Questions & discussion of results

  1. Question:    Do you notice a link between the size of the switch and the length of it's switch bounce?
    Answer:      Larger switches tend to generate more bounce due to the size of their contacts and inertia. Also, all things being equal, newer switches tend to bounce less than older switches. 

  2. Question:    Was there a link between the number of hours spent at video games and the speed at which you could press the switch?

  3. Question:    Do you think there is a link between the best size of the capacitor and the value of the resistor used in the circuit?
    Answer:      Keeping the RC value as high as possible is important in minimizing the height of the "bumps"

  4. Question:    What would happen if a very large capacitor were used?
    Answer:      If a small switch is used, too large of a capacitor will create excess current across the switch contacts.  This is both hard on the switch, and will actually cause the "bumps" to get higher, due to the capacitor not discharging completely before the next bounce event.  This causes a "staircase" series of bumps to appear on the scope trace.

  5. Question:    Discuss some other ways in which a switch can be "de-bounced".
    Answer:      Many electronics books explain de-bouncing circuits using SPDP switches and SR Flip-Flops.  Software delays upon reading the first edge can of course negate the effects of the extra bounces.