𝒔) 𝑰 (𝒎𝑨)
0 26
2 28
4 30
6 32
8 34
10 36
12 38
14 40
16 42
18 44
20 46
22 48
24 50

9
7. Use the graphs plotted by you to determine the time constant taken for the current to
decrease to 36.8% of the initial value and show it on the graph.
8. Theoretically calculate the time constant (τ) and then fill the values in Table 3.
9. Compare the theoretical time constant (τ) with the experimental values you obtained from
the graphs for charging and discharging of a capacitor.
Table 3: Time constant (τ) calculations for 𝑅 = 10 𝑘𝛺.
𝝉 (𝒔)
Experimental value for charging capacitor
Experimental value for discharging capacitor
Theoretical value
10. Write expressions for the time dependence of the charge and current for a charging
capacitor using Equations (10) and (11). Also write these expressions for different times
when 𝒕 = 𝟎 and 𝒕 ⟶ ∞. And comment these expressions for these limit values of time!

𝒒(𝒕) = 𝑪𝜺(𝟏 − 𝒆−𝒕/𝑹𝑪 ) = 𝑸𝒎𝒂𝒙 (𝟏 − 𝒆−𝒕/𝑹𝑪 ) (10)

𝜺
𝒊(𝒕) = 𝒆−𝒕/𝑹𝑪 (11)
𝑹
11. Write expressions for the time dependence of the charge and current for a discharging
capacitor using Equations (19) and (20). Also write these expressions for different times
when 𝒕 = 𝟎 and 𝒕 ⟶ ∞. And comment these expressions for these limit values of time!
Compare the expressions obtained for a charging and discharging capacitor!
𝒒(𝒕) = 𝑸𝒊 𝒆−𝒕/𝑹𝑪 (19)
𝑸𝒊
𝒊(𝒕) = − 𝒆−𝒕/𝑹𝑪 (20)
𝑹𝑪

6.3 Section 2 Charging & Discharging a Capacitor (𝑹 = 𝟐𝟎 𝒌𝜴):

1. Repeat steps from 1 to 5 for the circuit in Figure 5 in which 𝑅 = 20 𝑘𝛺 and note the data
to Table 4 and Table 5 for charging and discharging of a capacitor, respectively.

Figure 5: RC circuit with different resistor.

10
2. Plot the graph of current versus time for “Charging” and “Discharging” of a capacitor
for 𝑅 = 20 𝑘𝛺 on a millimetric paper using Table 4 and Table 5.

Table 4: Current measured during the charging of the capacitor for 𝑅 = 20 𝑘𝛺.
𝒕 (𝒔) 𝑰 (𝒎𝑨) 𝒕 (𝒔) 𝑰 (𝒎𝑨)
0 42
2 44
4 46
6 48
8 50
10 52
12 54
14 56
16 58
18 60
20 62
22 64
24 66
26 68
28 70
30 72
32 74
34 76
36 78
38 80
40

11
 Table 5: Current measured during the discharging of the capacitor for 𝑅 = 20 𝑘𝛺.
𝒕 (𝒔) 𝑰 (𝒎𝑨) 𝒕 (𝒔) 𝑰 (𝒎𝑨)
0 42
2 44
4 46
6 48
8 50
10 52
12 54
14 56
16 58
18 60
20 62
22 64
24 66
26 68
28 70
30 72
32 74
34 76
36 78
38 80
40 82

3. Use the graphs plotted by you to determine the time constant taken for the current to
decrease to 36.8% of the initial value and show it on the graph.
4. Theoretically calculate the time constant (τ) and then fill the values in Table 6.
5. Compare the theoretical time constant (τ) with the values you obtained from the graphs for
charging and discharging of a capacitor.
Table 6: Time constant (τ) calculations for 𝑅 = 20 𝑘𝛺.
𝝉 (𝒔)
Experimental value for charging capacitor
Experimental value for discharging capacitor
Theoretical value

12
6.4 Section 3 Charging & Discharging a Capacitor (The time dependence of the voltage):
The instantaneous voltage of a charging capacitor as a function of time is given by

𝑽𝑪 (𝒕) = 𝜺(𝟏 − 𝒆−𝒕/𝑹𝑪 ) (21)

Plot of capacitor voltage versus time for a charging capacitor is shown in Figure 6a. Notice
that the voltage is zero at 𝒕 = 𝟎 and approaches the maximum value 𝑽𝒎𝒂𝒙 = 𝜺 as 𝒕 ⟶ ∞.
The time constant 𝑹𝑪 represents the time interval during which the voltage increases to
𝟏
(𝟏 − 𝒆) of its initial value; that is, after a time interval 𝝉, the voltage increases to 𝑽𝑪 =

(𝟏 − 𝒆−𝟏 )𝜺 = 𝟎. 𝟔𝟑𝟐𝜺.
The instantaneous voltage of a discharging capacitor as a function of time is given by
𝑽𝑪 (𝒕) = 𝜺𝒆−𝒕/𝑹𝑪 (22)
Plot of capacitor voltage versus time for a discharging capacitor is shown in Figure 6b.
Notice that the voltage is 𝑽𝒊 = 𝜺 at 𝒕 = 𝟎 and decays exponentially to zero as 𝒕 ⟶ ∞. The
time constant 𝑹𝑪 represents the time interval during which the current decreases to 𝟏/𝒆
of its initial value; that is, after a time interval 𝝉, the current decreases to 𝒊 = 𝒆−𝟏 𝑰𝒊 =
𝟎. 𝟑𝟔𝟖𝑰𝒊 .

(a) (b)
Figure 6: Plot of capacitor voltage versus time for charging capacitor (a) and
Plot of capacitor voltage versus time for discharging capacitor (b).

1. Plot the graph of voltage versus time for “Charging” and “Discharging” of a capacitor
on a millimetric paper.

13
2. Use the “Charging” graph plotted by you to determine the time constant taken for the
voltage to increase to 63.2% of the voltage (𝜺 = 𝟓 𝑽) and show it on the graph.
6. Use the “Discharging” graph plotted by you to determine the time constant taken for
the voltage to decrease to 36.8% of the voltage (𝜺 = 𝟓 𝑽) and show it on the graph.
7. Theoretically calculate the time constant (τ) and then fill the values in Table 7.
8. Compare the theoretical time constant (τ) with the values you obtained from the graphs for
charging and discharging of a capacitor.
Table 7: Time constant (τ) calculations of your experiment.
𝝉 (𝒔)
Experimental value for charging capacitor
Experimental value for discharging capacitor
Theoretical value

14