PART 17

GLOSSARY

ACTIVE FILTER
 A frequency-selective circuit consisting of active devices such as transistors or
op-amps combined with reactive (RC) circuits.

ADMITTANCE (Y)
 A measure of the ability of a reactive circuit to permit current; the reciprocal of
impedance with a unit, siemens (S)

ALPHA ()
 The ratio of collector current to emitter current in a bipolar junction transistor.

ALTERNATING CURRENT
 Current that reverses direction in response to a change in source voltage
polarity.

AMERICAN WIRE GAGE (AWG)

 A standardization based on wire diameter.

AMMETER
 An electrical instrument used to measure current.

AMPERE
 The unit of electrical current.

AMPERE-HOUR RATING
 A number given in ampere-hours determined by multiplying the current in amps
(A) times the length of time in hours (h) a battery can deliver that current to a
load.

AMPERE-TURN
 The unit of magnetomotive force (mmf).

AMPLIFICATION
 The process of producing a larger voltage, current or power using a smaller
input signal as a pattern.

AMPLIFIER
 An electronic circuit having the capability of amplification and designed
specifically for that purpose.

AMPLITUDE
 The maximum value of a voltage or current.

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ANODE
 The most positive terminal of a diode or other electronic device.

APPARENT POWER (Pa)

 The product of the voltage times the current, expressed in volt-amperes (VA).
In a purely resistive circuit, it is the same as the true power.

APPARENT POWER RATING

 The method of rating transformers in which the power capability is expressed in
volt-amperes (VA).

ATOM
 The smallest particle of an element possessing the unique characteristics of
that element.

ATOMIC NUMBER
 The number of protons in the nucleus of an atom.

ATOMIC WEIGHT
 The number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus of an atom.

ATTENUATION
 A gain less than unity.

AUTOTRANSFORMER
 A transformer in which the primary and secondary windings are in a single
winding.

AVERAGE VALUE
 The average of a sine wave over one half-cycle. It is 0.637 times the peak
value.

BAND-PASS FILTER
 A filter that passes a range of frequencies lying between two cutoff frequencies
and rejects frequencies above and below the range.

BAND-STOP FILTER
 A filter that rejects a range of frequencies lying between two cutoff frequencies
and passes frequencies above and below the range.

BANDWIDTH (BW)
 The characteristic of a certain electronic circuits that specifies the usable range
of frequencies for which signals pass from input to output without significant
reduction in amplitude.

BARRIER POTENTIAL
 The inherent voltage across the depletion region of a pn junction.

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BASE
 One of the semiconducting regions in a bipolar junction transistor.
BASELINE
 The normal level of a pulse waveform; the voltage level in the absence of a
pulse.

BATTERY
 An energy source that uses a chemical reaction to convert chemical energy into
electrical energy.

BETA ()
 The ratio of collector current to base current in a bipolar junction transistor.

BIAS
 The application of a dc voltage to a diode or other electronic device to produce
a desired mode of operation.

BLEEDER CURRENT
 The current left after the total load current is subtracted from the total current
into the circuit.

BRANCH
 One current path in a parallel circuit.

CAPACITANCE
 The ability of a capacitor to store electrical charge.

CAPACITIVE REACTANCE
 The opposition of a capacitor to sinusoidal current. The unit is the ohm ().

CAPACITIVE SUSCEPTANCE (BC)

 The ability of a capacitor to permit current; the reciprocal of capacitive
reactance. The unit is the siemens(S).

CAPACITOR
 An electrical device consisting of two conductive plates separated by an
insulating material and possessing the property of capacitance.

CATHODE
 The more negative terminal of a diode or other electronic devices.

CATHODE-RAY TUBE (CRT)

 A vacuum tube device containing an electron gun that emits a narrow focused
beam of electrons onto a phosphor-coated screen.

CENTER TAP (CT)

 A connection at the midpoint of the secondary winding of a transformer.
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CHARGE
 An electrical property of matter that exists because of an excess or a deficiency
of electrons. Charge can be either positive or negative.

