UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, MERCED

SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING

CIRCUIT THEORYENGR 065

LABORATORY

Lab 10:Free Lab – The Importance/Efficiency of Switches in the Real

Applications

Date of Experiment: April 21, 2015Date of Submission: April 28,2015

Objectives:

For this lab, I have chosen to pursue data that would provide the best option/circuit configuration when it comes to energy efficient in the dimming of lights. Although idea itself is quite simple, the circuit design must be considered enough to make the best decisions when it comes to the complexity and whether or not it is necessary. Furthermore, the idea will be strongly dependent on the configuration of resistors, mainly because they are the circuit components that will be responsible for the dimming of the LEDs being used in this lab.

Theoretical Background:

As previously stated, the circuit components that will be responsible for the dimming of the LEDs being used will be resistors. These components do exactly what they are named after; they are responsible for resisting the circuit current flow while also lower voltage levels within the say circuit. For such calculations, one must address some of the basic equations for resistors, for example

1RT

=∑i

1R1

+ 1R2

+…+ 1Ri

Eq. 1

where RT is the total resistance in a circuit, is the equation to use when there are resistors in parallel with each other. This idea will be explored because it may be used to control the current in the LEDs causing them to decrease their light intensities.

While having the resistors in a parallel configuration, a series configuration can also be considered with

RT=∑i

R1+R2+…+R i Eq. 2

where all of the resistors can now be added without having to take their reciprocals into consideration. This configuration might be a little less complex, it might provide less flexibility to the diming of the lights.

Experimental Procedure:

Analysis of Experimental Data:

Conclusion: