Basic Electronics

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By randofoHomemade Robots! Follow More

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My name is Randy and I am a Community Manager in these here parts. In a previous life I had
founded… More »

Getting started with basic electronics is easier than you might think. This Instructable will
hopefully demystify the basics of electronics so that anyone with an interest in building
circuits can hit the ground running. This is a quick overview into practical electronics and it is
not my goal to delve deeply into the science of electrical engineering. If you are interested in
learning more about the science of basic electronics, Wikipedia is a good place to start your
search.

By the end of this Instructable, anyone with an interest to learn basic electronics should be
able to read a schematic and build a circuit using standard electronic components.

For a more comprehensive and hands-on overview of electronics, check

out my Electronics Class.

Step 1: Electricity

There are two types of electrical signals , those being alternating current (AC), and direct
current (DC).

With alternating current, the direction electricity flows throughout the circuit is constantly
reversing. You may even say that it is alternating direction. The rate of reversal is measured in
Hertz, which is the number of reversals per second. So, when they say that the US power
supply is 60 Hz, what they mean is that it is reversing 120 times per second (twice per cycle).

With Direct Current, electricity flows in one direction between power and ground. In this
arrangement there is always a positive source of voltage and ground (0V) source of voltage.
Following
You can test this by reading a battery with a multimeter. For great instructions on how to do
this, check out Ladyada's multimeter page (you will want to measure voltage in particular).

Speaking of voltage, electricity is typically defined as having a voltage and a current rating.
Voltage is obviously rated in Volts and current is rated in Amps. For instance, a brand new 9V
battery would have a voltage of 9V and a current of around 500mA (500 milliamps).

Electricity can also be defined in terms of resistance and watts. We will talk a little bit about
resistance in the next step, but I am not going to be going over Watts in depth. As you delve
deeper into electronics you will encounter components with Watt ratings. It is important to
never exceed the Wattage rating of a component, but fortunately that Wattage of your DC
power supply can easily be calculated by multiplying the voltage and current of your power
source.
If you want a better understanding of these different measurements, what they mean, and
how they relate, check out this informative video on Ohm's Law.

Most basic electronic circuits use DC electricity. As such, all further discussion of
electricity will revolve around DC electricity.

(Note that some of the links on this page are affiliate links. This does not change the cost of the
item for you. I reinvest whatever proceeds I receive into making new projects. If you would
like any suggestions for alternative suppliers, please let me know.)

Step 2: Circuits

A circuit is a complete and closed path through which electric current can flow. In other words,
a closed circuit would allow the flow of electricity between power and ground. An open circuit
would break the flow of electricity between power and ground.

Anything that is part of this closed system and that allows electricity to flow between power
and ground is considered to be part of the circuit.

Step 3: Resistance
Projects
back
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Circuits
back
All
Apple
Arduino
Art
Assistive Tech
Audio
Cameras
Clocks
Computers
Electronics
The next very important
Gadgets consideration to keep in mind is that electricity in a circuit must be
used. Lasers
LEDs
For instance, in Linux
the circuit above, the motor that electricity is flowing through is adding
resistance to theMicrocontrollers
flow of electricity. Thus, all of the electricity passing through the circuit is
being put to use.Microsoft
Mobile
In other words, Raspberry
there needsPito be something wired between positive and ground that adds
resistance to theRemote
flow ofControl
electricity and uses it up. If positive voltage is connected directly to
ground and doesReuse
not first pass through something that adds resistance, like a motor, this will
result in a shortRobots
circuit. This means that the positive voltage is connected directly to ground.
Sensors
Likewise, if electricity passes through a component (or group of components) that does not add
Software
enough resistance to the circuit, a short will likewise occur (see Ohm's Law video).
Soldering
Speakers
Shorts are bad because they will result in your battery and/or circuit overheating, breaking,
Tools
catching on fire, and/or exploding.
USB
Wearables
It is very important to prevent short circuits by making sure that the positive voltage is
Websites
never wired directly to ground.
Wireless
Workshop
That said, always keep in mind that electricity always follows the path of least resistance to
back
ground. What thisAllmeans is that if you give positive voltage the choice to pass through a motor
to ground, or follow a wire straight to ground, it will follow the wire because the wire provides
3D Design
the least resistance. This
3D Printingalso means that by using the wire to bypass the source of resistance
straight to ground,
Carsyou have created a short circuit. Always make sure that you never
accidentally connect
CNC positive voltage to ground while wiring things in parallel.
Electric Vehicles
Also note that a switch does not add any resistance to a circuit and simply adding a switch
Energy
between power and ground will create a short circuit.
Furniture
Home Improvement
Step 4: Series Home Vs. Parallel
Theater
Hydroponics
Knives
Laser Cutting
Lighting
Metalworking
Molds & Casting
Motorcycles
Organizing
Pallets
Repair
Science
Shelves
Solar
There are two different
Tools ways in which you can wire things together called series and parallel.
Woodworking
When things areWorkbenches
wired in series, things are wired one after another, such that electricity has to
pass through one thing, then the next thing, then the next, and so on.