CHOKE
 The term is used more commonly concerning inductors used to block or choke
off high frequencies.

CIRCUIT
 An interconnection of electrical components designed to produce a desired
result. A basic circuit consists of a source, a load, and an interconnecting
current path.

CIRCUIT BREAKER
 A resettable protective device used for interrupting excessive current in an
electric circuit.

CIRCUIT GROUND
 A method of grounding whereby the metal chassis that houses the assembly or
a large conductive area on a printed circuit board is used as the common or
reference point; also called chassis ground.

CIRCULAR MILL (CM)

 The unit of the cross-sectional area of a wire.

CLAMPER
 A circuit that adds a dc level to an ac signal; a dc restorer.

CLASS A
 A category of amplifier circuit that conducts for the entire input cycle and
produces an output signal that is a replica of the input signal in terms of its
wave shape.

CLASS B
 A category of amplifier circuit that conducts for half of the input cycle.

CLASS C
 A category of amplifier that conducts for a very small portion of the input cycle.

CLOSED CIRCUIT
 A circuit with a complete current path.

CLOSED LOOP
 An op-amp configuration in which the output is connected back to the input.

CLOSED LOOP GAIN (Acl)

 The overall voltage gain of an op-amp with feedback.

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COEFFICIENT OF COUPLING (k)

 a constant associated with transformers that is the ratio of secondary magnetic
flux to primary magnetic flux. The ideal value of 1 indicates that all the flux in
the primary winding is coupled into the secondary winding.

COIL
 A common term for an inductor.

COLLECTOR
 One of the semiconducting regions in a BJT.

COMMON BASE (CB)

 A BJT amplifier configuration in which the base is the common (grounded)
terminal.

COMMON-COLLECTOR (CC)
 A BJT amplifier configuration in which the collector is the common (grounded)
terminal.

COMMON-EMITTER (CE)
 A BJT amplifier configuration in which the emitter is the common (grounded)
terminal.

COMMON-MODE SIGNALS
 Signals that appear the same on both inputs of an op-amp.

COMPARATOR
 A circuit which compares two input voltages and produces an output in either of
two states indicating the greater or less than relationship of the inputs.

CONDUCTANCE (G)
 The ability of a circuit to allow current; the reciprocal of resistance. The unit is
the siemens (S).

CONDUCTOR
 A material in which electrical current is established with relative case. An
example is copper.

COULOMB (C)
 The unit of electrical charge.

COULOMB’S LAW
 A physical law that states a force exists between two charged bodies that is
directly proportional to the product of the two charges and inversely
proportional to the square of the distance between them.

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COVALENT
 Related to the bonding of two or more atoms by the interaction of their valence
electrons.

CRYSTAL
 The pattern or arrangement of atoms forming a solid material.

CURRENT
 The rate of flow of charge (electrons).

CURRENT GAIN
 The ratio of output current to input current.

CUTOFF
 The nonconducting state of a transistor.

CUTOFF FREQUENCY (c)

 The frequency at which the output voltage of a filter is 70.7% of the maximum
output voltage.

CYCLE
 One repetition of a periodic waveform.

DARLINGTON PAIR
 A two-transistor arrangement that produces a multiplication of current gain.

DC COMPONENT
 The average value of a pulse waveform.

DECADE
 A tenfold change in the value of a quantity. When a quantity becomes ten
times less or ten times greater, it has changed a decade.

DECIBEL (dB)
 The unit of logarithmic expression of a ratio, such as power ratio or a voltage
ratio.

DEGREE
 The unit of angular measure corresponding to 1/360 of a complete revolution.

DERIVATIVE
 The instantaneous rate of change of a function determined mathematically.

DIAD
 A semiconductive device that can conduct current in other of two directions
when properly activated.

DIELECTRIC
 The insulating material between the plates of a capacitor.

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DIELECTRIC CONSTANT
 A measure of the ability of a dielectric material to establish an electric field.

