PHYSICS INVESTIGATORY

PROJECT
METAL DETECTOR
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I have taken efforts in this project however it would not have been possible without
the kind support and help of many individuals.

I would like to thank my principal Ms Shalini Dhanwani and my school for

providing me with the facilities to do the project. I am highly indebted to the lab
assistants of Vikram Sarabhai community centre for their guidance and constant
supervision as well as for providing necessary information regarding the project & also
for their support in completing the project

I am highly indebted to my physics teacher Mr Harsh Shodhan,

For his invaluable guidance, which has sustained my efforts throughout the project.

I would also like to thank my parents for their continuous support and
encouragement.

My thanks and appreciation also goes to those who have willingly helped me out
with their abilities .
 COMPONENTS
1. RESISTOR
R1, R4-56K
R5-27K
R3-22K
R7, R9-680
R8-15K
R2-33K
R6-22K

The behaviour of an ideal resistor is dictated by the relationship specified by Ohm's law: Ohm’s
law states that the voltage (V) across a resistor is proportional to the current (I), where the
constant of proportionality is the resistance (R). V = I . R
The total resistance of resistors connected in series is the sum of their individual resistance
values.
Req = R1+R2+R3……..Rn.

The total resistance of resistors connected in parallel is the reciprocal of the sum of the
reciprocals of the individual resistors.
Req = 1/R1 + 1/R2 ……..1/Rn.
 CAPACITOR

C4-270PF

C2,C6-1PF

C5-12KPF

C1-22PF

C7-100KPF

C3, C6-1KPF

An ideal capacitor is characterized by a constant capacitance C, is defined as the ratio of the

positive or negative charge Q on each conductor to the voltage V between them.

C=Q/V

Capacitors in a parallel configuration each have the same applied voltage. Their capacitances
add up

Ceq = C1 + C2 + ……+ Cn

Connected in series., The capacitance is the sum of the reciprocals of the individual capacitors.

Ceq = 1/C1 + 1/C2 +….. + 1/Cn

 TRANSISTOR

BC – 547

A junction transistor is a three-terminal solid-state device obtained by growing a narrow section

of p-type crystals in between two relatively thicker sections of n-type crystals or a narrow
section of n-type crystal in between two thicker p-type crystals.

Transistor was first invented by J.Bardeen and W.H Bratttainof bell telephone laboratories,
U.S.A.

Each type of transistor has three main parts

1. EMITTER[E]
It is of moderate size and is a heavily doped semiconductor. It is mainly forward biased with
respect to any of the other part of the semiconductor. It supplies a large number of majority
charge carriers for the flow of current through the transistor.

2. BASE[B]
It is the middle section. It is very thin and lightly doped. It controls the flow of majority charge
carriers from emitter to collector.

3. COLLECTOR[C]
It is moderately doped and larger in size compared to the emitter. It is normally reverse-biased
w.r.t any other part of the transistor. It collects the majority charge carriers for the circuit
operation.
 DIODE

IN-4148

A diode is a two-terminal electronic component that conducts current primarily in one

direction; it has low (ideally zero) resistance in one direction, and high (ideally
infinite) resistance in the other.
A semiconductor diode, the most commonly used type today, is a crystalline piece
of semiconductor material with a p–n junction connected to two electrical terminals.

A P-N junction has two electrode connections – one on the p side and the other on the N side,
hence it is also known as junction diodes.

The direction of the arrow is from P-region to the N-region. the arrow indicates the direction in
which the conventional current can flow easily(when the diode is forward-biased. The p side is
known as the Anode and the N side is known as the cathode.

If the positive terminal is connected to the P side and the negative terminal to the N side, then
the P-N junction is said to be FORWARD BIASED.here the current flows due to majority
charge carriers.

If the positive terminal is connected to the N-side and the negative to the P-side then the P-N
junction is said to be reverse biased. Here the current flows due to minority charge carriers.
 LED

LED stands for light-emitting diode. It is a heavily doped forward-biased P-N junction which
spontaneously converts the biasing electrical energy into optical energy, like infrared and
visible light.

The shorter lea responds to n-or cathode side while the longer lead corresponds to the p-or
anode side.

A P-N junction made from translucent semiconductors like gallium arsenide or indium
phosphide is provided with metalised contacts. When it is forward biased thorough a series
resistance R, light photons are emitted from the non-metalised surface of the n region. The
series resistance R limits the current through the LED and hence controls the intensity of light
emitted by it.

