Designing a Supercapacitor Battery Model

Mike suggested that we could make a simple circuit where a supercapacitor serves as a quick-to-charge, quick-to-discharge battery. This would let us easily measure changes in voltage and current during charging and discharging on a reasonable timescale — something that's hard to observe with conventional batteries, which take hours to cycle.

Because supercapacitors can be charged and discharged virtually unlimited times without degradation, they make an ideal hands-on model for exploring how batteries work. The setup could also double as a practical device: a small crank-powered flashlight, using a DC motor as a generator to charge the supercapacitor.

We'll be designing the circuit soon and using it in upcoming workshops.