In the first example, the motor, switch and battery are all wired in series because the only path
for electricity to flow is from one, to the next, and to the next.
When things Craft
are wired in parallel, they are wired side by side, such that electricity passes
through all of them
backat the same time, from one common point to another common point
All
In the next example,
Art the motors are wired in parallel because the electricity passes through
both motors from one &
Books common
Journalspoint to another common point.
Cardboard
in the final example
Cardsthe motors are wired in parallel, but the pair of parallel motors, switch
and batteries are all wired in series. So, the current is split between the motors in a parallel
Clay
fashion, but stillCostumes
must pass&in series from one part of the circuit to the next.
Cosplay
Digital Graphics
If this does not make sense yet, do not worry. When you start to build your own circuits, all of
Duct Tape
this will start to become clear.
Embroidery
Fashion
Step 5: Basic Felt Components
Fiber Arts
Gift Wrapping
Jewelry
In order to buildKnitting
circuits,&you will need to become familiar with a few basic components. These
Crochet
components may seem simple, but are the bread and butter of most electronics projects. Thus,
Leather
by learning about theseJars
Mason few basic parts, you will be able to go a long way.
No-Sew
Bear with me asPaper
I elaborate as to what each of these are in the coming steps.
Parties & Weddings
Step 6: Resistors Photography
Printmaking
Reuse
Sewing
Soapmaking
As the name implies, resistors add resistance to the circuit and reduces the flow of electrical
Wallets
current. It is represented in a circuit diagram as a pointy squiggle with a value next to it.

The different markings on the resistor represent different values of resistance. These values
are measured in ohms.
Cooking
backwith different wattage ratings. For most low-voltage DC circuits, 1/4 watt
Resistors also come
resistors shouldAll
be suitable.
Bacon
You read the values
BBQ from
& Grilling
left to right towards the (typically) gold band. The first two colors
represent the resistor
Beverages
value, the third represents the multiplier, and the fourth (the gold band)
represents the tolerance
Bread or precision of the component. You can tell the value of each color by
looking at a resistor
Breakfast
color value chart.
Cake
Or... to make your life easier, you could simply look up the values using a graphical resistance
Candy
calculator. Canning & Preserving
Cocktails & Mocktails
Anyhow... a resistor
Coffeewith the markings brown, black, orange, gold will translate as follows:
Cookies
1 (brown) 0 (black) x 1,000 = 10,000 with a tolerance of +/- 5%
Cupcakes
Dessert
Any resistor of over 1000 ohms is typically shorted using the letter K. For instance, 1,000 would
Homebrew
be 1K; 3,900, would translate to 3.9K; and 470,000 ohms would become 470K.
Main Course
Pasta
Values of ohms over
Pie a million are represented using the letter M. In this case, 1,000,000 ohms
would become 1M.
Pizza
Salad
Sandwiches
Step 7: Capacitors
Snacks & Appetizers
Soups & Stews
Vegetarian & Vegan
A capacitor is a component that stores electricity and then discharges it into the circuit when
there is a drop in electricity. You can think of it as a water storage tank that releases water
when there is a drought to ensure a steady stream.

