The deflection plates in an oscilloscope are 10 cm by 2 cm with a gap distance of 1 mm. A 100 volt potential difference is suddenly applied to the initially uncharged plates through a 1025 ohm resistor in series with the deflection plates. How long does it take for the potential difference between the deflection plates to reach 55 volts?

Explanation:

Given data:

Area A = 10 cm×2 cm = 20×10⁻⁴ m²

Distance d between the plates = 1 mm = 1×10⁻³m

Voltage of the battery is emf = 100 V

Resistance = 1025 ohm

Solution:

In RC circuit, the voltage between the plates is related to time t. Initially the voltage is equal to that of battery V₀ = emf = 100V. But After time t the resistance and capacitor changes it and the final voltage is V that is given by

Taking natural log on both sides,

       (1)

Now we can calculate the capacitance by using the area of the plates.

C = ε₀A/d

  =

  = 18×10⁻¹²F

Now we can get the time when the voltage drop from 100 to 55 V by putting the values of C, V₀, V and R in the equation (1)

 = -(1025Ω)(18×10⁻¹² F) ln( 1 - 55/100)

 = 15×10⁻⁹s

= 15 ns

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