To Study Light

Dependent Resistor
BY :

Aaditya.s.Athreya

XII-B

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Contents
●Acknowledgement
●Aim Of The Project
●What Are Light Dependent Resistors
●Working of LDR
●Structure and Symbol
●Procedure
●Observation
●Conclusion

CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION

Date:
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This certificate is awarded to Aaditya.s.Athreya of Grade 12-B

for successful completion of their
PHYSICS Project titled To Study Light Dependent Resistors .
The project report is a result of their efforts and endeavor. It is a
bona fide work carried out and successfully completed under the
guidance of Mrs. Vrinda Thareja, Physics Coach, at
Kunskapsskolan, Gurgaon. The report has been found worthy of
acceptance.

Project Guide: Head of School:

VRINDA THAREJA INDERBIR THUSSU

Acknowledgement
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We consider ourselves fortunate and privileged to have such wonderful

mentors guide us through the journey for the
completion of the project.
Our sincere thanks to Mrs. Inderbir Thussu and My Physics teacher,
who despite being extraordinarily busy took time out to address us and
guide us.
Our heartfelt gratitude to our Teacher, Mrs Vrinda Thareja, her
patience and belief in us. Her exemplary investment in the complete
process, constant encouragement and insightful feedback helped us
achieve our objective
We would also like to thank the principal and faculty of
Kunskapsskolan Gurgaon for allowing us to conduct our research
amidst them
Lastly, we would like to thank our family members whose support
helped us complete the project within the deadline

Aim Of The Project

In society, sometimes streetlights glow in the daytime due to no reason. In the

mine excavation sites people face many difficulties due to absence of light. In
frontier and hilly areas, people face many problems due to damaged street
lights.
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To solve these problems, we create a device in which the lights glow at night
and in daytime, they turn off automatically and don't glow. Due to its use, we
can solve the above problems and can also save electricity and men's power.

AIM: To study the variations, in current flowing in a circuit containing a

LDR, because of a variation:-
(a) In the power of the incandescent lamp, used to ‘illuminate’ the LDR.
(Keeping all the lamps at a fixed distance).

(b) In the distance of an incandescent lamp, (of fixed power), used to

‘illuminate’ the LDR.

APPARATUS:
Light Dependent Resistor(LDR),Connecting Wires, Source of different power
rating(bulbs), Bulb Holder , Meter scale, Multimeter Battery.

What Are Light Dependent Resistors

Light dependent resistors, LDRs or photoresistors are electronic components that
are often used in electronic circuit designs where it is necessary to detect the
presence or the level of light.

LDRs are very different to other forms of resistor like the carbon film resistor,
metal oxide film resistor, metal film resistor and the like that are widely used in
other electronic designs. They are specifically designed for their light sensitivity
and the change in resistance this causes. Although other electronic components
such as photodiodes or photo-transistors can also be used, LDRs or photo-resistors
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are particularly convenient to use in many electronic circuit designs. They provide
large changes in resistance for changes in light level.

LDRs are made from semiconductor materials to enable them to have their light
sensitive properties. Many materials can be used, but one popular material for
these photoresistors is cadmium sulphide, CdS, although the use of these cells is
now restricted in Europe because of environmental issues with the use of cadmium.
Similarly other cadmium based semiconductor materials like cadmium CdSe are
also restricted. Other materials that can be used include lead sulphide, PbS and
indium antimonide, InSb. Although a semiconductor material is used for these
photoresistors, they are purely passive devices because they do not possess a PN
junction, and this separates them from other photodetectors like photodiodes and
phototransistors.

Photoresistors are found in many different applications and can be seen in many
different electronic circuit designs. They have a very simple structure and they are
low cost and rugged devices. They are widely used in many different items of
electronic equipment and circuit designs including photographic light meters, fire
or smoke alarms as well as burglar alarms, and they also find uses as lighting
controls for street lamps.

Extrinsic photoresistors provide sensitivity for longer wavelengths and as a result

they are popular in various electronic circuit designs as infra-red photodetectors.
Photoresistors can also be used to detect nuclear radiation.

The sensitivity of photoresistors is shown to vary with the wavelength of the light
that is impacting the sensitive area of the device. The effect is very marked and it is
found that if the wavelength is outside a given range then there is no noticeable
effect. Devices made from different materials respond differently to light of
different wavelengths, and this means that the different electronics components can
be used for different applications.
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Working of LDR
It is relatively easy to understand the basics of how an LDR works without delving
into complicated explanations. It is first necessary to understand that an electrical
current consists of the movement of electrons within a material. Good conductors
have a large number of free electrons that can drift in a given direction under the
action of a potential difference. Insulators with a high resistance have very few free
electrons, and therefore it is hard to make them move and hence a current to flow.

An LDR or photoresistor is made of any semiconductor material with a high

resistance. It has a high resistance because there are very few electrons that are free
and able to move - the vast majority of the electrons are locked into the crystal
lattice and unable to move. Therefore in this state there is a high LDR resistance.
As light falls on the semiconductor, the light photons are absorbed by the
semiconductor lattice and some of their energy is transferred to the electrons. The
amount of energy transferred to the electrons gives some of them sufficient energy
to break free from the crystal lattice so that they can then conduct electricity. This
results in a lowering of the resistance of the semiconductor and hence the overall
LDR resistance. The process is progressive, and as more light shines on the LDR
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semiconductor, so more electrons are released to conduct electricity and the

resistance falls further.

Light dependent resistors, LDRs or photoresistors fall into one of two types or
categories:

● Intrinsic photoresistors: Intrinsic photoresistors use un-doped

semiconductor materials including silicon or germanium. Photons fall on
the LDR excite electrons moving them from the valence band to the
conduction band.
As a result, these electrons are free to conduct electricity. The more light
that falls on the device, the more electrons are liberated and the greater
the level of conductivity, and this results in a lower level of resistance.
● Extrinsic photoresistors: Extrinsic photoresistors are manufactured from
semiconductor materials doped with impurities. These impurities or
dopants create a new energy band above the existing valence band.
As a result, electrons need less energy to transfer to the conduction band
because of the smaller energy gap.

Regardless of the type of light dependent resistor or photoresistor, both types

exhibit an increase in conductivity or fall in resistance with increasing levels of
incident light.

PRINCIPLE
This project is based on Light Dependent Resistance (L.D.R.). Light Dependent
Resistance [LDR] is a resistance, in which the opposing power of current depends on the
presence of the quantity of light present, i.e. the resistance of LDR increases or decreases,
according to the quantity of light which falls on it.
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If LDR is placed in darkness, the resistance of LDR increases and when light falls on it,
the resistance of LDR decreases and acts as a conductor. Any LDR in the presence of
light and darkness changes its resistance is depends on the different types of LDR

PROCEDURE
● Choose a specific position for the source and mount it using a holder,
make sure it is stable.
● Select the bulb with the lowest power rating and connect it to the holder
as shown in the figure.
● Connect the LDR, battery (6V) and the multimeter in series.
● Set the multimeter to ohm section and select a suitable range and
measure the resistance with a bulb on.
● Similarly switch to the current section and move to micro ampere in the
multimeter. This gives the value of the current.
● Repeat these steps with different power sources at different distances
and note down observations.

OBSERVATIONS :-
The experiment has been conducted by using various sources with different power
ratings. Voltage of the battery = 6 V.
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OBSERVATIONS TABLE :-

● Variation in current of LDR with lamps of different power, keeping distance fixed.

Source(Bulb)
Distance between LDR and Resistance(Ω
S.No. Of power Current(mA)
the source d(cm) )
imputs(W)

● 10 15 1310 4.58

● 10 30 770 7.00

● 10 60 285 21.00

● 10 100 195 30.00

● 20 15 2800 2.14

20 60 650 9.00
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● 20 100 435 13.79

● 30 15 4300 1.4

● 30 60 1000 6.00

● 30 100 660 9.00

● Variation in current of LDR with distance :-

FOR 15 W POWER SOURCE

S.No. Distance between LDR and the source d(cm) Resistance(Ω ) Current(µA)

● 4 1010 5.94

● 6 1350 4.44

● 8 1490 4.03

● 10 1610 3.73

● 12 1740 3.45
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● 14 1880 3.19

● 16 2300 2.61

● 18 2540 2.36

● 20 2800 2.14

● 22 3000 2.00

● 24 3240 1.85

CONCLUSION & RESULT

● The LDR resistance decreases with increase in intensity of light and hence there is
an increase in the flow of current.
● There is an increase in the current as the distance from the source decreases.
● The intensity decreases as the distance from the source increases
● The error lies within the experimental limit.
● The LDR is a very useful device that can be used in numerous fields such as Anti
Theft Alarm, Intruder Detection, Vehicle Counter at Traffic Check Posts and many
more

SOURCES OF ERROR
● The LDR may not be perpendicular to the source.
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● Connections may be faulty.

● The experiment should be conducted in a dark room.
● Measurements should be taken accurately.

PRECAUTIONS
● No stray light should fall on the L.D.R. It is better to work in a dark room
● Connect L.D.R. carefully to the voltage source.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
1) https://www.watelectronics.com/light-dependent-resistor-ldr-with-
applications/
2) https://sts.kedschools.com/adfs/ls/
3) Byjus.com
4) Learn.cbse.in
5) NCERT Class 12 Physics Part 1&2