INDEX

Topics Page no.

INTRODUCTION 1

PHOTO RESISTOR DISCOVERY 2

WHAT IS PHOTO RESISTOR? 3

AIM 8

APPARATUS 8

PROCEDURE 9

OBSERVATION 10

RESULT AND CONCLUSION 14

SOURCE OF ERROR 14

BIBLIOGRAPHY 15
 LIGHT DEPENDENT RESISTOR

INTRODUCTION
In the society, sometimes streetlights glow in the day time due
to any reason. In the mines area people face many difficulties
due to absence of light in the nights. In frontier and hilly areas,
people face many problems due to damaged street lights. To
solve these problems, we create devices in which the lights
glow at night and in day time, they turn off automatically and
don't glow. Due to its use of it, we can solve the above problems
and can also save electricity and men's power.

Light Dependent Resistor

PHOTO RESISTOR DISCOVERY
An LDR is also called a photo resistor. The idea of Photo
resistor developed when photoconductivity in Selenium was
discovered by Willoughby Smith in 1873. Many variants of the
photoconductive devices were then made. In order to represent a
Photo resistor in a circuit diagram, the symbol chosen would
indicate it to be a light dependent device along with the fact that
it is a resistor. While mostly the symbol used is shown in figure
(two arrows pointing to a resistor).

Willoughby Smith (1828 - 1891)

WHAT IS PHOTO RESISTOR?
Photo resistor is the combination of the words “photon”
(meaning light particles) and “resistor”. True to its name, a
photo-resistor is a device or we can say a resistor dependent on
the light intensity. For this reason, they are also known as light
dependent LDRs. So to define a photo-resistor in a single line :
“Photo resistor is a variable resistor whose resistance varies
inversely with the intensity of light”
From our basic knowledge about the relationship between
resistivity (ability to resist the flow of electrons) and
conductivity (ability to allow the flow of electrons), we know
that both are polar opposites of each other. Thus when we say
that the resistance decreases when intensity of light increases, it
simply implies that the conductance increases with increase in
intensity of light falling on the photo-resistor or the LDR, owing
to a property called photo-conductivity of the material. Hence
these Photo resistors are also known as photoconductive cells or
just photocell.
Uses & Applications Automatic Street Lights:
1.One of the prominent uses of Photo resistor that we experience
in daily life is in the circuits of automatic street lights, as already
hinted in the introductory paragraph. Here they are so used in a
circuit that the street lights turn on as it starts getting dark and
turns off in the morning.
2.Some of the Photo resistors are used in some of the consumer
items like light meters in cameras, light sensors like in robotic
projects, clock radios etc.
3.They are also used to control the reduction in gain of dynamic
compressors.
4.They are also considered as a good infra-red detector and
hence find application in infrared astronomy.

Automatic street light Light sensor

Types of Photo resistor:
A Photo resistor is generally made of a semiconductor material
that is used as a resistive element without any PN junction. This
essentially makes Photo resistor a passive device. According to
the type of photoconductive material the Photo resistors are of
two types:

1. Intrinsic Photo resistor: As we know, intrinsic is often

referred for a semiconductor (in this case a photoconductive
material) that is devoid of any doping. This means that the
photoconductive material used to build this Photo resistor
involves excitation of charge carriers from the valence bands to
the conduction band.

2. Extrinsic Photo resistor: Extrinsic Photo resistors have

semiconductor material with some impurity or we can say they
are doped, for better efficiency. The impurity dopants should be
shallow and should not get ionized in the presence of light.
The photoconductive material used for this Photo resistor
involves excitation of charge carriers between an impurity and
the valence band or conduction band.
Working Principle of a Photo resistor:
In order to understand the working principle of a Photo resistor,
let’s brush up a little about the valence electrons and the free
electrons. As we know valence electrons are those found in the
outermost shell of an atom. Hence, these are loosely attached to
the nucleus of the atom. This means that only some small
amount of energy is needed to pull it out from the outer orbit.
Free electrons on the other hand are those which are not attached
to the nucleus and hence free to move when an external energy
like an electric field is applied. Thus when some energy makes
the valence electron pull out from the outer orbit, it acts as a free
electron; ready to move whenever an electric field is applied.
The light energy is used to make valence electrons a free
electron. This very basic principle is used in the Photo resistor.
The light that falls on a photoconductive material is absorbed by
it which in turn makes lots of free electrons from the valence
electrons.As the light energy falling on the photoconductive
material increases, number of valence electrons that gain energy
and leave the bonding with the nucleus increases. This leads to a
large number of valence electrons jumping to the conduction
band, ready to move with an application of any external force
like an electric field. Thus, as the light intensity increases, the
number of free electrons increases. This means the
photoconductivity increases that imply a decrease in photo
resistivity of the material. Now that we have covered the
working mechanism, we got an idea that a photoconductive
material is used for the construction of a Photo resistor.
Photo resistor In a Nutshell:

