Capacitor charging and discharging through a light bulb

Back to 5C - Capacitance
PIRA index: 5C30.30

Description

A large 50 V capacitor is charged and discharged using a light bulb as a resistor.

Make sure the switch is placed in the center position
Set the power supply to 50V
Connect the setup to the power supply
Put the switch in the 'charge' position and watch the bulb light up
(Optional) Disconnect the power supply (to show that in the discharge the light bulb is only powered by the capacitor)
Put the switch in the 'discharge' position and watch the bulb light up
Put the switch back in the center position and turn off the power supply.