The diode as an electrical valve with Cobra SMARTsense

Principle

A diode allows current to pass only in one direction and blocks it in the other. Therefore, it acts like an electric valve. A diode can also be used to pump charge into a capacitor with alternating current.

Benefits

• Particularly comprehensible and didactically prepared description of the experiment (reference to everyday life, etc.) incl. protocol questions.
• Future-oriented teaching: Integration into digital science lessons with tablets or smartphones.
• Increased motivation among students through use of the intuitive measureAPP.
• Increased media literacy.
• No additional cable connections between the modules necessary - clearer and faster set-up.
• contact reliability due to puzzle-like interlocking building blocks
• Hard gold-plated, corrosion-resistant contacts
• Double learning success: electrical circuit diagram visible on the upper side and real components on the lower side

Tasks

Investigate what effect a diode has on the charge of a capacitor in an AC circuit.

Learning Objectives

In this experiment, students should realize that the diode can be used as an electrical valve in circuits.