Basic Circuit

Components
Created by VICTOR TENG for DCB3092 ELECTRICAL
SERVICES 2
Resistors
A resistor is a circuit component which has
electrical resistance; it slows the movement of
electrons through it.
Resistors dissipate electrical energy, converting it
to heat.
Resistors in Circuits
Resistors lower voltage across an active circuit;
the voltage on the positive end will be higher than
the voltage on the negative end.
The voltage across is a resistor is proportional to
the current flowing through it.
The symbol for resistors is a zigzagging line. It
resembles a type of resistor called the wire-
wrapped resistor, which is wire wrapped around a
ceramic core.
Resistors in Circuits
SUMMARY:

Resistors restrict the flow of electricity in a device. Resistors were

given their name because they resist the flow of electricity.

Restricting the flow of electricity is called limiting current. Youll

learn about the multiple sides of electricity in the next unit, but until
then, know that resistors limit something called current and this is
how much electricity is flowing through a wire.

Resistors can do a second trick, and thats divide a voltage to a

smaller value. If you have a six volt battery but only need four volts
in a device, you can use a resistor to divide to voltage. Used this
way, the resistor takes two volts of the batterys six volts, leaving
four volts for the device.
Capacitors
Capacitors are circuit components that store
electrical charge.
Capacitors have two conductors separated by an
insulator called the dielectric.
When there is an electric potential across the
capacitor (a difference in the voltage), electrons
cannot flow across the gap; instead, one end
becomes positively charged and the other
becomes negatively charged, and an electric field
forms between the conductors.
Capacitors in Circuits
When a circuit first comes on, the charge in the
capacitor begins to build. Electrons gathering on one
end and vacating the other create a temporary
current as they move. As they do so, the voltage
across the capacitor increases and the current
decreases.
After the circuit has been on for a long time (steady-
state), there is a voltage across the capacitor and no
current through it. At steady-state conditions, a
capacitor acts like a break in the circuit.
The symbol for a capacitor is like two plates near one
another; this resembles the construction of basic
capacitors.
[Picture of plate
capacitor]
Capacitors in Circuits
SUMMARY:

Capacitors are storage devices.

Electricity flows through a device in units or charge.

Right now, you can think of charge as dollars of electricity.

Batteries make dollars of electricity in order to push dollars of

electricity through a device.

Capacitors dont generate dollars of electricity, but they can store it

temporarily.
Inductors
An inductor is a circuit element that develops a
magnetic field as current flows through it. This
field resists and slows the movement of electrons
in the inductor.
Most inductors consist of coiled wire.
Inductors in Circuits
The amount that an inductor resists electrical
current is proportional to the rate of change of
current flowing through.
When a circuit first comes on, the voltage across an
inductor is high and no current flows through it.
Over time, the voltage drops and the current
through the inductor increases as the magnetic field
develops.
At steady-state conditions, there is no voltage across
an inductor and current flows through at a constant
rate. An inductor behaves like wire at steady-state.
The symbol for an inductor is like coiled wire.
Comparing Inductors and
Capacitors
The properties of inductors and capacitors are
complements in many ways. Consider:

Circuit has just Circuit has come Steady-state

come on on recently
Capacito Capacitor has Voltage Capacitor has a
r no voltage and increases, voltage and no
current flows current current flows
freely decreases, across
electric field
forms
Inductor Inductor has a Voltage Inductor has no
voltage and no decreases, voltage and
current flows current current flows
across increases, freely
magnetic field
forms
Comparing Resistors to
Inductors and Capacitors
Inductors and capacitors act differently when a circuit is
going from off to on or from on to off than when the
circuit has been on for a long time. This is called
transient behavior. Generally speaking, their behavior is
time-dependent.
By contrast, resistors act the same at steady-state as
they do in changing systems.
Inductors and capacitors behave differently in AC
circuits than in DC circuits. Their behaviors are much
more complicated in AC circuits, where the current and
voltage are constantly fluctuating. Naturally in DC
circuits, where the current and voltage stay the same,
they are much less complicated. Resistors, because
they are unaffected by current and voltage changes,
behave the same way in both AC and DC circuits
Ideal vs Real
Components
Resistance, capacitance, and inductance are properties
that all circuit elements have. Well-designed elements
tend to focus on just one of these. It is possible to have a
component designed to focus on more than one property.
When represented in circuit diagrams, elements only
have the property that they are designed for; resistors
dont have capacitance, inductors dont have resistance,
and so on.
If an actual component does have two or more of these
properties to a significant degree, it is often represented
in diagrams by multiple elements which together account
for all of the components properties. This keeps circuit
analysis clean and simple.
For example, if an inductor has a non-negligible
resistance, it may be represented in a diagram as an
inductor in series with a resistor.
Semiconductors
Semiconductors are materials that fall between
conductors and insulators.
They may act as insulators in some conditions and as
conductors in others.
Semiconductors can be doped; this is when another
substance is added to the semiconductor to change
its properties.
Donor dopants produce an excess of electrons in the
semiconductor. Semiconductors doped with donors
are called n-type.
Acceptor dopants produce an excess of positive
holes where there are no electrons.
Semiconductors doped with acceptors are called p-
type.
Diodes
A diode is a circuit element which essentially is a resistor
with polarity; it has a different resistance in one direction
than in the other.
Most diodes have no resistance in one direction and very
high resistance in the other, so that they only allow current
to flow in one direction. These diodes are called rectifiers.
Recall that semiconductors may change from insulators to
conductors under certain conditions. For semiconductor
diodes, the diode behaves as an insulator until a certain
voltage is achieved across the diode. It then behaves as a
conductor, allowing current to pass. When this happens,
the diode is forward-biased.
The symbol for a diode looks like an arrow that points in
the direction of current flow. The diode shown below would
allow current to flow from left to right.
Diodes
SUMMARY:

Diodes let current flow only one way in a device.

They are important to block electricity that could flow the wrong
direction.

LEDs are special cases of diodes. We use them when we know

electricity will only flow in the proper direction, but that we want a
light source that wont burn out for a long time or that has a
special color.
Transistors
Transistors are circuit components made of
semiconductors that amplify and switch currents.
A good example of how transistors work is the
Bipolar Junction Transistor (BJT). In the NPN BJT, a
layer of p-type semiconductor separates two
sections of n-type semiconductor. When there is a
voltage across the two n-type layers, no current can
pass through. When positive voltage is applied to
the p-type layer, however, the transistor becomes
conductive, and current can pass through.
In PNP transistors, two p-type semiconductors are
separated by n-type semiconductor material. When
positive voltage is applied to the n-type layer, it is
closed; when negative voltage is applied, it is open.
Parts of a Transistor
The terminal that
receives current is Collect
called the collector. or
The terminal that
releases current is
called the emitter. Bas
e
The terminal that
controls whether
the transistor is on Emitter
is called the base.
Transistors
SUMMARY:

Transistors act as electronic switches. However, in the case of

transistors, they operate faster and with even less electricity. Not
only so they turn devices on and off, but they can also turn them
part way on (which is something a relay or switch cannot do).

In your robot, transistors will be used to quickly turn on and off

devices without you pushing a switch. The transistor will enable
to robot to react to its environment without you being around to
push buttons all the time.

Because transistors can turn on devices, like speakers, only part

way on, they are used to amplify weak electricity into strong
electricity that speaks change into sounds.
Operational Amplifier
Operational Amplifier
Operational Amplifier
Microprocessor
Microprocessor
Microprocessor