H. E. Smith | Spring 2000 |
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Physics 1B - Tutorial #8 |
The figure at the right represents the circuit of an emergency highway
flasher. The flash lamp itself has a very high resistance (~107
![]() ![]() Until the capacitor voltage reaches 110V, the high resistance of the flash lamp ensures that it draws no current; the capacitor charges like the RC circuit example in class. When the capacitor voltage reaches 110V, the flasher resistance becomes small compared with that of the resistor and the capacitor discharges through the lamp. |
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