PHYSICS INVESTIGATORY PROJECT

PM SHRI KENDRIYA VIDHYALAYA NO.2

DELHI
CANTT

SESSION 2024-2025
:
TOPIC: - LIGHT
DEPENDENCE
RESISITA
NCE
Submitted by: SHIVAM
BHARTI Class: 12-A

Under the guidance

of PGT PHYSICS

ANJALI VERMA
 CERTIFICATE
This is to certify SHIVAM
that of class: XII A of PM
BHARTI
SHRI KENDRIYA VIDYALAYA NO.2 has done his project on
LIGHT DEPENDENCE RESISITANCE
under supervision
PGT
PHYSICS MRS He has taken interest and has shown
ANJALI.
at most sincerity in completion of this project.

I certify this project up to my expectation & as per guidelines issued

by CBSE, NEW DELHI.

SIGN OF INTERNAL EXAMINER

SIGN OF EXTERNAL EXAMINER

SIGN OF PRINCIPAL
"There are times when silence speaks so much more loudly than
words of praise to only as good as be little a person, whose words
do not express, but only put a veneer over true feelings, which are
of gratitude at this point of time I would like to express my sincere
gratitude to my physics Teacher MRS. ANJALI VERMA for his vital
support, guidance and encouragement, without which this project
would not have come forth. I would also like to express my
gratitude to our principal MR. VINOD KUMAR MATHPAL who
encouraged me to be more efficient.
• CERTIFICATE OF EXCELLENCE
• ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
• AIM OF THE PROJECT
• INTRODUCTION
• THEORY
• APPARATUS REQUIRED
• PROCEDURE FOLLOWED
• OBSERVATION
• CONCLUSIONS
• PRECAUTIONS
• BIBLIOGRAPHY
 The aim of the project is to demonstrate the underlying principle
of electrical condition under the influence of light. Various
applications are possible by employing this simple principle such
as
a)Automatic switching of street lamps
b)Automatic elevator door
c)Morning wake up alarm
d) Fire alarm
e) Intruder's alarm
f) Light Intensity meter
In this project, I have demonstrated the "automatic light switching
circuit" in a simple manner which is easy to understand. The heart of
the project is LDR or Light Dependent Resistor. This project could
have been done using photo-voltaic cell in place of LDR but the circuit
would have become complicated in the case of photocell.
A photoresistoror light-dependent resistor (LDR) is a
lightcontrolled variable resistor. The resistance of a
photoresistor decreases with increasing incident light intensity,
in other words, it exhibits Photoconductivity. A photoresistor
can be applied in light-sensitive detector circuits, and light and
dark activated switching circuits.These resistors use pure
semiconductors like silicon or germanium. When the light falls
on the LDR then the electrons get excited by the incident
photons and move from the valence band to the conduction
band and therefore the number of share carriers increases. In
other words, the conductivity goes up. Distinction needs to be
made here between photocells and LDRs. In a photocell, when
it is excited by light (photons), electricity is generated. Unlike
photocells, LDRs, do not generate electricity but only change
their conductivity.
A light dependent resistor works on the principle of photo
conductivity Photo conductivity is an electro-optical phenmenon
in which the material's conductivity is increased when light is
absorbed by the material Modern light dependent resistors are
made of materials such as lead sulphide, lead selenide, indium
anthoonideand most commonly cadmium sulphide(CdS) and
cadmium selenide, cadmium sulphide.

Structure of LDR
1.) LDR and its characteristics
When light is incident on it, a photon is absorbed and thereby it excites an electron from

valence band into conduction band. Due to such new electrons coming up in conduction band

area, the electrical resistance of the device decreases. Thus the LDR or photoconductive

transducer has the resistance which is the inverse function of radiation intensity.

Here we must note that any radiation with wavelength greater than the value obtained in

above equation CANNOT PRODUCE any change in the resistance of this device.

The band gap energy of Cadmium Sulphide is 2.42eV and for Cadmium Selenide it is 1.74eV.

Due to such large energy gaps, both the materials have extremely high resistivity at room

temperature.
2) Luminous Flux Variation Considering the source to be a
point radiating in all rections; consider a steradian (or even
a simple sphere), take a small element A on the steradian
at a distance 'r' from the source. It comprises a small part
of the energy radiated (dEr). Now, go further to a distance
'R' (R > r) from the source,
consider the same area element dA, it comprises a much
smaller part of energy radiated (dER). [dEr> dER] It varies
inversely as the square of the distance.
When light fall, when the photons fall on the material the
electrons in the valence band of the semiconductor material are
excited to the conduction band. These photos in the incident
light should have energy greater than the band gap of the
semiconductor material to make the electrons jump from the
valence band to the conduction hand. Hence when light having enough energy
strikes on the device, more and more electrons are excited to the conduction
band which results in large number of charge carriers. The result of this process
is more and more current starts flowing through the device when the circumis
closed and hence it is said that the resistance of the device has been decreased.
This is the most common working principle of LDR.

