Physics Project Mohitha

G.
B PUBLIC SCHOOL
MELMARUVATHUR
PHYSICS INVESTIGATORY PROJECT
Name: D.MOHITHA
Class: XII- A
Topic: Measurement of Current using

Halfwave Rectifier.
Year: 2023 - 2024

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to express my special thanks of

gratitude to my physics teacher Mr. Sathish Kumar as well as
our principal Mr. Arasappan who gave me the golden
opportunity to do this wonderful project on the topic
“Measurement of Current using Halfwave Rectifier”, which
also helped me in learning new things. I am really thankful to
them.
Secondly, I would like to thank my parents and

friends who helped me a lot I finishing this project within the
limited time.
CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that Mohitha student of class XII-A has

successfully completed the research on project titled
“MEASUREMENT OF CURRENT USING HALFWAVE
RECTIFIER”
Under the guidance of Mr. Sathish Kumar(PGT Physics) during

the year 2023-24 in partial fulfillment of physics practical
examination conducted by AISSCE, New Delhi.
External Principal Internal

Examiner Examiner
INDEX
1. Introduction
2. Theory
3. Aim
4. Materials required
5. Procedure
6. Circuit diagram
7. Observation
8. Calculation
9. Result
10. Conclusion
11. Precaution
12. Sources of error
13. Bibliography
INTRODUCTION
A rectifier is a simple diode or group of diodes

which converts the Alternating Current (AC) into Direct
Current (DC). We know that a diode allows electric current in
one direction and blocks electric current in another
direction. We are using the principle to construct various
types of rectifiers Rectifiers are classified into different types
based on the number of diodes used in the circuit or
arrangement of diodes in the circuit. The basic types of
rectifiers are : half wave rectifier, full wave rectifier and
bridge rectifier.
Types of rectifier :
1. Half wave rectifier:
A half wave rectifier is a type of a rectifier which

converts the positive half cycle (positive current) of the input
signal into pulsating DC ( Direct Current) output signal. The
half wave rectifier is the simplest form of the rectifier. We
only use a single diode to construct a half wave rectifier. The
half wave rectifier is made up of an AC source, transformer
(step- down), diode, and resistor (load). The diode is placed
between the transformers and resistors (load).
Advantages of half wave rectifier :
1. It is quite easy to construct a half wave rectifier circuit due

to its simple design.
2. A very small number of components are required to

construct it.
3. It is not very expensive.

Disadvantages of half wave rectifier :
1. It has a high ripple factor. It should never be used as the

power supply of an audio circuit since a high ripple factor will
result in noises in the audio signal, which will subsequently
affect the quality of the audio signal.
2. It has low rectification efficiency.
3. It has a low transformer utilization factor.
4. Power is only provided by the AC supply during the half

cycle. Therefore, the power output is low.
5. It should be noted that the pulsating current in the output

contains AC components with the same frequency as the
supply voltage. This results in an increase in the cost of
filtering circuits.
THEORY
Circuit is made by using a semiconductor diode (D)

with a load resistance RL. The diode is connected in series
with the secondary of the transformer is being connected to
the ac supply mains. The ac voltage across the secondary
winding changes polarities after every half cycle of input
wave. During the positive half-cycles of the input ac voltage
i.e., when upper end of the secondary winding is positive
with respect to its lower end, the diode is forward based and
therefore conducts current. If the forward resistance of the
diode is assumed to be zero (in practice, however a small
resistance exists) the input voltage during the positive half-
cycles is directly applied to the load resistance RL, making its
upper hand end positive with respect to its lower end.
The waveforms of the output current and
output voltage are of the same shape as that of the input ac
voltage. During the negative high cycles of the input ac
voltage i.e., when the lower end of the secondary winding is
positive with respect to its upper end, the diode is reverse
biased and so does not conduct. Thus, during the negative
half-cycles of the input ac voltage, the current through and
voltage across the load remains zero. The reverse current,
being very small in magnitude, is neglected. Thus, for the
negative half-cycles no power is delivered to the load. Thus,
the output voltage (VL) developed across load resistance RL is
a series of positive half-cycles of alternating voltage, with
intervening very small constant negative high voltage levels.
It is obvious from the figure that the output is
not a steady DC, but only a pulsating DC wave. To make the
output wave smooth and useful in a DC power supply, we
have to use a filter across the load. Since, only half-cycles of
the input wave are used, it is called a half wave rectifier.
Output of half wave rectifier is not a

constant DC voltage. In real life applications, we need a
power supply with smooth wave forms. In other words, we
desire a DC power supply with constant output voltage. A
constant output voltage from the DC power supply is very
important as it directly impacts the reliability of the
electronic devices we connect to the power supply. We can
make the output of half wave rectifier smooth by using a
filter (a capacitor filter or an inductor filter) across the diode.
In some cases an resistor-capacitor coupled filter (RC) is also
used.
Working of Half Wave Rectifier :
1. A high AC voltage is applied to the primary side of the

