LCR Oscillator This animation shows the charge of the capacitor, C, the inductance, L, magnetic field lines, and the energy loss in a resistor, R, in the form of a light bulb. You may use the Charge Capacitor radio button to recharge the capacitor. To restart after charging, just press the Oscillate button and then the Start button. You also have the option of changing the capacitance (which will change the frequency) and changing the resistance (which will change the decay time constant). For this animation, red denotes positive charge and green denotes negative charge and the opacity of the red or green layers in the capacitor plates denotes the fullness of charge. Arrows show the direction of current flow as well as the direction of the B field lines of the inductor (coil). The brightness of the yellow light bulb depicts the power, i^2R, being dropped across it. The plot to the right of the circuit shows the capacitor charge (red) and circuit current (blue) versus time. Note that current leads the charge by 1/4 cycle as it must since the current is responsible for charging the capacitor. Also, note that the amplitude of the cycles follows the expression exp(-Rt/2L) as expected from the link below. Please click the hyperlink below for a complete discussion of the graphics and mathematics of this animation.
Click here Graphics Description resistance psiV Charge Capacitor Oscillate