What Is an LED? The simple answer is that an LED is a type of light. It’s also a type of diode. The acronym LED stands for Light Emitting Diode. Just as a diode is a semiconductor, an LED uses semiconductor properties to allow it to illuminate – unlike an incandescent light which uses a […]
Ohm’s Law is one of the most fundamental principles in electricity and electronics, and it’s what helps us to describe the relationship of the current through a conductor between two points in a circuit and its direct proportionality to the electric potential difference, or voltage across those two points. potential difference: the difference in electric […]
An ideal current source is a source of constant current to a system, independent of the source voltage. An ideal current source provides this constant current with 100% efficiency — it has an internal parallel resistance with a value that is infinite. A practical current source is a device that supplies current to a system, […]
An ideal voltage source is a source of constant voltage to a system, independent of any fluctuations of current. An ideal voltage source provides this constant voltage with 100% efficiency — it has a series internal resistance with a value of zero. A practical voltage source is a device that supplies voltage to a system, […]
Circuit Element A circuit element refers to a basic component that is used to construct electrical circuits. The element can be a physical device or an abstract concept that exhibits specific electrical behavior and are combined together to form more complex circuits. These elements can include resistors, capacitors, inductors, and various other components that contribute […]
Active and Passive Elements Explained Recall that a source is any device that delivers energy into to a system. A source is a device that actively generates electrical energy, such as a battery — whereas, an electrical load is considered to be a device that passively extracts energy from a system, such as a speaker. […]
A switch in electronics is a device or component that completes a circuit electrically. Electronic Switches An electronic switch is a switch that has no physical contacts or moving parts — like an electromechanical switch — that is operated by electric signals within a circuit. Electric switches are strictly controlled by active electronic components within […]
A switch in electronics is a device or component that completes a circuit electrically. An electromechanical switch is a switch that uses a mechanical action that physically manipulates contacts on the switch to either complete a circuit or open a circuit — i.e. the electromechanical switch is manually moved in such a way that its […]
A multimeter is a testing device that measures electrical properties and provides readouts of values pertaining to the electrical property being measured. The multimeter is a tool used by hobbyists, by those in the electrical and electronics industry, and by people in other industries — where measurements of electrical properties such as voltage, current and […]
For a circuit to be considered a series circuit, circuit elements within the circuit must have a direct path, each joined in sequence — and the current path never forking, branching or splitting off into a separate path. Simple Series Circuit If we are using conventional current flow (area of positive charge to area of […]
