How to measure Current

Wiesserfalke:
yes i know its only for a 100 of a sekund thear thats the reazen why i want it to digitiz so I can make the calculation about how much radiation thear is more accurate

Tobi

So, what do you want to capture:

  • The peak current of each event?
  • Some sort of Integration of the current over time? Assuming there is a current decay that needs to be captured.

Peak current might be easier. But, either is going to be involved. But, to even begin to come up with a suggestion on how this might be done, I would need more information about the dynamics involved. Like, what is the quiescent current? Is it zero? And what is the possible current range? Is 1µA the maximum current, or some intermediate current? And, between detection events, is there 3kV present on the point where this current would be measured? A diagram would really help, in fact is pretty much crucial, since a mere description is so prone to misinterpretation.

Off the top of my head -- shot-in-the-dark -- I'm thinking in terms of a current differencing amp (i.e Norton Amp), like the LM3900. With the correct input resistors, 3kV is no problem. And, if, indeed, it's a varying current we are dealing with, the Norton Amp is well suited for that -- if the polarities are amenable. The output of the Norton Amp to an Analog input on the Arduino, which would just sit there and sample the voltage, over and over and log the result. Then, perhaps some math or calculus [like an Integrator] could be performed to come up with a usable result -- that, could, in turn, be serialized and opto-isolated to something else, that would allow reading without a shock hazard. Just off the top of my head.