Capacitors are measured in Farads. The values that you will typically encounter in most
capacitors Living
are measured in picofarad (pF), nanofarad (nF), and microfarad (uF). These are
back
often used interchangeably and it helps to have a conversion chart at hand.
All
The most commonlyBeautyencountered types of capacitors are ceramic disc capacitors that look like
Christmas
tiny M&Ms with two wires sticking out of them and electrolytic capacitors that look more like
small cylindricalCleaning
tubes with two wires coming out the bottom (or sometimes each end).
Decorating
Education
Ceramic disc capacitors are non-polarized, meaning that electricity can pass through them no
matter how theyGardening
are inserted in the circuit. They are typically marked with a number code
which needs to beHalloween
decoded. Instructions for reading ceramic capacitors can be found here.
Health
This type of capacitor is typically represented in a schematic as two parallel lines.
Hiding Places
Electrolytic capacitors
Holidaysare typically polarized. This means that one leg needs to be connected to
the ground side Homesteading
of the circuit and the other leg must be connected to power. If it is connected
backwards, it won't
Kidswork correctly. Electrolytic capacitors have the value written on them,
typically represented
Kitchenin uF. They also mark the leg which connects to ground with a minus
symbol (-). This LEGO
capacitor is represented in a schematic as a side-by-side straight and curved
& K'NEX
line. The straight lineHacks
Life represents the end which connects to power and the curve connected to
ground. Music
Office Supply Hacks
Step 8: Diodes Organizing
Pest Control
Pets
Pranks, Tricks, & Humor
Relationships
Diodes are components which are polarized. They only allow electrical current to pass through
Toys & Games
them in one direction. This is useful in that it can be placed in a circuit to prevent electricity
from flowing in Travel
the wrong direction.
Video Games
Another thing to keep in mind is that it requires energy to pass through a diode and this results
in a drop of voltage. This is typically a loss of about 0.7V. This is important to keep in mind for
later when we talk about a special form of diodes called LEDs.
Outside
The ring found on one end of the diode indicates the side of the diode which connects to
back
ground. This is the cathode. It then follows that the other side connects to power. This side is
the anode. All
Backyard
The part number Beach
of the diode is typically written on it, and you can find out its various
Bikes
electrical properties by looking up its datasheet.
Birding
Boats
They are represented
Campingin schematic as a line with a triangle pointing at it. The line is that side
which connected Climbing
to ground and the bottom of the triangle connects to power.
Fire
Fishing
Step 9: Transistors
Hunting
Kites
Knots
Launchers
A transistor takes in a small electrical current at its base pin and amplifies it such that a much
Paracord
larger current can pass between its collector and emitter pins. The amount of current that
Rockets
passes between these two pins is proportional to the voltage being applied at the base pin.
Siege Engines
Skateboarding
There are two basic types of transistors, which are NPN and PNP. These transistors have
Snow
opposite polarity between collector and emitter. For a very comprehensive intro to transistors
Sports
check out this page.
Survival
NPN transistorsWater
allow electricity to pass from the collector pin to the emitter pin. They are
represented in a schematic with a line for a base, a diagonal line connecting to the base, and a
diagonal arrow pointing away from the base.

PNP transistors allow electricity to pass from the emitter pin to the collector pin. They are
represented in a schematic with a line for a base, a diagonal line connecting to the base, and a
diagonal arrow pointing towards the base.

Transistors have their part number printed on them and you can look up their datasheets
Teachers
online to learn about their pin layouts and their specific properties. Be sure to take note of the
backand current rating as well.
transistor's voltage
All
ELA
Step 10: Integrated
Math
Circuits
Micro:bit
Science
Social Studies
An integrated circuit is an entire specialized circuit that has been miniaturized and fit onto one
Engineering
small chip with each leg of the chip connecting to a point within the circuit. These
MakeyMakey
miniaturized circuits typically consist of components such as transistors, resistors, and diodes.
Coding
For instance, theElectronics
internal schematic for a 555 timer chip has over 40 components in it.
Robotics
Like transistors,Arduino
you can learn all about integrated circuits by looking up their datasheets. On
the datasheet youCNCwill learn the functionality of each pin. It should also state the voltage and
current ratings of bothCutting
Laser the chip itself and each individual pin.
3D Printing
3D come
Integrated circuits Designin a variety of different shapes and sizes. As a beginner, you will be
mainly workingArt with DIP chips. These have pins for through-hole mounting. As you get more
Music
advanced, you may consider SMT chips which are surface mount soldered to one side of a
circuit board. Theatre
Wood Shop
The round notchMetal
on one edge of the IC chip indicates the top of the chip. The pin to the top left
Shop
of the chip is considered
Resourcespin 1. From pin 1, you read sequentially down the side until you reach
the bottom (i.e. pin 1, pin
Grades K-22, pin 3..). Once at the bottom, you move across to the opposite side of
the chip and then start reading
Grades 3-5 the numbers up until you reach the top again.
Grades 6-8
Keep in mind thatGrades
some9-12
smaller chips have a small dot next to pin 1 instead of a notch at the
top of the chip. University+

There is no standard way that all ICs are incorporated into circuit diagrams, but they are often
represented as boxes with numbers in them (the numbers representing the pin number).

