Question

Suppose that we are designing a cardiac pacemaker circuit. The circuit is required to deliver pulses of 1ms duration to the heart, which can be modeled as a 500 ohm resistance. The peak amplitude of the pulses is required to be 5 V. However, the battery delivers only 2.5 V. Therefore, we decide to charge two equal value capacitors in parallel from the 2.5V battery and then switch the capacitors in series with the heart during the 1ms pulse. What is the minimum value of the capacitances required so the output pulse amplitude remains between 4.9 V and 5.0 V throughout its 1ms duration

Answer 1

Minimum capacitance = 200 μF

Step-by-step explanation:

From image B attached, we can calculate the current flowing through the capacitors.

Thus;

Since V=IR; I = V/R = 5/500 = 0.01 A

Maximum charge in voltage is from 5V to 4.9V. Thus, each capacitor will have 2.5V. Hence, change in voltage(Δv) for each capacitor will be ; Δv = 0.05 V

So minimum capacitance will be determined from;

i(t) = C(dv/dt)

So, C = i(t)(Δt/Δv) = 0.01[0.001/0.05]

C = 0.01 x 0.0002 = 200 x 10^(-6) F = 200 μF