RC Circuits: Measuring Capacitance

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on measuring capacitance in RC circuits, specifically addressing the confusion between the time constant (τ = RC) and the half-life time (T1/2). The participant initially believed that the slope of the T versus R graph directly indicated capacitance as 4.00μF. However, it was clarified that the correct approach involves deriving an expression for T1/2 in terms of resistance (R) and capacitance (C) to accurately determine capacitance.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of RC circuit fundamentals
  • Knowledge of time constants in electrical circuits
  • Familiarity with graphing and interpreting slope in scientific data
  • Basic algebra for deriving expressions
NEXT STEPS
  • Derive the expression for T1/2 in terms of R and C
  • Study the relationship between time constants and capacitance in RC circuits
  • Learn about the practical measurement techniques for capacitance
  • Explore the implications of different capacitance values on circuit behavior
USEFUL FOR

Electronics students, hobbyists working with RC circuits, and engineers involved in circuit design and analysis will benefit from this discussion.

amwil
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Homework Statement
To measure the capacitance C of a capacitor, you attach the capacitor to a battery and wait until it is fully charged. You then disconnect the capacitor from the battery and let it discharge through a resistor of resistance R. You measure the time T1/2 that it takes the voltage across the resistor to decrease to half its initial value at the instant that the connection to the capacitor is first completed. You repeat this for several different resistors. You plot the data as T1/2 versus R and find that they lie close to a straight line that has slope 4.00 μF.
What is the capacitance C of the capacitor?
Relevant Equations
T=RC
I thought that if the slope of the T versus R graph is 4.00μF, then the capacitance would be 4.00μF but it says that's wrong. I know I'm doing something wrong but I'm not sure how to approach this problem. Can someone help?
 
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If you have measured the time constant ##\tau = RC## and plotted ##\tau## vs. R, you would indeed find the slope to correspond to ##C##, but you didn't measure ##\tau##. You measured ##T_{1/2}##. Try deriving an expression for ##T_{1/2}## in terms of ##R## and ##C##.
 
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