DIELECTRIC STRENGTH
 A measure of the ability of a dielectric material to withstand voltage without
breaking down.

DIFFERENTIAL AMPLIFIER
 An amplifier that produces an output proportional to the difference of two inputs.

DIFFERENTIATOR
 A circuit that produces an output that approaches the mathematical derivative
of the input, which is the rate of change.

DIODE
 An electronic device that permits current in only one direction.

DISCRETE DEVICE
 An individual electrical or electronic component that must be used in
combination with other components to form a complete functional circuit.

DOPING
 The process of imparting impurities to an intrinsic semiconductive material in
order to control its conduction characteristics.

DRAIN
 One of the three terminals of a field-effect transistor.

DUTY CYCLE
 A characteristic of a pulse waveform that indicates the percentage of time that a
pulse is present during a cycle, the ratio of pulse width to period.

EFFECTIVE VALUE
 A measure of the heating effect of a sine wave; also known as the rms (root
mean square) value.

EFFICIENCY
 The ratio of the output power to the input power, expressed as a ratio.

ELECTRICAL
 Related to the use of electrical voltage and current to achieve desired results.

ELECTRICAL ISOLATION
 The condition that exists which two coils are magnetically linked but have no
electrical connection between them.

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ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELD
 A formation of a group of magnetic lines of force surrounding a conductor
created by electrical current in the conductor.

ELECTROMAGNETIC INDUCTION
 The phenomenon or process by which a voltage is produced in a conductor
when there is relative motion between the conductor and a magnetic or
electromagnetic field.

ELECTRON
 The basic particle of electrical charge in matter.
 It possesses negative charge.

ELECTRONIC
 Related to the movement and control of free electrons in semiconductors or
vacuum devices.

EMITTER
 One of the three semiconducting regions in a BJT.

EMITTER-FOLLOWER
 A popular term for a common-collector amplifier.

ENERGY
 The fundamental ability to do work. The unit is the joule (J).

FALLING EDGE
 The negative-going transition of a pulse.

FALL TIME
 The time interval required for a pulse to change from 90% to 10 % of its full
amplitude.

FARAD (F)
 The unit of capacitance.

FARADAY’S LAW
 A law stating that the voltage induced across a coil of wire equals the number
of turns in the coil times the rate of change of the magnetic flux.

FEEDBACK
 The process of returning a portion of a circuit’s output signal to the input in such
a way as to create certain specified operating conditions.

FIELD-EFFECT TRANSISTOR (FET)

 A type of transistor that uses an induced electric field within its structure to
control current.

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FILTER
 A type of circuit that passes certain frequencies and rejects all others.

FREE ELECTRON
 A valence electron that has broken away from its parent atom and is free to
move from atom to atom within the atomic structure of a material.

FREQUENCY
 A measure of the rate of change of a periodic function, the number of cycles
completed in 1 s. The unit of frequency is the hertz.

FREQUENCY RESPONSE
 In electrical circuits, the variation in the output voltage (or current) over a
specified range of frequencies.

FULL-WAVE RECTIFIER
 A circuit that converts an alternating sine wave into a pulsating dc consisting of
both halves of a sine wave for each input cycle.

FUNDAMENTAL FREQUENCY
 The repetition rate of a waveform.

FUSE
 A protective device that burns open when there is excessive current in a circuit.

GAIN
 The amount by which an electrical signal is increased or decreased; the ratio of
output to input; the amount of amplification.

GATE
 One of the three terminals of an FET.

GENERATOR
 An energy source that produces electrical signals.

GERMANIUM
 A semiconductive material.

GROUND
 In electronic circuits, the common or reference point.

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HALF-POWER FREQUENCY
 The frequency at which the output of a filter is 70.7% of maximum.

HALF-WAVE RECTIFIER
 A circuit that converts an alternating sine wave into a pulsating dc consisting of
one-half of a sine wave for each input cycle.

