Please help with LCR Circuits...

Thread Starter

samantha3101

Joined Mar 26, 2009
2
I'm new to this so sorry if someone has already written something about this subject :)

I'm stuck on what i'm actually meant to be looking for in LCR circuit. In my experiement we had to draw a table with three headings; frequency, voltage and current. voltage was a constant at 3.00v and we increased frequency (200 f/hz to 2000f/hz) to find the highest current. In one exp. C=0.047μF, L=0.5H and R=82 Ω (unsure if Ω is correct) and in the other exp. C=0.047μF, L=1H and R=239 Ω. Am i looking at different resistors or inductors and capicators?!

So if this is very confusing. Any info, help, etc would be great!

xxx
 

davebee

Joined Oct 22, 2008
540
You're looking for resonance.

When inductors and capacitors are used together in a circuit, they work together to make the circuit act differently at different frequencies. There is a special value of frequency called the resonant frequency where voltage and current reach maximum or minimum values, depending on how the parts are connected.

Did the experiment tell you how to do the math to calculate the resonant frequency based on the values of C and L? (You can ignore the R for the resonance calculation)
 

PRS

Joined Aug 24, 2008
989
I like to think of inductors and capacitors as variable resistors. Their resistance rises and falls as a function of frequency.

For an inductor the impedence (variable resistance), XL = 2*pi*f*L
For a capacitor the impedance (variable resistance), XC = 1/(2*pi*f*C)

When a capacitor and an inductor are in parallel they resonate at the frequency that makes both their impedences the same, XL=XC. Equating these we get

fr = 1/[(2*pi*SQRT(L*C)], the resonant frequency.

At this frequency the signal voltage will be its highest and falls off when you vary the frequency to either side -- XL makes it fall as you decrease the frequency and XC makes the voltage fall as you increase frequency.

You're measuring current to find the maximum voltage which is the resonant frequency. Most labs use oscilloscopes, but the principle is the same.
 

BillB3857

Joined Feb 28, 2009
2,570
"When a capacitor and an inductor are in parallel they resonate at the frequency that makes both their impedences the same, XL=XC."

Likewise, when caps and inductors are in series, they also form a resonant circuit The difference is that the voltage across the network will DIP at the resonant frequency. Maximum LINE current (minimum impedance) at resonance in a series circuit and maximum CIRCULATING current (maximum impedance) at resonance in a parallel circuit. The end usage determines whether you want to notch out the voltage a specific frequency such reducing an interfering signal, or maximize the voltage at a specific frequency such as tuning in a particular radio station.
 
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