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Energy Storage in a Capacitor

Capacitors play a crucial role in the operation electronic devices and electrical power distribution systems. One way of understanding their function is to think of them as storing energy in a form that can then be used to drive electric currents that perform various tasks like lighting a bulb, turning a motor, or speeding up the switch from one state of a transistor to another. In this lab, we will study the amount of energy stored in a capacitor and the dependence of the energy on how strongly the capacitor is charged up. In doing an experiment where the electrical energy of the capacitor is converted into mechanical work, we will also get a chance to think about how much energy is lost due to friction and electrical heating.

Equipment
Capacitor: This lab makes use of a large capacitor (1 Farad), which will allow us to store a substantial amount of energy. As for any capacitor, however, the amount of energy one can store is limited because applying too big a potential difference between the plates will cause material failure. For the capacitors used in this lab, the maximum potential difference is 5 Volts. This lab also makes use of an electric motor, which is a device that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. For now, the conversion process will remain mysterious, but we will study the relevant physics later in the semester. To protect from wear and tear, the capacitors are housed inside black boxes (see the handout showing the capacitor boxes and wires). Each black box has a control switch that can be flipped in two directions. When you release the switch, it will turn off immediately; this is for safety. When you flip the switch towards the two terminals on top of the box, you complete a circuit that allow the charge on the capacitor to flow through whatever device is connected to the terminals. We say the capacitor discharges as it drives the current. You can also flip the switch in the opposite direction, towards the long wire that extends from the back of the box. The ends of this wire should be connected to the terminals of your power supply, and so flipping the switch in this direction will charge the capacitor. A charged capacitor can retain most of its energy for up to several hours. However, some charge will begin to leak off immediately, and so (for the sake of collecting good data in this lab) you should always use your capacitor immediately after you charge it. Electric motor: Your electric motor has two long wires, which terminate in banana plugs. These banana plugs can be connected to the terminals on top of your capacitor box, or they can be connected straight to the power supply. You can reverse the motor by reconnecting the wires so that the current flows in the opposite direction. In this lab, you will only need to run the motor in one direction.

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Power supply: The power supply is a type that has been used in some of your past labs, but until this point we havent discussed all of its capabilities. Each supply has an AC (Alternating Current) section and a DC (Direct Current) section. During this lab, we will only use the DC section, which is on the left side of the supply and is demarcated by a red and a black banana socket. Please do not adjust the voltage to more than 4V during this lab. (It will ruin the capacitors!) The DC supply has a current limiter adjustment, which limits the maximum current in your circuit. Please do not change this setting. The power supply has a built-in voltmeter. It is not as accurate, however, as the digital voltmeter available at your station. You should use the digital voltmeter all voltage measurements in this lab!

Procedures
Our goal in this lab is to study how the energy stored in a capacitor depends on the voltage used to charge it up. We will do this by using the stored energy to run a motor and seeing how high it can lift a known weight. Using the electric motor Before putting the capacitor to work, take a moment to familiarize yourself with the operation of the motor by hooking it up directly to the power supply: First, tie a long (~2 meter) length of string to the plastic pulley, and tie a small loop in the free end of the string so that you can hang masses. Then turn on the power supply and adjust it to 4V. (Please do not exceed 5V during this lab. Your TA has been instructed to subtract 3 points from your score if you do). Now connect the motor's wires directly to the power supply, and try lifting up a 100g mass. Try this at several different voltage settings between 1.5V and 5V. Taking data Go to your course folder on the desktop and open the file capacitor-energy.cmbl. Your Logger Pro voltage and current sensors are capable of taking data in real time, and you will be using this capability. However, if you only need to make a single voltage measurement, there is no need to actually collect data; simply use the real-time numerical readouts on your computer screen.

Experiment 1: Power delivered by the motor and work done

Connect the current and voltage sensors so that they can monitor the current running through the motor and the voltage difference across it. Use the following setup:

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Current sensors should always be connected in such a way that the current through them must pass through some other device before returning to the power supply.

Diagram 1. How to properly connect the sensors. Notice that removing the current sensor (I) will break the circuit and the motor will stop, whereas removing the voltage sensor (V) will allow the motor to remaining running.

WARNING: Connecting the current sensor to form a loop from one

side of the power supply to the other (like the voltage sensor) result in a very high current and a great deal of smoke!! It must be spliced into the circuit as shown. If you have any doubts, please ask your TA to help.