HARMONICS
 The frequencies contained in a composite waveform, which are integer
multiples of the repetition frequency (fundamental).

HENRY (H)
 The unit of inductance.

HERTZ (Hz)
 The unit of frequency and hence 1Hz equals one cycle per second.

HIGH-PASS FILTER
 A certain type of filter whereby higher frequencies are passed and lower
frequencies are rejected.

HOLE
 The absence of an electron in the valence band of an atom.

HYSTERESIS
 A characteristic of a magnetic material whereby a change in magnetization lags
the application of a magnetic force.

IMPEDANCE (Z)
 The total opposition to sinusoidal current expressed in ohms.

IMPEDANCE MATCHING
 A technique used to match a load resistance to an internal source resistance in
order to achieve a maximum transfer of power.

INDUCED VOLTAGE
 Voltage produced as a result of a changing magnetic field.

INDUCTANCE (L)
 The property of an inductor that produces an opposition to any change in
current.

INDUCTIVE REACTANCE (XL)

 The opposition of an inductor to sinusoidal current. The unit is the ohm.

INDUCTIVE SUSCEPTANCE (BL)

 The reciprocal of inductive reactance and the unit is siemens

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INDUCTOR
 An electrical device formed by a wire wound in a coil around a core having the
property of inductance and the capability to store energy in its electromagnetic
field; also known as a coil or a choke.

INSTANTANEOUS VALUE
 The voltage or current value of a waveform at a given instant in time.

INSULATOR
 A material that does not allow current under normal conditions.

INTEGRATOR
 A circuit that produces an output that approaches the mathematical integral of
the input.

INTERFACE
 To make the output of one type of circuit compatible with the input of another so
that they can operate properly together.

INTRINSIC SEMICONDUCTOR
 A pure semiconductive material with relatively few free electrons.

ION
 An atom that has gained or lost a valence electron resulting in a net positive or
negative charge.

IONIZATION
 The removal or addition of an electron from or to a neutral atom so that the
resulting atom (called an ion) has a net positive or negative charge.

JOULE (J)
 The unit of energy.

JUNCTION
 A point at which two or more components are connected.

JUNCTION FIELD-EFFECT TRANSISTOR (JFET)

 A type of FET that operates with a reverse-biased junction to control current in
a channel.

KILOWATT-HOUR (kWh)
 A common unit of energy used mainly by utility companies.

KIRCHHOFF’S CURRENT LAW

 A law stating that the total current into a junction equals the total current out of
the junction.

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KIRCHHOFF’S VOLTAGE LAW

 A law stating that (1) the sum of the voltage drops around a closed loop equals
the source voltage or (2) the sum of all the voltages (drops and sources)
around a closed loop is zero.

LAG
 Describes a condition of the phase or time relationship of waveforms in which
one waveform is behind the other in phase or time.

LEAD
 Describes a condition of the phase or time relationship of waveforms in which
one waveform is ahead of the other in phase or time; also, a wire or cable
connection to a device or instrument.

LEADING EDGE
 The fist step or transition of a pulse.

LENZ’S LAW
 A physical law that states when the current through a coil changes, an induced
voltage is created in a direction to oppose the change in current. The current
cannot change instantaneously.

LIGHT-EMITTING DIODE (LED)

 A type of diode that emits light when there is forward current.

LIMITER
 A circuit that removes part of a waveform above or below a specified level; a
clipper.

LINEAR
 Characterized by a straight-line relationship.

LINE REGULATION
 The percent change in output voltage for a given change in line (input) voltage.

LOAD
 An element (resistor or other components) connected across the output
terminals of a circuit that draws current from the circuit.

LOAD REGULATION
 The percent change in output voltage for a given change in load current.

LOW-PASS FILTER
 A certain type of filter in which lower frequencies are passed and higher
frequencies are rejected.

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MAGNETIC COUPLING
 The magnetic connection between two coils as a result of the changing
magnetic flux lines of one coil cutting through the second coil.