Step 11: Potentiometers

Potentiometers are variable resistors. In plain English, they have some sort of knob or slider
that you turn or push to change resistance in a circuit. If you have ever used a volume knob on
a stereo or a sliding light dimmer, then you have used a potentiometer.

Potentiometers are measured in ohms like resistors, but rather than having color bands, they
have their value rating written directly on them (i.e. "1M"). They are also marked with an "A"
or a "B, " which indicated the type of response curve it has.

Potentiometers marked with a "B" have a linear response curve. This means that as you turn
the knob, the resistance increases evenly (10, 20, 30, 40, 50, etc.). The potentiometers marked
with an "A" have a logarithmic response curve. This means that as you turn the knob, the
numbers increase logarithmically (1, 10, 100, 10,000 etc.)

Potentiometers have three legs as to create a voltage divider, which is basically two resistors in
series. When two resistors are put in series, the point between them is a voltage that is a value
somewhere between the source value and ground.

For instance, if you have two 10K resistors in series between power (5V) and ground (0V), the
point where these two resistors meet will be half the power supply (2.5V) because both of the
resistors have identical values. Assuming this middle point is actually the center pin of a
potentiometer, as you turn the knob, the voltage on the middle pin will actually increase
towards 5V or decrease toward 0V (depending which direction that you turn it). This is useful
for adjusting the intensity of an electrical signal within a circuit (hence its use as a volume
knob).

This is represented in a circuit as a resistor with an arrow pointing towards the middle of it.

If you only connect one of the outer pins and the center pin to the circuit, you are only
changing the resistance within the circuit and not the voltage level on the middle pin. This too
is a useful tool for circuit building because often you just want to change the resistance at a
particular point and not create an adjustable voltage divider.
Contests
Teachers
This configuration is often represented in a circuit as a resistor with an arrow coming out of
one side and looping back in to point towards the middle.

Step 12: LEDs

LED stands for light emitting diode. It is basically a special type of diode that lights up when
electricity passes through it. Like all diodes, the LED is polarized and electricity is only
intended to pass through in one direction.
There are typically two indicators to let you know what direction electricity will pass through
and LED. The first indicator that the LED will have a longer positive lead (anode) and a shorter
ground lead (cathode). The other indicator is a flat notch on the side of the LED to indicate the
positive (anode) lead. Keep in mind that not all LEDs have this indication notch (or that it is
sometimes wrong).

Like all diodes, LEDs create a voltage drop in the circuit, but typically do not add much
resistance. In order to prevent the circuit from shorting, you need to add a resistor in series. To
figure out how large of a resistor you need for optimum intensity, you can use this online LED
calculator to figure out how much resistance is needed for a single LED. It is often good
practice to use a resistor that is slightly larger in the value than what is returned by calculator.

You may be tempted to wire LEDs in series, but keep in mind that each consecutive LED will
result in a voltage drop until finally there is not enough power left to keep them lit. As such, it
is ideal to light up multiple LEDs by wiring them in parallel. However, you need to make
certain that all of the LEDs have the same power rating before you do this (different colors
often are rated differently).

LEDs will show up in a schematic as a diode symbol with lightning bolts coming off of it, to
indicate that it is a glowing diode.

Step 13: Switches

A switch is basically a mechanical device that creates a break in a circuit. When you activate
the switch, it opens or closes the circuit. This is dependent on the type of switch it is.

Normally open (N.O.) switches close the circuit when activated.

Normally closed (N.C.) switches open the circuit when activated.

As switches get more complex they can both open one connection and close another when
activated. This type of switch is a single-pole double-throw switch (SPDT).

If you were to combine two SPDT switches into one single switch, it would be called a double-
pole double-throw switch (DPDT). This would break two separate circuits and open two other
circuits, every time the switch was activated.

Step 14: Batteries

A battery is a container which converts chemical energy into electricity. To over-simplify the
matter, you can say that it "stores power."