The colour of the light emitted by led depends on its Bandgap energy. The intensity of light
emitted is determined by the forward current conducted by the P-N junction.

For a semiconductor to emit visible light, the minimum bandgap must be 1.8 eV.the compound
semiconductor gallium – arsenide- phosphide is used for making LEDs of different colours.

LEDs have low operational voltage and less power consumption. Fast action and no warm-up
required. They also have a long life and ruggedness. The bandwidth of emitted light is 100A to
500A that the light is nearly monochromatic.
 BUZZER

A buzzer or beeper is an audio signalling device, which may be mechanical, electromechanical,

or piezoelectric (piezo for short). Typical uses of buzzers and beepers include alarm
devices, timers, and confirmation of user input such as a mouse click or keystroke.

Piezoelectric buzzers, or piezo buzzers, as they are sometimes called, were invented by
Japanese manufacturers and fitted into a wide array of products during the 1970s to 1980s

A buzzer is a small yet efficient component to add sound features to our project/system. It is
very small and compact 2-pin structure hence can be easily used on the breadboard, Perf Board
and even on PCBs which makes this a widely used component in most electronic applications.
There are two types are buzzers that are commonly available. The one shown here is a simple
buzzer which when powered will make a Continuous Beeeeeeppp.... sound, the other type is
called a readymade buzzer which will look bulkier than this and will produce a Beep. Beep.
Beep. Sound due to the internal oscillating circuit present inside it. But, the one shown here is
most widely used because it can be customised with the help of other circuits to fit easily in our
application.
This buzzer can be used by simply powering it using a DC power supply ranging from 4V to
9V. A simple 9V battery can also be used, but it is recommended to use a regulated +5V or +6V
DC supply. The buzzer is normally associated with a switching circuit to turn ON or turn OFF
the buzzer at the required time and require interval.
 DETECTOR COIL

An electromagnetic coil is an electrical conductor such as a wire in the shape of

a coil, spiral or helix. Electromagnetic coils are used in electrical engineering, in applications
where electric currents interact with magnetic fields, in devices such as electric
motors, generators, inductors, electromagnets, transformers, and sensor coils. Either an electric
current is passed through the wire of the coil to generate a magnetic field, or conversely, an
external time-varying magnetic field through the interior of the coil generates an EMF (voltage)
in the conductor.

A current through any conductor creates a circular magnetic field around the conductor due
to Ampere's law. The advantage of using the coil shape is that it increases the strength of the
magnetic field produced by a given current. The magnetic fields generated by the separate turns
of wire all pass through the centre of the coil and add (superpose) to produce a strong field
there. The more turns of wire, the stronger the field produced. Conversely, a changing external
magnetic flux induces a voltage in a conductor such as a wire, due to Faraday's law of
induction.

The direction of the magnetic field produced by a coil can be determined by the right-hand grip
rule. If the fingers of the right hand are wrapped around the magnetic core of a coil in the
direction of conventional current through the wire, the thumb will point in the direction
the magnetic field lines pass through the coil. The end of a magnetic core from which the field
lines emerge is defined to be the North pole.
 9V BATTERY

The nine-volt battery, or a 9-volt battery, is a common size of the battery that was introduced
for the early transistor radios. It has a rectangular prism shape with rounded edges and a
polarized snap connector at the top. This type is commonly used in walkie-
talkies, clocks and smoke detectors.

The nine-volt battery format is commonly available in primary carbon-zinc and alkaline
chemistry, in primary lithium iron disulfide, and in the rechargeable form in nickel-cadmium,
nickel-metal hydride and lithium-ion. Mercury-oxide batteries of this format, once common,
have not been manufactured in many years due to their mercury content. Designations for this
format include NEDA 1604 and IEC 6F22 (for zinc-carbon) or MN1604 6LR61 (for alkaline).
The size, regardless of chemistry, is commonly designated PP3—a designation originally
reserved solely for carbon-zinc, or in some countries, E or E-block.
 INTRODUCTION

A metal detector is an electronic instrument that detects the presence of metal nearby. Metal
detectors are useful for finding metal inclusions hidden within objects, or metal objects buried
underground.

They often consist of a handheld unit with a sensor probe which can be swept over the ground
or other objects. If the sensor comes near a piece of metal this is indicated by a changing tone in
earphones, or a needle moving on an indicator.