MAGNETIC FLUX
 The lines of force between the north and south poles of a permanent magnet or
an electromagnet.

MAGNETIC FLUX DENSITY

 The number of lines of force per unit area perpendicular to a magnetic field.

MAGNETIZING FORCE
 The amount of mmf per unit length of magnetic material.

MAGNETOMOTIVE FORCE
 The force that produces a magnetic field.

MAGNITUDE
 The value of a quantity, such as the number of volts of voltage or the number of
amperes of current.

MAXIMUM POWER TRANSFER THEOREM

 A theorem that states the maximum power is transferred from a source to a
load when the load resistance equals the internal source resistance.

MOSFET
 Metal oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor.

MULTIMETER
 An instrument that measures voltage, current and resistance.

MUTUAL INDUCTANCE (LM)

 The inductance beteen two separate coils, such as transformers.

NEGATIVE FEEDBACK
 The return of a portion of the output signal to the input such that it is out of
phase with the input signal.

NEUTRON
 An atomic particle having no electrical charge.

OHM ()
 The unit of resistance.

OHMMETER
 An instrument for measuring resistance.

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OHM’S LAW
 A law stating that current is directly proportional to voltage and inversely
proportional to resistance.

OPEN CIRCUIT
 A circuit in which there is not a complete current path.

OPEN-LOOP GAIN (Aol)

 The internal voltage gain of an op-amp without feedback.

OPERATIONAL AMPLIFIER
 A special type of amplifier exhibiting very high open-loop gain, very high input
impedance, very low output impedance, and good rejection of common-mode
signals.

OSCILLATOR
 An electronic circuit consisting of an amplifier and a phase-shift network
connected in a positive feedback loop that produces a time-varying output
signal using positive feedback.

OSCILLOSCOPE
 A measurement instrument that displays signal waveforms on a screen.

PARALLEL
 The relationship in electric circuits in which two or more current paths are
connected between the same two points.

PARALLEL RESONANCE
 In a parallel RLC circuit, the condition where the impedance is maximum and
the reactance are equal.

PEAK INVERSE VOLTAGE (PIV)

 The maximum value of reverse voltage which occurs at the peak of the input
cycle when the diode is reversed-biased.

PEAK VALUE
 The voltage or current value of a waveform at its maximum positive or negative
points.

PEAK-TO-PEAK VALUE
 The voltage or current value of a waveform measured from its minimum to its
maximum points.

PERIOD (T)
 The time interval of one complete cycle of a given sine wave or any periodic
waveform.

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PERIODIC
 Characterized by a repetition at fixed time intervals.

PERMEABILITY
 The measure of ease with which a magnetic field can be established in a
material.

PHASE
 The relative displacement of a time-varying waveform in terms of its occurrence
with respect to a reference.

PHASOR
 A representation of a sine wave in terms of both magnitude and phase angle.

PHOTOCONDUCTIVE CELL
 A type of variable resistor that is light-sensitive.

PHOTODIODE
 A diode whose reverse resistance changes with incident light.

PINCH-OFF VOLTAGE
 The value of the drain-to-source voltage of an FET at which the drain current
becomes constant when the gate-to-source voltage is zero.

PN JUNCTION
 The boundary between n-type and p-type semiconductive materials.

POLE
 In practical terms, a single RC circuit in a filter or amplifier that causes the
response to change at a 20 dB per decade rate above or below a certain
frequency.

POSITIVE FEEDBACK
 The return of a portion of the output signal to the input such that it is in phase
with the input signal.

POTENTIOMETER
 A three-terminal variable resistor.

POWER
 The rate of energy usage.

POWER FACTOR
 The relationship between volt-amperes and true power or watts. Volt-amperes
multiplied by the power factor equals true power.

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POWER GAIN
 The ratio of output power to input power; the product of voltage gain and
current gain.

POWER RATING
 The maximum amount of power that a resistor can dissipate without being
damaged by excessive heat buildup.