Turn your power supply on and adjust it to 3 volts (3V). In the following activities, it is best to leave your power supply turned on, then begin collecting data, and last to activate your circuit by plugging the positive banana cable quickly into your power supply. To turn off the circuit, simply pull the banana plug out. Hang 100 grams of mass on your string, and let out enough length so that the mass nearly touches the floor. When you hit the collect button in Logger Pro, you should see plots of the voltage applied to the motor and the current through it as functions of time. (Be sure to zero your sensors first.) Plug in the banana plug and allow the mass to be lifted 1 m before pulling the plug out. Note the amount of time required. Question 1. Question 2. How much work did the motor do in raising the mass one meter? How much average power did the motor deliver during the ascent?

Efficiencyof the electricmotor It turns out that the power delivered from the supply to the motor can be measured by monitoring the voltage and current sensors. (We will study this in more depth later in the course.) The power flowing to the motor at any given instant is the product of the current and the voltage: P = IV. Logger Pro can monitor both I and V simultaneously, so you can monitor the power being delivered to the motor as the weight is being lifted. Question 3. Do you expect the power delivered to the motor to be the same as the power delivered by the motor to the weight? If not, why not; and how big a discrepancy do you expect?

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The ratio of the power delivered by the motor to the power delivered to the motor is called the efficiency. Let's use the Greek letter for this quantity:

Using data recorded in Logger Pro for one run at 3V, find the efficiency of the motor and record it here. (Explain how you measured it.)

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Experiment 2: Energy stored in the capacitor

Disconnect your circuit from the power supply, and disconnect the sensors (you will not need them). Connect the motor to the capacitor module. Refer to the handout and connect the capacitor module's wires to the power supply as indicated. Please raise your hand and have your TA inspect your work. Your TA should initial below: TA Initials: __________ You should be able to charge the capacitor by holding the toggle switch down in the correct direction. When you toggle the switch in the other direction, the capacitor will drive your motor. Set the power supply to 2V, and charge the capacitor. As you do this, observe the current readout on your power supply. If you miss what happens, discharge your capacitor through your motor and try again. Question 4. Question 5. Describe what happens to the current after you throw the switch. What is the voltage across the capacitor when the current goes to zero?

Prediction: (Just for fun.) How high above its initial position do you think your motor can lift a100g mass using only the energy stored in the capacitor? Perform the experiment. Question 6: How far did the motor raise the mass before it stopped turning?

Now we would like to figure out how much energy was stored in the capacitor, but there is a complication that we must take into account. The problem is that the efficiency of the motor gets much lower at low power (i.e., low voltage) and the motor actually stops turning when the applied voltage drops below about 0.7V. This means that the weight stops rising before all of the energy in the capacitor is used up. We will let Estop represent the energy left in the capacitor when the motor stops turning. That is, the initial energy E in the capacitor is Estop plus whatever energy was used to lift the weight. Question 7: In terms of the height the mass was raised and the unknown quantity Estop, how much energy was stored in the capacitor? (Careful here! Remember that the motor does not operate at 100% efficiency.)

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Prediction: On the axes below, draw a curve showing (in a general way) a prediction for the relationship between the voltage used to charge the capacitor and the final height of the mass:

al hei

FFin Initial Voltage

Go to the second page of capacitor-energy.cmbl. You should see a blank graph labeled Height vs. Voltage and an empty data table with several different columns. These are manual-entry columns, meaning that you can type your data as in a spreadsheet. Measure the vertical displacement of a 100g mass for 5 different voltages used to charge the capacitor, in a range between 2V and 3V. Data points will be plotted as you enter them. Remember to turn in your graph with your report! Remember also that your capacitor loses charge slowly, so you will obtain the best data if you run the motor right away after charging the capacitor. If your data points jump around or seem noisy, you may want to re-examine your experimental methods. Question 8. Examining your plot of height vs. voltage, what shape of curve does this seem to be? Explain your reasoning. How did your prediction pan out? Use Logger Pro's curve-fitting function to fit the curve you specified in Question 8. Your TA will be able to assist you if you are rusty. Print out your result. How well does your curve seem to fit the data? Can you find a different curve that fits the data better? Experiment with several possibilities, and print out the best one. Question 9. [The big one!] How does the energy stored in your capacitor depend on the voltage used to charge it up? Write a formula for the stored energy as a function of V. Question 10. How would you expect your formula to change if you used a different capacitor?