Introduction to Basic Electronics
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Part 1
The Physics
What are Electronics?
Devices that move electrons
around to accomplish something Electrons are tiny particles
in matter that carry built-in
● Remote control cars electric charge.
● Phones
● Robots
● House lighting
Current
The speed with which
electric charge moves
● Formally, the amount of
charge moving past a point
per second
● Current is the agent of
change in circuits; no current,
no change!
Symbol: I Unit: Ampere
Voltage
Symbol: V Unit: Volt
The energy used (or gained!)
by moving charge from one ● Charge is lazy, so current likes to
point to another flow down voltage “drops” from
higher to lower voltage
+ - ● Voltage is a relative potential
A B energy between two points
● We often assign a reference point
that all voltages in a circuit are
VAB = VA - VB measured relative to. This is ground
Resistance
● All materials steal kinetic
n ce
sta
energy from charge s i
flowing through them and Re
dispel it as heat -
resistance is the rate of
nt
theft rre
Cu
● TLDR: resistance slows
current flow!
Symbol: R Unit: Ohms
Ohm’s Law
Quantifies the relationship
between current, voltage, and
resistance
V = IR
Voltage = Current ⋅ Resistance
Devices which obey Ohm’s law (eg. resistors, wires) are called ohmic!
The Hill Analogy
What is a Circuit?
Current only flows through V=V1
closed loops called circuits.
Active Passive
● Active parts supply
power, so current flows
along voltage rises I
● Passive parts consume
power, so current flows
along voltage drops V=0V (Ground)
Power
● Power=Voltage*Current
● Energy used per second
● Measured in Watts
● Most components and
devices have max power
rating
Part 2
Basic Components
Power Supplies
● Sources of power
● Use an outlet connection
to convert power
● Safe, reliable, and versatile
Batteries
● Store their own energy (measured typically in mWh) that is limited
in quantity
● Can either be rechargeable (Li, NiCd, NiMH) or single use (alkaline)
● Portable
● Harder to use than benchtop power supplies (voltage varies across
lifetime, limited current delivery/high ESR)
Basic Electronic Components
● Resistors
● Capacitors
● Inductors
● Diodes
● Transistors
● Buttons
Resistors
● Component with designed
resistance
● Follows Ohm’s law
● V=IR
● Resists the flow of current
Capacitors
● Stores electric energy
● Metal plates separated by
gap
● When voltage increases,
charge accumulates on
plates
● When voltage decreases,
charge flows from plates
Inductors
● Stores magnetic energy
● Coil of wire
● Current causes a
magnetic field around
coil
● Opposes a change in
current
Diodes
● Allow current to flow in one
direction
● Electrical check valves
Breadboard
● Used to make temporary
connections to test circuits
● Rows are connected together
with a jump in the middle
● Column bars used for power
and voltage levels
Breadboard Connections
LED Circuit
● Construct this circuit
● Power supply will be
9V
● Calculate Resistance
needed
● LED needs 20mA and
2V
V=IxR
Part 3
Controlling Circuits
Transistor
● Electrical Switch
● One terminal impacts
current flow between
the other two
terminals
MOSFET vs. BJT
MOSFET BJT
● Voltage ● Current
Dependent Dependent
● Gate control ● Base control
pin pin
Buttons
● Temporary electrical
connection
● Connection formed when
pressed
● Physical Switch
Pole and Throw
Pole
● Number of switches
Throw
● Number of connections
Momentary vs Latching
Momentary Switch
● The state of the switch is
directly set by depression
(pressed = on, idle = off)
Latching Switch
● A state transition is initiated by
depression (it remembers)
Example Project
Is this too much? Idrk
It showcases
momentary
pushbuttons and the
switching functionality
of transistors which I
think we need to do if
we mention both
Part 4
Measuring Circuits
Multimeter
● Measures many different
quantities
● DC and AC voltage, current,
resistance, frequency,
capacitance, inductance, etc
● Measurements are done with
two probes
[Link]
Probes
● Wires that connect
measurement tool to circuit
● Red goes to positive side of
measurement
● Black goes to negative side
of measurement
Measuring Voltage
● Voltage is measured between
two points on the circuit
● Make sure red probe is on the
voltage side
● Set multimeter to measure
voltage
● Place probes at the two
locations to measure across [Link]
cts/references/how-to-use-a-multimeter
Practice Measuring Voltage
● Turn on the power supply
● Measure the voltages
across the resistor and
LED
Measuring Other Values
● Resistance, frequencies,
capacitance, continuity, etc
● Measured using the same
port as voltage
● Except for frequency your
circuit should be off for
these measurements
[Link]
ultimeter/measuring-resistance
Practice Measuring Resistance
● Turn off power supply
● Measure the actual
resistance of the resistor
● Using your previous
voltage measurement
calculate the current
Measuring Current
● Current is measured differently
than voltage
● Need to break open the circuit
and measure between the points
you broke open
● This is a single-point
measurement
● Use the current port instead of
the voltage port
[Link]
Practice Measuring Current
● Rearrange circuit to measure
current
● Turn power supply back on
● Measure current
● Use measured current and
voltage measurements to
determine power
Part 5
Building Circuits
Types of connections
● It is possible to connect the
same set of components in
different ways.
● The different orientations
drastically affect the
electrical performance.
Series connection - Theory
● Singular path for current
● Current is constant through all components
● Voltage is used up crossing each
component.
● Voltage is summed across the connection.
Vt = V1 + V2 + V3
It = I1 = I2 = I3
Parallel connection - Theory
● Multiple paths for current
● Current is divided among each branch.
● Each component is place across voltage
source
● Voltage is the same across all components.
Vt = V1 = V2 = V3
It = I1 + I2 + I3
Series connection - Practice
● Note how each LED has
voltage drop across it and
how this affects brightness.
● Note how current is the
same at all parts of the
circuit
● Experiment! See how
adding or removing LED’s
changes voltage.
Parallel connection - Practice
● Since each branch has
the same resistance
current in each branch is
identical.
● Voltage across each
branch is identical.
● Experiment! See how
changing resistances
changes currents.
Next Workshop
● What is a circuit
● Parts of a circuit
● Basic circuit elements
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