POWER SUPPLY
 An electronic instrument that produces voltage, current and power from the ac
power line or batteries in a form suitable for use in powering electronic
equipment.

PRIMARY WINDING
 The input winding of a transformer; also called primary.

PROTON
 A positively charged atomic particle.

PULSE
 A type of waveform that consists of two equal and opposite steps in voltage or
current separated by a time interval.

PULSE RESPONSE
 The reaction of a circuit to a given input.

PUSH-PULL
 A type of class B amplifier in which one output transistor conducts for one half-
cycle and the other conducts for the other half-cycle.

Q-POINT
 The dc operating (bias) point of an amplifier.

QUALITY FACTOR (Q)

 The ratio of reactive power to true power in a coil or a resonant circuit.

RAMP
 A type of waveform characterized by a linear increase or decrease in voltage or
current.

REACTIVE POWER
 The rate at which energy is stored and alternately returned to the source by a
capacitor or inductor. The unit is the VAR.

RECOMBINATION
 The process of a free electron falling into a hole in the valence band of an
atom.
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RECTIFIER
 An electronic circuit that converts ac into pulsating dc; one part of a power
supply.

REFLECTED LOAD
 The load as it appears to the source in the primary of a transformer.

REFLECTED RESISTANCE
 The resistance in the secondary circuit reflected into the primary circuit.

REGULATOR
 An electronic circuit that maintains an essentially constant output voltage with a
changing input voltage or load.

RELAY
 An electromagnetically controlled mechanical device in which electrical
contacts are open or closed by a magnetizing current.

RELUCTANCE
 The opposition to the establishment of a magnetic field in a material.

RESISTANCE
 Opposition to current and its unit is ohm.

RESISTOR
 An electrical component designed specifically to provide resistance.

RESOLUTION
 The smallest increment of a quantity that a meter can measure.

RESONANT FREQUENCY
 The frequency at which a resonant condition occurs in a series or parallel RLC
circuit.

RETENTIVITY
 The ability of a material, once magnetized, to maintain a magnetized state
without the presence of a magnetizing force.

REVERSE BREAKDOWN
 The condition of a diode in which excessive reverse-bias voltage causes a
rapid buildup of reverse current.

RHEOSTAT
 A two terminal variable resistor.

RIPPLE VOLTAGE
 The small variation in the dc voltage on the output of a filtered rectifier caused
by the slight charging and discharging action of the filter capacitor.

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RISE TIME
 The time interval required for a pulse to change from 10% to 90% of its
amplitude.

RISING EDGE
 The positive-going transition of a pulse.

ROLL-OFF
 The decrease in the response of a filter below or above a critical frequency.

ROOT MEAN SQUARE (rms)

 The value of a sine wave that indicates its heating effect, also known as the
effective value. It is equal to 0.707 times the peak value.

SATURATION
 The state of a BJT in which the collector current has reached a maximum and
is independent of the base current.

SAWTOOTH WAVEFORM
 A type of electrical waveform composed of ramps; a special case of a triangular
waveform in which one ramp is much shorter than the other.

SCHEMATIC
 A symbolized diagram of an electrical or electronic circuit.

SECONDARY WINDING
 The output winding of a transformer; also called secondary.

SELECTIVITY
 A measure of how effectively a filter passes certain frequencies and rejects
others. The narrower the bandwidth, the greater the selectivity.

SEMICONDUCTOR
 A material that has a conductance value between that of a conductor and that
of an insulator. Silicon and germanium are examples.

SENSITIVITY FACTOR
 The ohms-per-volt rating of a voltmeter.

SERIES
 In an electrical circuit, a relationship of components in which the components
are connected such as they provide a single current path between two points.

SERIES RESONANCE
 In a series RLC circuit, the condition where the impedance is minimum and the
reactances are equal.

SHELL
 An energy band in which electrons orbit the nucleus of an atom.

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SHORT CIRCUIT
 A zero or abnormally low resistance between two points; usually an inadvertent
condition.

