An experimental approach to investigate the forward scattering sum rule for periodic structures is presented. This approach allows an upper bound on the total cross section integrated over a bandwidth from a simple static problem to be found. Based on energy conservation, the optical theorem is used to construct a relation between the total cross section and the forward scattering of periodic structures as well as single scatterers inside a parallel-plate waveguide. Dynamic measurements are performed using a parallel-plate waveguide and a parallel-plate capacitor is utilized to find the static polarizability. Convex optimization is introduced to identify the total cross section in the dynamic measurements and estimate an optimal lower bound on the polarizability for objects. The results show that the interactions between the electromagnetic field and an object over all wavelengths are given by the static polarizability of the object.