By placing batteries in series you are adding the voltage of each consecutive battery, but the
current stays the same. For instance, a AA-battery is 1.5V. If you put 3 in series, it would add up
to 4.5V. If you were to add a fourth in series, it would then become 6V.

By placing batteries in parallel the voltage remains the same, but the amount of current
available doubles. This is done much less frequently than placing batteries in series, and is
usually only necessary when the circuit requires more current than a single series of batteries
can offer.

It is recommend that you get a range of AA battery holders. For instance, I would get an
assortment that holds 1, 2, 3, 4, and 8 AA batteries.

Batteries are represented in a circuit by a series of alternating lines of different length. There
are also additional marking for power, ground and the voltage rating.

Step 15: Breadboards

Breadboards are special boards for prototyping electronics. They are covered with a grid of
holes, which are split into electrically continuous rows.

In the central part there are two columns of rows that are side-by-side. This is designed to
allow you to be able to insert an integrated circuit into the center. After it is inserted, each pin
of the integrated circuit will have a row of electrically continuous holes connected to it.

In this way, you can quickly build a circuit without having to do any soldering or twisting
wires together. Simply connect the parts that are wired together into one of the electrically
continuous rows.

On each edge of the breadboard, there typically runs two continuous bus lines. One is intended
as a power bus and the other is intended as a ground bus. By plugging power and ground
respectively into each of these, you can easily access them from anywhere on the breadboard.

Step 16: Wire

In order to connect things together using a breadboard, you either need to use a component or
a wire.

Wires are nice because they allow you to connect things without adding virtually no resistance
to the circuit. This allows you to be flexible as to where you place parts because you can
connect them together later with wire. It also allows you to connect a part to multiple other
parts.

It is recommended that you use insulated 22awg (22 gauge) solid core wire for breadboards.
You used to be able to find it at Radioshack, but instead could use the hookup wire linked to
above. Red wire typically indicates a power connection and black wire represents a ground
connection.

To use wire in your circuit, simply cut a piece to size, strip a 1/4" of insulation from each end of
the wire and use it to connect points together on the breadboard.

Step 17: Your First Circuit

Parts List:
1K ohm - 1/4 Watt resistor
5mm red LED
SPST toggle switch
9V battery connector

If you look at the schematic you will see that the 1K resistor, LED, and switch are all connected
in series with the 9V battery. When you build the circuit, you will be able to turn the LED on
and off with the switch.

You can look up the color code for a 1K resistor using the graphical resistance calculator. Also,
remember that the LED needs to be plugged in the right way (hint - the long leg goes to the
positive side of the circuit).

I needed to solder a solid core wire to each leg of the switch. For instructions on how to do that,
check out the "How to Solder" Instructable. If this is too much of a pain for you to do, simply
leave the switch out of the circuit.

If you decide to use the switch, open and close it to see what happens when you make and
break the circuit.

Step 18: Your Second Circuit

Parts List:
2N3904 PNP transistor
2N3906 NPN transistor
47 ohm - 1/4 Watt resistor
1K ohm - 1/4 Watt resistor
470K ohm - 1/4 Watt resistor
10uF electrolytic capacitor
0.01uF ceramic disc capacitor
5mm red LED
3V AA battery holder

Optional:
10K ohm - 1/4 Watt resistor
1M potentiometer

This next schematic may look daunting, but it is actually rather straight-forward. It is using all
of the parts that we have just gone over to automatically blink an LED.

Any general purpose NPN or PNP transistors should do for the circuit, but should you want to
follow along at home, I am using 293904 (NPN) and 2N3906 (PNP) transistors. I learned their
pin layouts by looking up their datasheets. A good source for quickly finding datasheets is
Octopart.com. Simply search for the part number and you should find a picture of the part and
link to the datasheet.

For instance, from the datasheet for the 2N3904 transistor, I was quickly able to see that pin 1
was the emitter, pin 2 was the base, and pin 3 was the collector.

Aside from the transistors, all of the resistors, capacitors, and LED should be straight-forward
to connect. However, there is one tricky bit in the schematic. Notice the half-arch near the
transistor. This arch indicates that the capacitor jumps over the trace from the battery and
connects to the base of the PNP transistor instead.

Also, when building the circuit, don't forget to keep in mind that the electrolytic capacitors and
LED are polarized and will only work in one direction.