SILICON
 a SEMICONDUCTIVE MATERIAL USED IN DIODES AND TRANSISTORS.

Silicon-controlled rectifier (SCR)

 A device that can be triggered on to conduct current in one direction.

SOLENOID
 An electromagnetically controlled device in which the mechanical movement of
a shaft or plunger is activated by a magnetizing current.

SOURCE
 Any device that produces energy, one of the three terminals of FET.

STEADY STATE
 The equilibrium condition of a circuit that occurs after an initial transient time.

STEP-DOWN TRANSFORMER
 A transformer in which the secondary voltage is less than the primary voltage.

STEP-UP VOLTAGE TRANSFORMER

 A transformer in which the secondary voltage is greater than the primary
voltage.

STOPBAND
 The range of frequencies between the upper and lower cutoff points.

SUPERPOSITION
 Amethod for analyzing circuits with two or more sources by examining the
effects of each source by itself and then combining the effects.

SWITCH
 An electrical or electronic device for opening and closing a current path.

TANK CIRCUIT
 A parallel resonant circuit.

TAPERED
 Nonlinear, such as tapered potentiometer.

TEMPERATURE COEFFICIENT
 A constant specifying the amount of change in the value of a quantity for a
given change in temperature.

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17-20 Glossary

TERMINAL
 An external contact point on an electronic device.

TERMINAL EQUIVALENCY
 A condition that occurs when two circuits produce the same load voltage and
load current where the same value of load resistance is connected to either
circuit.

TESLA
 The unit of flux density.

THERMISTOR
 A type of variable resistor that is temperature-sensitive.

THEVENIN’S THEOREM
 A circuit theorem that provides for reducing any resistive circuit to a single
equivalent voltage source in series with an equivalent resistance.

THYRISTOR
 A class of four-layer semiconductive devices.

TRAILING EDGE
 The second step or transition of a pulse.

TRANSFORMER
 A device formed by two or more windings and are magnetically coupled to each
other and providing a transfer of power electromagnetically from one winding to
another.

TRANSIENT
 A temporary passing conductor in a circuit; a sudden or temporary change in
circuit conditions.

TRANSISTOR
 A semiconductive device used for amplification and switching applications in
electronic circuits.

TRIANGULAR WAVE
 A type of electrical waveform that consists of two ramps.

TRIGGER
 The activating mechanism of some electronic devices or instruments.

TRIMMER
 Small variable capacitor.

TURNS RATIO
 The ratio of turns in the secondary winding to turns in the primary winding.

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Glossary 17- 21

UNIJUNCTION TRANSISTOR (UJT)

 A type of transistor consisting of an emitter and two bases.

UNITY GAIN
 A gain of 1.

VALENCE
 Related to the outer shell or orbit of an atom.

VALENCE ELCTRON
 An electron that is present in the outermost shell of an atom.

VARACTOR
 A diode that is used as a voltage-variable capacitor.

VOLT
 The unit of voltage or electromotive force.

VOLTAGE
 The amount of energy available to move a certain number of electrons from
one point to another in an electric circuit.

VOLTAGE DROP
 The potential difference in voltage between two points when there is a drop in
energy level due to resistance.

VOLTAGE GAIN
 The ratio of output voltage to input voltage.

VOLTAGE REGULATION
 The process of maintaining an essentially constant output voltage over
variations in input voltage or load.

VOLTAGE-AMPERE REACTIVE (VAR)

 The unit of reactive power.

VOLTMETER
 An instrument used to measure voltage.

WATT (W)
 The unit of power.

WATT’S LAW
 A law that states the relationship of power to current, voltage, and resistance.

WAVEFORM
 The pattern of variations of a voltage or current showing how the quantity
changes with time.

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17-22 Glossary

WEBER
 The unit of magnetic flux.

WINDING
 The loops or turns of wire in an inductor.

WIPER
 The sliding contact in a potentiometer.

ZENER DIODE
 A type of diode that operates in reverse breakdown (called zener breakdown) to
provide voltage regulation.

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