A Correction to a Well-Known Experiment Procedure in Physics, Electricity and Magnetism Labs

ORAL

Abstract

The ``Equipotential Surfaces and Electric Fields'' is a well-known experiment in most Physics, electricity and magnetism labs. This experiment provides a clear understanding of equipotential surfaces around charged electrodes in a conducting solution. In many universities, the salt and water solution is used as the conducting solution and a DC power supply is used as the excitation voltage. Our study demonstrates that the application of the DC power source causes problems in final experiment's result due to water electrolysis, double-layer capacitance, Ohmic resistance and electrolytic saturation effects. This results in the potential variation in the water during the time, causing a time dependent measurement. Our study shows that the students plotted equipotential curves bend and deviate from the desired form and it makes them confused. The study proposes a developed setup for the experiment using a proper AC excitation signal with appropriate frequency and amplitude ranges. The result with this AC experiment setup is much closer to theoretically expected curves compared to the experiment with DC supply.

–

Authors

  • Javad R. Gatabi

    Physics Department, Texas State University at San Marcos

  • Hanu Arava

    University of Houston, University of Texas at Brownsville, None, Univ of Texas, San Antonio, University of Texas at El Paso, Univ of Arizona, Department of Physics and Astronomy and Center for Gravitational Wave Astronomy, University of Texas at Brownsville, Laboratoire des Mat\'eriaux Avanc\'es, Universit\'e Claude Bernard Lyon 1, UTEP, University of Texas, Austin, University of Texas at Austin, Institute for Astronomy, Russian Academy of Sciences, University of Texas at Arlington, The University of Texas at Arlington, MIT, U. Mass. Dartmouth, Texas A{\&}M University, Texas Christian University, Laboratoire des Mat\'erieux Avanc\'es B\^atiment Virgo, Ion Beam Materials Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Texas A\&M University, Accelerator Research Laboratory, University of Florida, The Ohio State University, Yale University, University of Guelph, Canada, Armagh Observatory, NASA-Ames, NASA-Goddard, Texas A\&M University-Commerce, Texas A\&M University, Hanyang University, Texas A\&M Univ, Department of Pharmacy, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran, Physics Department, Texas State University at San Marcos

  • Hanu Arava

    University of Houston, University of Texas at Brownsville, None, Univ of Texas, San Antonio, University of Texas at El Paso, Univ of Arizona, Department of Physics and Astronomy and Center for Gravitational Wave Astronomy, University of Texas at Brownsville, Laboratoire des Mat\'eriaux Avanc\'es, Universit\'e Claude Bernard Lyon 1, UTEP, University of Texas, Austin, University of Texas at Austin, Institute for Astronomy, Russian Academy of Sciences, University of Texas at Arlington, The University of Texas at Arlington, MIT, U. Mass. Dartmouth, Texas A{\&}M University, Texas Christian University, Laboratoire des Mat\'erieux Avanc\'es B\^atiment Virgo, Ion Beam Materials Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Texas A\&M University, Accelerator Research Laboratory, University of Florida, The Ohio State University, Yale University, University of Guelph, Canada, Armagh Observatory, NASA-Ames, NASA-Goddard, Texas A\&M University-Commerce, Texas A\&M University, Hanyang University, Texas A\&M Univ, Department of Pharmacy, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran, Physics Department, Texas State University at San Marcos