This can be clearly seen from the graph. The resistance of the
LDR falls rapidly as increasing intensity of incident light.
The converse is also true when intensity is reduced or cut off
Lead sulfide (PbS) and indium antimonide (InSb) LDRS are used for the mid
infrared spectra region. GeCu photoconductors are among the best far
infrared detectors available, and are used for infrare astronomy and
infrared spectroscopy.
Analog Applications
• Camera Exposure ControlAuto
• Slide Focus -dual cell
• Photocopy Machines -density of toner
• Colorimetric Test Equipment
• Densitometer Electronic Scales -dual cell
• Automatic Gain Control -modulated light source
• Automated Rear View Mirror
Digital Applications
• Automatic Headlight Dimmer
• Night Light Control
• Oil Burner Flame Out
• Street Light Control
• Position Sensor
Spectral Response
Like the human eye the relative sensitivity of a
photoconductive cell is dependent on the wavelength of the
incident light each photoconductor material type has its own
unique spectral response curve or plot of the relative
response of the photocell versus wavelength of light.
Characteristics of photoconductive cells
Now when the device is kept in darkness, its resistance is

called as dark resistance. This resistance is typically of the

order of 1013 ohms. When light falls on it, its resistance

decreases up to several kilo ohms or even hundreds of ohms,
depending on the intensity of light, falling on it.

The spectral response characteristics of two commercial

cells were compared in our laboratory. And we found that
there is almost no response to the radiation of a wavelength
which was shorter than 300nm. It was very
interesting to note that the Cadmium Sulphide cell has a peak response nearer or within the
green color of the spectrum within a range of 520nm. Thus it can be usednearer to the infra-red

region up to 750nm. It was found that the maximum response of Cadmium Sulphoselenide is in
the yellow-orange range at 615nm and also it can be used in the infrared
region up to about 970nm.
Sensitivity
The sensitivity of a photo detector is the
relationship
between the light falling on the device and the resulting
output signal. In the case of a photocell, one is dealing with
the relationship between the incident light and the
corresponding resistance of the cell.
The project consists of the following apparatus:

1.Light source (white, ultra-violet and laser)

2. LDR
3.Switching circuit

4. Relay

5. Buzzer

6. Batteries

7. Housing for the above

When the light beam falls on the LDR, it lowers the resistance of
the same and this activates the switching transistor circuit. The
transistor circuit (described later) is connected to a relay which is
in turn connected to an external LED.
The relay is a special type of switch which is driven by its magnetic
coll. The relay has two positions. In de-energized condition,
position-1 will be active and in energized condition, position-2 will
be active.
When the circuit is powered, the relay goes to position-1 to
which the LED is connected. Thus, the LED will start glowing But
when the light source is switched on, the resistance of LDR falls
and this drives the transistor switching circuit and the relay gets
energized. This puts the relay switch in position-2, which cuts off
the LED. In this condition, whenever the light beam is
intercepted by an opaque object, the LDR stops receiving the
incident light and its resistance becomes high This de energizes
the relay and puts it to position-1 and the LED starts glowing.
An empty cardboard box was used to mimic a house. An opening
was cut on the box to present a door. Behind the door, a light
source is placed and in the line of vision of the light source, an
LDR is also placed.
A circuit is connected to the LDR which switches on a relay when
the light beam is intercepted. A schematic diagram of the set-up
is shown below.

As seen in the above diagram, a light source is positioned behind

the door on the right-hand side and an LDR is placed in the same
line of vision at the opposite end of the door.
In the set up described, the following observations were made by
varying the nature of light source varying the translucency of the
interceptor object
Thus, to summarize, we can say that the as long as the light
source is on and the LDR is illuminated, the LED will not light up.
But the moment, the light source is interrupted, the LED will start
glowing.
We can Imagine the interruption of the light beam to be caused
by an intruder and hence this arrangement can automatically
detect any intruder by turning on the LED.
The LED is just one of the devices we have connected to the relay.
As such we can connect many devices to the relay such as sirens,
flashing lights, buzzer or even an automatic dialer to the nearest
police station. This intruder alarm can be easily set up in houses,
banks, schools etc.
The same circuit can be rewired to reverse the effect of light, Viz.
we can make the LED glow whenever, light is present and
interestingly this set up can be used in other places as required.
Based on the observation above, it can be concluded that the LDR based

electronic switch can be successfully deployed for the following applications:

1.Intruder detection/ burglar's alarm for home uses

2.
Anti-theft alarm for Banks and offices.

3.
People Counter at Auditoriums
4.
Vehicle counter at traffic check posts.

5.
Automatic Street Lights

6.
Day & night sensor
The project uses certain devices that can be harmful to humans and
animals if proper caution and care are not observed:

1. Laser diode: Although a low-intensity laser was used, it can be harmful

if aimed accidentally at the eyes or if the reflected beam is seen
directly.
2. Ultraviolet LED: Prolonged exposure to UV light should be avoided as it
can damage skin and eyes.
3. Buzzer: Emits high-frequency sounds that can damage ears if heard for
prolonged periods.
4. LDR: Should be disposed of properly if the project is dismantled, as it
contains harmful chemicals.
1.http://en.wikipedia.org/
2.www.goggle.com
3.www.youtube.com
4.www.electrical4u.com