Usually, the device gives some indication of distance; the closer the metal is, the higher the tone
in the earphone or the higher the needle goes. Another common type is stationary "walk
through" metal detectors used for security screening at access points in prisons, courthouses,
and airports to detect concealed metal weapons on a person's body.

The simplest form of a metal detector consists of an oscillator producing an alternating

current that passes through a coil producing an alternating magnetic field. If a piece of
electrically conductive metal is close to the coil, eddy currents will be induced in the metal, and
this produces a magnetic field of its own. If another coil is used to measure the magnetic field
(acting as a magnetometer), the change in the magnetic field due to the metallic object can be
detected.

The first industrial metal detectors were developed in the 1960s and were used extensively for
mineral prospecting and other industrial applications. Uses include detecting land mines, the
detection of weapons such as knives and guns (especially in airport
security), geophysical prospecting, archaeology and treasure hunting. Metal detectors are also
used to detect foreign bodies in food, and in the construction industry to detect steel reinforcing
bars in concrete and pipes and wires buried in walls and floors.

In 1874, Parisian inventor Gustave Trouvé developed a hand-held device for locating and
extracting metal objects such as bullets from human patients. Inspired by Trouvé, Alexander
Graham Bell developed a similar device to attempt to locate a bullet lodged in the chest of
American President James Garfield in 1881; the metal detector worked correctly but the attempt
was unsuccessful because the metal coil spring bed Garfield was lying on confused the detector.
 PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION

The operation of metal detectors is based on the principle of ELECTROMAGNETIC

INDUCTION-‘when an electric current passes through a coil, it produces a magnetic field
around it’.

In our circuit, the transistor has series capacitors in parallel with the inductor to form a Colpitts
oscillator.

First, the capacitors get charged. Once it gets fully charged, it starts to discharge the energy to
the inductor. The inductor then gets energy and gives it to the capacitor. This process repeats
itself and makes oscillations which have a ‘Resonating Frequency’.

If we increase inductance it will decrease the frequency and if we increase frequency it will
decrease inductance.

The LC circuit activates the proximity sensor when it senses any metal close to it, this sensor
glows the led and makes the buzzer glow.
 WORKING OF CIRCUIT

Initially, the circuit is tuned to a fixed Resonating frequency decided by the combination of
capacitance and inductance value.

A metal detector consists of an LC oscillator(COLPITTS OSC) which produces current in the

copper coil and hence a magnetic field is produced around it.

When the metal detector circuit is placed around a metal object, the rapidly changing magnetic
field lines penetrate through metal surface & produce circulating currents called ‘EDDY
CURRENTS’ on the metal surface.

This Eddy current will create its own magnetic field that affects the original one. Metal
detectors can contain 1 or more inductor coils used to interact with metallic elements.

The reverse magnetic energy is absorbed back which changes the inductance of the copper coil
and the frequency of oscillations. Now the two frequency will be different & thus the oscillator
fails to maintain the original resonating frequency. The final transistor conducts, hence the
buzzer and LED is activated & beep sound is produced.
 APPLICATIONS

1. AIRPORT SECURITY

To check whether guns, knives are being transported.

2. LAND MINE DETECTOR

The military has used metal detectors to pinpoint buried land mines since world war 1.

3. IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

To detect steel reinforcing bars in wire concrete pipes buried inside floors and walls.

4. IN GEOLOGILAC RESEARCH AND ARCHEOLOGICAL EXPEDITION

To find;

 Coin
 Ring
 Jewellery
 Gold

Small buried caches and even deep-buried treasures

ADVANTAGES

 the circuit diagram is very simple and easy to construct.

 We can easily measure the resonant frequency of this circuit,
 Instead of fixed capacitor value, we can use a variable capacitor for tuning purpose.

DISADVANTAGES

 It has less sensitivity

 Even the detectors with a good coil could not always detect the smaller target to the
required depth.

 False alarm - Metal detector may give a false alarm in case an individual carries
a metal object such as phone, watch or a toy causing unnecessary panic.

 Interference - Metal detectors may interfere with personal devices such as magnetic
recording gadgets like CD or a cassette.

 A metal detector is not safe with people who had to get a pacemaker or replacements
such as a knee replacement.
 CONCLUSION

This project has been constructed considering the need for a low-cost Metal detector.

The equipment is compact, simple in design and can be practically used anywhere.

This circuit may also be made using chip CS209A Or a 555 timer.