Patent ID: 7126352

Claim:
A method for determining the moisture content and the conductivity in the ground and in bulk materials, comprising the following steps: a) introducing a capacitive sensor into the ground or the bulk material, b) charging the sensor from a constant voltage supply by means of a predetermined initial current from a predetermined first voltage threshold value up to a predetermined second voltage threshold value and determining one of a voltage-time-diagram and the needed first charging time required for the charging from the first voltage threshold value to the second voltage threshold value, and charging the sensor with the constant voltage supply for determining a second charging time, wherein at least one of the initial current and one of the two voltage threshold values are changed, c) determining the moisture content and the conductivity by verification of the two charging times, wherein for each of the two charging times a periodic measuring signal with a particular frequency is generated, with one period of the measuring signal comprising the charging and discharging of the sensor and the frequencies of the two periodic measuring signals are also employed in the determination of the moisture content and the conductivity or the voltage-time-diagram by a comparison of a recorded voltage curve with a solution of a corresponding differential equation system.