Capacitor vs inductor currents in AC. Smoothness.

[triple5ic]

With a 50Hz AC source and an inductor as a load the current waveform was smoother than that of the capacitor load. Why is this? Can it be explained using the current for an inductor =(1/L)*integral of the voltage, and for a capacitor the current is given by capacitance*(derivative of the voltage). The capacitor was 18uF. Thanks.

 

[BradtheRad]

Did you observe the waveform across a resistor in series with the capacitor? In that case the capacitor acts as a high-pass filter. High frequency noise would show up.

I can see a lot of hash just by touching the probe clip. The waveform resembles a rocky mountain, instead of a 60 Hz sine wave.

An inductor acts as a low-pass filter. A resistor in series would show a waveform which appears more sine-like.