After you finish building the circuit and plug in the power, it should blink. If it does not blink,
carefully check all of your connections and orientation of all of the parts.

A trick for quickly debugging the circuit is counting components in the schematic versus
components on your breadboard. If they don't match, you left something out. You can also do
the same counting trick for the number of things that connect to a particular point in the
circuit.

Once it is working, try changing the value of 470K resistor. Notice that by increasing the value
of this resistor, the LED blinks slower and that by decreasing it, the LED blinks faster.

The reason for this is that the resistor is controlling the rate at which the 10uF capacitor is
filling and discharging. This is directly related to the blinking of the LED.

Replace this resistor with a 1M potentiometer that is in series with a 10K resistor. Wire it such
that one side of the resistor connects to an outer pin on the potentiometer and the other side
connects to the base of the PNP transistor. The center pin of the potentiometer should connect
to ground. The rate of blinking now changes when you turn the knob and sweep through the
resistance.

Step 19: Your Third Circuit

Parts List:
555 Timer IC
1K ohm - 1/4 Watt resistor
10K ohm - 1/4 Watt resistor
1M ohm - 1/4 Watt resistor
10uF electrolytic capacitor
0.01uF ceramic disc capacitor
Small Speaker
9V battery connector

This last circuit is using a 555 timer chip to make noise using a speaker.

What is happening is that the configuration of components and connections on the 555 chip is
causing pin 3 to oscillate rapidly between high and low. If you were to graph these oscillations,
it would look like a square wave (a wave the alternates between two power levels). This wave
then rapidly pulses the speaker, which displaces air at such a high frequency that we hear this
as a steady tone of that frequency.

Make sure that the 555 chip is straddling the center of the breadboard, such that none of the
pins might get accidentally connected. Aside from that, simply make the connections as
specified in the schematic diagram.

Also note the "NC" symbol on the schematic. This stands in for "No Connect," which obviously
means nothing connects to that pin in this circuit.

You can read all about 555 chips on this page and see a great selection of additional 555
schematics on this page.

In terms of the speaker, use a small speaker like you might find inside of a musical greeting
card. This configuration can't drive a large speaker, the smaller the speaker you can find, the
better off that you will be. Most speakers are polarized, so make certain that you have the
negative side of the speaker connected to ground (if it requires it).

If you want to take it a step farther, you can create a volume knob by connecting one outer pin
of a 100K potentiometer to pin 3, the middle pin to the speaker, and the the remaining outer
pin to ground.

Step 20: You're on Your Own

Okay... You are not exactly on your own. The internet is full of people who know how to do this
stuff and have documented their work such that you can learn how to do it as well. Go forth
and seek out what you want to make. If the circuit does not yet exist, chances are there is
documentation of something similar already online.

A great place to start finding circuit schematic is the Discover Circuits site. They have a
comprehensive list of fun circuits to experiment with.

If you have any additional advice about basic electronics for beginners, please share it in the
comments below.

Did you find this useful, fun, or entertaining?

Follow @madeineuphoria to see my latest projects.

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398 Comments
 SusrithaT 5 years ago

What is a inductors

Reply

2 replies

idealabqiscet 8 months ago

Hiiii
I am very happy get this information about basic electronics
thank you

Reply

colin55 9 months ago

I would like to know how a 6v battery works a servo.

Reply

BraeganMarshallLaw 3 years ago

I wasn´t able to get step 18:Your Second Circuit to work. I connected everything and
quadruple checked it. After it didn´t work, I took everything apart and put it back
together, and it still didn´t work. Any suggestions?
 Reply

RichieDev 3 years ago

Very helpful. I will be trying out the circuits this morning.

Reply

Markp1999 3 years ago

An outstanding introduction, very clearly written.Thank you,

Reply

Waynesworld33 3 years ago

Hi all
I want to modify an existing brake light bar for my car as original expensive one has many
leds out.

I want to make set up with 21 leds wired up to 12v,I presume in parallel but unsure of
resistor configuration and values
Please help and advise cheers

Reply

holdengreen 4 years ago

I do not understand the placement of the 10uF capacitor. It seems to be connected in a way
that opposite to it's polarity. Why is it charging and what stops it from blowing up?

Reply

Swayam Khandelwal 4 years ago

I have a IC numbered as 813; what do i use it for?