● “Photons” + “Resistor” = Photo resistor: A special type of

variable resistor whose resistance depends on the intensity
of light falling on it.
● Other Names: Photoconductor, Photocell , Light dependent
resistor(LDR)
● Willoughby Smith: First scientist to discover the
photoconductivity in
● Selenium (a semiconductor) Construction: Made of
semiconductor material that is photosensitive. They do not
have any PN junction.
● Working Principle:When light falls on the photosensitive
material (or on the Photo resistor), the valence electrons
absorb the light energy and break free from the nucleus to
become free electrons. These electrons lead to flow of
current when an external force like an electric field is
applied. Applications Most common application in the
circuits of automatic street lights, and other consumer items
like light meter, light sensor etc
AIM
To study the variations, in current flowing in a circuit
containing a LDR, because of a variation:-
(a) In the power of the incandescent lamp, used to ‘illuminate’
the LDR. (Keeping all the lamps at a fixed distance).
(b) In the distance of an incandescent lamp, (of fixed
power), used to ‘illuminate’ the LDR.

APPARATUS
1. Light Dependent Resistor(LDR)

2. Connecting Wires

3. Source of different power rating(bulbs)

4. Bulb Holder

5. Meter scale

6. MultiMeter Battery
PROCEDURE

1. Choose a specific position for thesource and mount

it using a holder, make sure it is stable.
2. Select the bulb with the lowest power rating and
connect it to the holder as shown in the figure.
3. Connect the LDR, battery (6V) multimeter in series.
4. Set the multimeter to the ohm section and select a suitable
range and measure the resistance with a bulb on.
5. Similarly switch to the current section and move to
micro ampere in the multimeter. This gives the value of the
current.
6. Repeat these steps with different power sources at
different distances and note down observations.
OBSERVATIONS
The experiment has been conducted by using various sources
with different power ratings. Voltage of the battery = 6 V
OBSERVATIONS TABLE :-

(a) Variation in current of LDR with lamps of

different power, keeping distance fixed :-

S.NO Distance Source Resistance Current(mA)

between (Bulb)of (Ω)
LDR and power
source inputs
d(cm) (W)
1 10 15 1310 4.58
2 10 30 770 7.00
3 10 60 285 21.00
4 10 100 195 30.00

1 20 15 2800 2.14
2 20 60 650 9.00
3 20 100 435 13.79

1 30 15 4300 1.4
2 30 60 1000 6.00
3 30 100 660 9.00
(b)Variation in current of LDR with distance :-

FOR 15 W POWER SOURCE

S.NO Distance Resistance Current

between LDR (Ω) (µA)
and the
source d(cm)
1 4 1010 5.94
2 6 1350 4.44
3 8 1490 4.03
4 10 1610 3.73
5 12 1740 3.45
6 14 1880 3.19
7 16 2300 2.61
8 18 2540 2.36
9 20 2800 2.14
10 22 3000 2.00
11 24 3240 1.85
 FOR 60 W POWER SOURCES

S.NO Distance Resistance(Ω) Current(mA)

between
LDR and the
source d(cm)
1 4 105 57
2 6 180 33
3 8 230 26
4 10 280 21
5 12 360 16
6 14 440 13
7 16 500 12
8 18 575 10
9 20 675 8.8
10 22 740 8.1
11 24 820 7.3
 FOR 100 W POWER SOURCE

S.NO Distance Resistance(Ω) Current(mA)

between
LDR and the
source d(cm)
1 4 80 75
2 6 130 46
3 8 170 35
4 10 205 29
5 12 270 22
6 14 300 20
7 16 360 16
8 18 410 14
9 20 460 13
10 22 525 11
11 24 585 10
CONCLUSION & RESULT
1. The LDR resistance decreases with increase in intensity of
light and hence there is an increase in the flow of current.
2. There is an increase in the current as the distance from the
source decreases.
3. The intensity decreases as the distance from the
source increases.
4. The error lies within the experimental limit.

SOURCES OF ERROR
1. The LDR may not be perpendicular to the source.
2. Connections may be faulty.
3. The experiment should be conducted in a dark room.
4. Measurements should be taken accurately.
Bibliography

1. Class 12 NCERT Physics Textbook

2. www.google.co.in
3. www.wikipedia.com
4. www.yahoo.co.in
5.www.dspmuranchi.ac.in