Does anyone know how to measure the energy in a single pulse using an oscilloscope?

Answer 1

If your o-scope has a sweep function on it you can 'zoom' in on the pulse to try to find the width.

Answer 2

An oscilloscope measures voltage vs time. You need to know the resistance of the oscilloscope to convert to power and then to energy. Usually the input resistance is R= 10^6 Ohm - but not always. The power is V^2/R. If you plot the voltage, convert to power, and then integrate the pulse, you will get energy.

As an example, suppose the pulse is a step function of peak 2 V into a resistance of 10^6 Ohms in a pulse width of .01 seconds. then the energy is 4 x .01 / 10^6 = 4 x 10^-8 joules.

Answer 3

JeffT is mostly correct. But you'd likely use a calibrated resistive load instead of the input impedance of the scope. If you measured 1 volt across a 1 ohm load for 1 second, the pulse delivered 1 watt-second of energy into the load. But that doesn't tell you how much of the energy of the pulse was reflected instead of absorbed. So, you would choose the load resistance to match the impedance of the transmission line, so there would be little or no reflected power, and you would most accurately measure the energy in the pulse.