Reply

1 reply

marcelobast 7 years ago

Maybe a graphic showing the diference between Dc and Ac could improve it! But too good
at all!

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1 reply

chanduk4 8 years ago

The rate of reversal is measured in Hertz, which is the number of reversals per
second. So, when they say that the US power supply is 60 Hz, what they mean is that it
is reversing 120 times per second

How can calculate the number of reversing per second based on frequency, could you
please explain it??
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2 replies

woodworksmithy 6 years ago

At last someone who understands that us over 60s didn't learn anything about electronics
at school many thanks for a great introduction and I will be trying out a few things that I
have looked at in the past with great mystery MANY MANY THANKS

Reply

1 reply

CélineK5 5 years ago

How do we call a capacitor using chemical reactions to store charge

Reply

2 replies

Pratima kandel 5 years ago

Which metals can only be used as conducting wires by depending on its electrical density ?
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1 reply

Footprint Hero 4 years ago

For the second circuit, I didn't have a 47 ohm resistor so I used a 10 ohm resistor instead
and it worked. I also tried a 100 ohm resistor and that didn't work.

Reply

starsky.hugh 4 years ago

Mmm, if connection to a ground is the as a connection to a negative terminal of a source,

then why in a vehicle, such as a car, there are 3 connections : one to positive terminal of
the battery, another to the negative terminal and yet a third connection to the chassis of
the car they call ground?

Reply

1 reply

starsky.hugh 4 years ago

When you say something, such as a cathode must be connected to ground, what does
ground mean, is it the same thing as making a connection to the negative terminal of a
power source?

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1 reply
 philipsen.sergi 4 years ago

μF

Reply

istdasklar 4 years ago

There is one things I NEVER understood.... Which values are fixed, and which depends on
others ?
You said "a 9V battery would have a voltage of 9V and a current of around 500mA "

As I understood U=RI, the voltage of the battery is fixed and the current depend on the
circuit resistance. So, a battery could deliver a range of current between 0 and current
Max, depending of the resistance ...I guess 500mA is the current max ?

But you said later,

"By placing batteries in series you are adding the voltage of each
consecutive battery, but the current stays the same"...
Hum..., if you have more voltage for the same circuit resistance, it will increase the current
in the circuit because U = RI ?

What's my problem ??

Reply

1 reply

MohitK100 4 years ago

sir i need a basic electronics book in hindi pdf... please send it

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tinkerman123 4 years ago

According to Wiki:
In English, "hertz" is also used as the plural form.[4] As an SI unit, Hz can be prefixed;
commonly used multiples are kHz (kilohertz, 103 Hz), MHz (megahertz, 106 Hz), GHz
(gigahertz, 109 Hz) and THz (terahertz, 1012 Hz). One hertz simply means "one cycle per
second" (typically that which is being counted is a complete cycle); 100 Hz means "one
hundred cycles per second", and so on.

Your explanation:
The rate of reversal is measured in Hertz, which is the number of reversals per second. So,
when they say that the
US power supply is 60 Hz, what they mean is that it is reversing 120 times per second
(twice per cycle).

Bueller ???

Reply

Raphael Ajimuda 4 years ago

I'm a student of Electronics in Nigeria and i seem to find this very useful

Reply

iluvblender 5 years ago

Thank you for this wonderful lesson.

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Alex_1985 8 years ago

This was really helpful! I think I need to dive into a project to really grasp it though...

Would this be a good kit to help learn basic electronics?

Reply

1 reply

Kamlesh4100 5 years ago

How to read datasheet????

Reply

SoujanyaB3 5 years ago

Could you please refer me with any book or theory regarding the second circuit. I need
more explanation regarding it's working and outputs

Reply

runa.akther2011 5 years ago

How to calculate I for more than one resistance?

Reply

1 reply

anandkumarvanapalli278 5 years ago

what is Breadboard ?

Reply

1 reply

Lokesh Sahu 5 years ago

What will has happaned if we will connect positive terminal direct to the ground?

Reply

1 reply

Kingsup310 5 years ago

Hey guys.. I'm new to working on electronics. I got a quick question.. I have this part that I
have no idea what's it for and why it does... Any help will be greatly appreciated.
 Reply

1 reply

Sidhusana143 6 years ago

What are the advantages of parallel and series,which is best

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1 reply

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