Using a Capacitor to Moderate Load Voltage

by Zachery Magrini

Submitted : Spring 2011

We consider the effect of placing a capacitor in parallel with a load resistance on voltage fluctuation across the load. A differential equation for the voltage is derived from the circuit laws, and a solution to this equation found. We consider the case of sinusoidally alternating current, with a few given parameters. We show that increasing the capacitance reduces the voltage fluctuation. We also find the minimum capacitance required to reduce the fluctuation to less than 1% of the voltage.

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