How to Charge an Inductor
- 1). Cut two equal length pieces of wire, and strip one-half inch of insulation from each wire end.
- 2). Twist together one end of the first piece of wire with one of the leads from the first resistor. Attach the free end of the first piece of wire to the positive battery terminal spring.
- 3). Twist together one end of the second piece of wire with one of the inductor leads and with one of the leads on the second resistor. Attach the negative (black) probe from the multimeter to this electrical joint.
- 4
The red probe is the positive multimeter lead; the black probe is the negative lead.multimeter image by dinostock from Fotolia.com
Twist together the free leads from both resistors together with the free lead from the inductor. Attach the positive (red) probe from the multimeter to this electrical joint. Turn on the multimeter, and set the scale to "Volts DC." - 5). Attach the free end of the second piece of wire to the negative battery terminal spring. Observe the multimeter display; as the inductor charges, the voltage will increase until it nears 6 volts.
- 6). Disconnect the second piece of wire from the negative battery terminal spring. The inductor will now discharge, and the reading on the multimeter will slowly decrease until it reaches 0 volts.