step-down transformer. The obtained secondary low
voltage is applied to the diode.
2. The diode is forward biased during the positive half

cycle of the AC voltage and reverse biased during the
negative half cycle.
Half Wave Rectifier Formula:
1. Ripple Factor of Half Wave Rectifier:
Ripple factor determines how well a halfwave rectifier can

convert AC voltage to DC voltage.
The ripple factor of a halfwave rectifier is 1.21.
2. Efficiency of Halfwave Rectifier:
The efficiency of a halfwave rectifier is the ratio of output DC

power to the input AC power.
3. RMS value of Half Wave Rectifier:
The RMS value of the load current for a half-wave rectifier is

given by the formula:
4. Form factor of a Halfwave Rectifier
The form factor is the ratio between RMS value and average
value
Applications of Half Wave Rectifier:
 They are used for signal demodulation purpose.
 They are used for rectification applications.
 They are used for signal peak applications.

AIM
To determine the current by measuring voltage and

resistance using Halfwave Rectifier.
MATERIALS REQUIRED
 Diode
 Capacitor (50v)
 Voltmeter
 Resistance Box
 AC Supply
 Wires for Connection

PROCEDURE
 AC Supply and connect it to switch.
 II. Connect the terminal part of the AC terminal to the P part
of the diode using wire.
 III. Now connect the other part of the AC terminal to the
Capacitor.
 IV. Connect the n-part of the dipole to the capacitor.
 V. Connect the both ends of a capacitor to the resistance
box.
 VI. Place a connection between voltmeter and resistance box
by joining the terminals of voltmeter.
 VII. Now power on the switch and find out the resultant
voltage by changing the resistance box.
 VIII. Calculate the current by measuring the mean voltage
and resistance using ohm’s law.
CIRCUIT DIAGRAM
OBSERVATION
CALCULATION
Mean v = 0.7 + 1.1 + 1.4 + 1.6 + 1. 8 = 1.32 v
Mean R = 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 = 3 ohm
Current I = Mean V / Mean R = 1.32 / 3 = 0.264 Ampere
RESULT
The average current produced by the halfwave
rectifier = 0.264 Ampere
CONCLUSION
A half wave rectifier is rarely used in
practice. It is never preferred as the power supply of an audio
circuit because of the very high ripple factor. High ripple
factor will result in noises in input audio signal, which in turn
will affect audio quality. Advantage of a half wave rectifier is
only that it is cheap, simple and easy to construct. It is cheap
because of the low number of components involved. Simple
because of the straight forwardness in circuit design.
Measuring the mean current flow helps us to understand the
amount of AC current passed through the circuit.
PRECAUTIONS
 Do not switch on the circuit before checking whether it

is correct or not.
 The connection between voltmeter and resistance box
should be made correctly.
 Connect all the wires properly, loose connection may
end up in failure of circuit.
 Capacitor of less volt may be connected to the diode.
SOURCES OF ERROR
 The p and n parts of the diode may be changed.
 The wire connection may be loose.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
 www.wikipedia.com
 Google images
 NCERT Class 12 physics
 Comprehensive Lab Manual
 http://www.circuitstoday.com

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G.

PHYSICS INVESTIGATORY PROJECT

Topic: Measurement of Current using

Year: 2023 - 2024

I would like to express my special thanks of

Secondly, I would like to thank my parents and

This is to certify that Mohitha student of class XII-A has

Under the guidance of Mr. Sathish Kumar(PGT Physics) during

External Principal Internal

A rectifier is a simple diode or group of diodes

A half wave rectifier is a type of a rectifier which

Advantages of half wave rectifier :

1. It is quite easy to construct a half wave rectifier circuit due

2. A very small number of components are required to

3. It is not very expensive.

1. It has a high ripple factor. It should never be used as the

2. It has low rectification efficiency.

3. It has a low transformer utilization factor.

4. Power is only provided by the AC supply during the half

5. It should be noted that the pulsating current in the output

Circuit is made by using a semiconductor diode (D)

Output of half wave rectifier is not a

1. A high AC voltage is applied to the primary side of the

2. The diode is forward biased during the positive half

Half Wave Rectifier Formula:

1. Ripple Factor of Half Wave Rectifier:

Ripple factor determines how well a halfwave rectifier can

The ripple factor of a halfwave rectifier is 1.21.

2. Efficiency of Halfwave Rectifier:

The efficiency of a halfwave rectifier is the ratio of output DC

The RMS value of the load current for a half-wave rectifier is

4. Form factor of a Halfwave Rectifier

Applications of Half Wave Rectifier:

 They are used for signal demodulation purpose.

 They are used for rectification applications.

 They are used for signal peak applications.

To determine the current by measuring voltage and

 Wires for Connection

Current I = Mean V / Mean R = 1.32 / 3 = 0.264 Ampere

 Do not switch on the circuit before checking whether it

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