Category: Electronics

Kirchhoff’s voltage law (KVL) and Kirchhoff’s Current law (KCL) are used to analyze Direct current circuits. The polarity of the voltage across resistances is significant in circuit analysis. The current direction is another factor that may be needed in circuit analysis. Electron flow will be used in this discussion. The negative end of the voltage […]

Very Basic Electronics Concepts What Are Valence Electrons Using Ohms Law Series, Parallel and Series/Parallel Circuit Resistance Configuration Types Kirchhoff’s-voltage-law,current-law, Thevenin’s theorem How to apply Thevenin’s Theorem Physical Resistors Resistor Color code and SMD code Specialty Resistors More terminology definitions and information regarding resistors Both theoretical and practical Capacitance The P N Junction PN junctions […]

Thevenin’s Theorem Thevenin’s Theorem shows how any combination of batteries and resistances with two terminals can be replaced by a single voltage source VTH and a single series resistor RTH. Steps to apply Thevenin’s Theorem: 1. Disconnect the load resistor. 2. Calculate the Open Circuit Voltage using Kirchhoff’s Law, Ohm’s Law, etc. The result is the […]

Symbols with engineered values are one thing but Physical Resistor creation is another. Technology is where the creation of actual resistors comes into play. The opposition to current flow presented by a material is dependent on its conductivity, cross-sectional area, and applied voltage. Wire made from various metals, carbon composition, carbon film or metal film […]

Resistor values Reading Resistor values is an important item for engineering and technology training. Price and availability go into design dissensions as well as the fabrication of prototypes. The resistor color code relatively easy to commit to memory. There are some common mnemonics for remembering the values assigned to the colors:  One of the most […]

Plain and Specialty Resistors Plain resistors  and specialty resistors are both standardized.  Electronic Industries Association (EIA) specifies standard graphical Symbols, along with several other authorities.  Multiple standards exist for electrical and electronic schematic symbols. Component representations in drawings by individual, company, or even industrial engineers may vary. The Consumer Electronics symbols, Industrial Electronics, and Electrical symbols […]

Direct & Alternating Current Current in a circuit can be broadly divided into two categories: First, Direct Current which is current flowing in only one direction: Second, Alternating Current which periodically switches direction. The term “passive component” refers to components that do not add power to a circuit. Resistors, capacitors, inductors, transformers, and even diodes […]

Capacitance Up to now the discussion has been primarily about resistance. We will concentrate on theoretical practical capacitance  in this post. .  First we need to review some terms and definitions.   When the Atoms of a material have less than four outer shell electrons (Valence electrons) the material is a conductor.  Materials made up of […]

Forming the PN Junction Before explaining how the PN Junction works, a couple of concepts need to be clarified. When impurities are added to a semiconductor, the over all material is still neutral. The number of protons in the N or P material is still equal to the number of electrons in that material. What […]