Electricity and basic components
- 1. 6th – Basics of electronics Nestor Benavides
- 2. Electronics To begin, definitions: ELECTRICITY: Refers to devices or practices that involve the management of big amounts of electric power. Ex (engines, power supply plants, etc.). ELECTRONICS: Refers to devices or practices that involve the management of small amounts of electric power. Ex (cellphones, TVs, etc.). Here, we will only work electronics.
- 3. Properties of electricity In electric circuits, we can understand electricity by its properties: VOLTAGE (Volts): Voltage is what makes electrons move. It is the 'push' that causes charges to move in a wire or other electrical conductor. It can be thought of as the force that pushes the charges, but it is not a force. CURRENT (Amp): Flow of electrons in a circuit, is the amount of electrons that move from one place to another. RESISTANCE (Ohm): The electrical resistance of an electrical conductor is a measure of the difficulty of passing an electric current through a substance
- 4. Basic electronic components To complete a circuit, we will always use a battery as a source of power and cables to connect the components, beside those, the basic electronic components that we are going to use are: Resistors. Motors. LEDs. Buzzers. Potentiometers. LDRs. Pushbuttons. Transistors.
- 5. Support components RESISTORS TRANSISTORS Resistors are components that we use in order to limit the amount of current that flows in the circuit, they are mostly used in combination with other components and work to prevent the damage the sensors and actuators. Transistors are components that control the flow of current in parts of the circuit, depending on a signal, they are sensors and actuators at the same time.
- 6. Actuators MOTORS LEDs BUZZERS Motors transform electricity into motion, depending on the direction of the current, they can change the direction of the spin. LEDs transform electricity into light, they must be connected in a specific order, understanding that the longest lead goes always to positive in the circuit. Buzzers transform electricity into sound, they must be connected in a specific order, understanding that the longest lead goes always to positive in the circuit.
- 7. Sensors LDRs Potentiometers Pushbuttons LDRs (Light Depending Resistors) change their resistivity depending on the light conditions around; the more light, more resistivity it will have in the circuit. Potentiometers change their resistivity depending on the position of the shaft; being rotated in a clockwise direction, more resistivity it will have in the circuit Pushbuttons connect/disconnect parts in a circuit; if the button is pressed, the circuit is closed, if the button is released, the circuit is open.