Project 2 Report

University of Florida EEL3008 – Physics of Electrical Engineering Devlin, Edward
ECE Department Project 2: Capacitors Hosni, Sobhi

Page 1 of 9 Project Report Template September 16th, 2019
Objective
In this lab, you will build and measure a variable capacitor. By changing the geometry
and the components of the capacitor, you will observe how capacitance varies.
Assignment Notes
• Neatly insert screenshots of your waveforms to demonstrate that the desired waveforms
were generated. Use meaningful captions in your screenshots.
• Use DAD board and Waveforms software to full advantage. In the “Scope” tool, click
“View”, “Measurements.” In the window that opens, click “+ Add” and use “Defined
Measurements”. Use your best judgment to determine which is appropriate, or trial and
error.
Questions
h) How can we use the measured capacitor voltage (vC(t)) to calculate the capacitance? What
relationships are necessary to do this? Include screenshot of your measurement.
The Thevenin voltage and resistance of the circuit can be calculated which account for the
voltage supply and two sources of resistance; Resistor and DAD probe.
→Vth = 1.4 V
→Rth = 301kΩ
Measuring the two points on the waveform, one can determine the voltages at time t0 and t1
across the capacitor. Since ⅚ variables of the equation are now known, C can be solved for
in the following equation for the capacitor in this situation. See Figure1.
i) What happens to the voltage across the capacitor when you do vary the position of the top
plate? Does this make sense? Why? Include screenshots of these results.
As the overlap surface area increases, the overall capacitance increases by C=εA/d.
And since the capacitance increases then the voltage decreases by V=Q/C.
We can see this clearly in Figure1 and Figure2.
j) What happens if you push down on the top plate with a flat object? Does this make sense?
Why? Include screenshots of these results.
By pressing down on the capacitor plates, the distance between the plates decreases which
increases the overall capacitance of the capacitor by C=εA/d. Again, since the capacitance
increases then by V=Q/C the overall voltage across the capacitor will decrease which is
represented in Figure3.
k) Calculate (theoretical) and measure (requires calculation) the capacitance of your variable
capacitor. How do those two values compare? Include screenshot of your measurement.
Theoretical Capacitance:
Measured Capacitance: (Acquired measured values from Figure3)

 t −t 
− 1 0 
Vout (t1 ) = V final − (V final − Vout (t0 ) ) e  RC 
Vout = 1.4 – (1.4 – (–502*10 – 3) e – ( 0.000219 – ( – 0.0000506)) / 0.0000001640 * 301000
Vout = 1.96 V
l) What happened to the measured capacitance when you flip the top plate? Does this make
sense? Include screenshot of your measurement.
The capacitance decreased because the distance between the plates doubled. See Figure4.
m) With the plastic serving as the dielectric, how do you expect the capacitance calculation to be
affected? Why? Include screenshot of your measurement
The permittivity of the plastic sheet will increase the capacitance of the capacitor and thusly
decrease the voltage across the capacitor. Secondarily, it will increase the distance between
the plates. The capacitance should increase since the permittivity increased the capacitance
by a factor of ~4 but the distance lowered the capacitance by a factor of ~2.
See Figure5.
n) How does the measured capacitance compare with the original capacitance that was
measured? Does this make sense? Include screenshot of your measurement
The capacitance increases. When the two plates are parallel to each other, only the inner faces
of the plates collect charge and act as capacitors. When the capacitor is rolled up as described,
essentially, the overall surface area increases by a lot. Now the “outside” surfaces of the plates
are able to contribute to the overall capacitance. See Figure6.
Appendix
Figure 1 Maximum Overlap between the Capacitor Plates

Figure 2 Varied Overlap between the Capacitor Plates

Figure 3 Object with Fixed Mass Placed on the Capacitor

Figure 4 Capacitor Top Plate Flipped

Figure 5 Capacitor Bottom Plate Flipped with Plastic Dielectric

Figure 6 Capacitor Rolled Up onto a Pencil

Project 2 Report

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Project 2 Report

Uploaded by

University of Florida EEL3008 – Physics of Electrical Engineering Devlin, Edward

ECE Department Project 2: Capacitors Hosni, Sobhi

Measured Capacitance: (Acquired measured values from Figure3)

Vout = 1.4 – (1.4 – (–50210 – 3) e – ( 0.000219 – ( – 0.0000506)) / 0.0000001640 301000

Figure 1 Maximum Overlap between the Capacitor Plates

Figure 2 Varied Overlap between the Capacitor Plates

Figure 3 Object with Fixed Mass Placed on the Capacitor

Figure 4 Capacitor Top Plate Flipped

Figure 5 Capacitor Bottom Plate Flipped with Plastic Dielectric

Figure 6 Capacitor Rolled Up onto a Pencil

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