How to Measure Capacitive Reactance with LabVIEW®

This article describes how to measure capacitive reactance with LabVIEW®. The article begins by explaining the concept of capacitive reactance, and then describes how to use LabVIEW® to measure capacitive reactance. The article also includes a review of the characteristics of capacitors.

Questions

• What is capacitive reactance?
• How do you measure capacitive reactance with LabVIEW®?
• What are the characteristics of capacitors?

Answers

• Capacitive reactance is the opposition that a capacitor offers to the flow of alternating current. It is measured in ohms and is inversely proportional to the capacitance of the capacitor and the frequency of the alternating current.
• To measure capacitive reactance with LabVIEW®, you can use the following steps:
  1. Create a new LabVIEW® project.
  2. Add a function generator and a scope to the project.
  3. Connect the function generator to the capacitor and the scope to the capacitor.
  4. Set the frequency of the function generator to a low value, such as 10 Hertz.
  5. Run the program and observe the readings on the scope.
  6. Increase the frequency of the function generator and observe the readings on the scope.
• The characteristics of capacitors include:
  • They act like a rubber diaphragm inside a water pipe.
  • There must be current into a capacitor before there can be voltage across the capacitor.
  • In AC circuits, the current into a capacitor leads the voltage by 90 degrees.