Elenco Snap Circuits Motion - Manual (Page 78)

Project 160 Capacitors in Series
Initially set the adjustable resistor (RV2) to the left, and the slide switch (S1) to
on. Set the switcher (S6) to the left position; the red/yellow bicolor LED (D10)
flashes brightly yellow as the 100mF capacitor (C4) charges up. Now set S6 to
the right position; the LED flashes brightly red as C4 discharges. Try switching
S6 to left and then to right several times.
Now set S1 to off; this connects the smaller 1mF capacitor (C7) in series with
the 100mF capacitor. Now repeat switching S6 to left and then to right several
times. The LED is much dimmer now, because the smaller capacitor can’t store
as much electricity, making the charging & discharging currents lower, which
makes the LED dimmer.
Next, repeat the above tests but try moving the lever on the adjustable resistor
around. Moving the lever on the adjustable resistor makes the capacitor
charge/discharge more slowly, making the LED dimmer but it stays on longer.
Project 161 Capacitors in Parallel
Initially set the adjustable resistor (RV2) to the left, and the slide switch (S1) to
off. Set the switcher (S6) to the left position; the red/yellow bicolor LED (D10)
flashes dimly yellow as the 1mF capacitor (C7) quickly charges up. Now set S6
to the right position; the LED flashes dimly red as C7 quickly discharges. Try
switching S6 to left and then to right several times.
Now set S1 to on; this connects the larger 100mF capacitor (C4) in parallel with
the 1mF capacitor. Now repeat switching S6 to left and then to right several
times. The LED is much brighter now, because the larger capacitor can store
more electricity, making the charging & discharging currents higher, which
makes the LED brighter.
Next, repeat the above tests but try moving the lever on the adjustable resistor
around. Moving the lever on the adjustable resistor makes the capacitor
charge/discharge more slowly, making the LED dimmer but it stays on longer.
-77-
Think of capacitors as storage tanks for
electricity. If you place a small storage tank
in series with a big one, electricity flows into
both at the same time, but the small one fills
up quickly and stops the flow.
Think of capacitors as storage tanks for
electricity. If you place a large storage tank
in parallel with a big one, electricity flows into
both at the same time, but keeps flowing
until both are full.
SCM-165_Manual_061114.qxp_Layout 1 7/7/14 11:30 AM Page 78