2.

BASIC ELECTRICITY

ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM BASICS - It all starts with the

electrons moving around atoms. Electricity is the movement of
electrical charge from one place to another. Electric charges do
not exist without their associated electric and magnetic fields. This
module will introduce you to many of the basic concepts involved
with electricity and magnetism.

MATTER - Matter is physically everything that exists that we can

touch and feel. Matter consists of atoms. Now we will introduce
you to the structure of atoms, talk about electrons and static
charge, moving charges, voltage, resistance, and current. You will
learn about the properties of magnets and how magnets are used
to produce electric current and vice versa. All matter can be
classified as being either a pure substance or a mixture. Matter
can exist as either a solid, liquid, or a gas and can change among
these three states of matter. In electronics the most important
matter are conductive metals, non-conductive insulators, and

ELECTRICAL CHARGE - Any object or particle is or can become

electrically charged. Nobody completely understands what this
charge consists of but we do know a lot about how it reacts and
behaves. The smallest known charge of electricity is the charge
associated with an electron. This charge has been called a
"negative" charge. An atoms nucleus has a positive charge.
These two un-like charges attract one another. Like charges
oppose one another. If you had 6,250,000,000,000,000,000
electrons in a box you would have what has been named; one
coulomb of charge. An easier way of thinking about a large
number like that is called "powers of ten" and it would look like
this 6.25 x 10^18 electrons. It is simply a way to let you know to
move the decimal point to the right 18 places. When electrical
charges are at rest, meaning they are not moving, we call that
static electricity. If charges are in motion we then have a flow of
charge called electrical current. We have given the force that
causes this current a name called electromotive force and it is
measured by a unit called a volt (V). The unit of measurement of
the current (I) or movement of the charge is called an ampere. The
resistance, or opposition, to current flow is called an ohm (R).
Explation of AC and DC currents. Watch the video.

ELECTRICAL FIELDS- Around a charge is an electric field. With

every electric field there is a magnetic field. While we can't see
these fields, or yet know exactly what they consist of, we can
measure them with instruments and tell a great deal about their
behavior. We can then use this knowledge to our benefit. The
design and construction of electric motors, computers, radios,
televisions, stereos, and many other electrical and electronic
devices depend upon a knowledge of these basic principles of
electricity. As you can see we have given names to these
phenomenon to make it easier for us to study and use. We could
have called them Dick, Jane and Mary but instead we named them
for the scientists that discovered or first studied them; Volt,
Ampere, and Ohm. Mr. Volt, Mr. Ampere, and Mr. Ohm spent many
years of their lives studying electricity. They were not alone
however as many other scientist were studying and learning more
about electricity as well.

WATTS - POWER - What is a watt? A watt is the International

System unit of power equal to one joule per second. The symbol
used for a watt is "P" for power. Power in watts is found by
multiplying a circuits current (I) times its voltage (V). You will
learn more about power in watts in the ohms law section below.

P - I*V

If you don't have a clue as to what electrical current and voltage

are - read on. We will cover that shortly.

Moving electric charges are the heart of basic electronics.

Knowing what moving charges are and how various electronic
components affect the moving charges is the foundation of basic
electronics. View the videos and continue on down the page.
These are the basic building blocks of understanding "Basic
Electronics".

3. BASIC ELECTRONICS
Now that you have a general background in electricity and moving
charges you can move on to learning moe about basic electronics.
Electronics puts a knowledge of electricity to useful work.
Electronics applies electrical current flow of electrical charges to
circuits to accomplish specific tasks. Amplifiers can be
constructed from glass "tubes" containing metal elements, or
more commonly today with solid state diodes, transistors, or
integrated circuits. An amplifier is simply a device or circuit that
takes a small signal input and controls a larger current as it
output. The input signal voltage is small and the output voltage is
larger - amplified. A circuit containing wire conductors, resistors,
capacitors, inductors and amplifiers can be configured in many
ways to build various electronic circuits like oscillators, digital
logic circuits, computer circuits, television and video circuits and
much more. An oscillator by the way is just an amplifier with some
of the output fed back into the input. Sounds like a perpetual
motion machine but it isn't as the amplifiers power supply is
providing the additional energy that is lost in the circuit and keeps
the circulation, i.e. oscillations going.

Basic electronics is all about electrical components and the

circuits consisting of those components . Common components
are resistors, capacitors, inductors, transistors, and integrated
circuits. You will find each of these components described in
detail in the following numbered sections. The components are
interconnect with conductors, either physical wires or printed
circuits. The components make up linear analog amplifiers,
oscillators, and filters as examples. They also can be configured
to create digital logic circuits such as memories, gates, arithmetic
units, and central processing units. So you will find basic
electronics in every computer, mp3 player, radio, TV and may other
appliances in your home, car, or on your body. Each circuit has a
job. Components are interconnected to perform a specific task.
First learn about each individual component and how it works then
learn about how to interconnect them to make useful end
products. Continue your study by reading the numbered sections
to follow.

4. RESISTANCE -
RESISTORS AND RESISTOR CIRCUITS - Resistance is the
opposition to current flow in various degrees. The practical unit of
resistance is called the ohm. A resistor on one ohm is physically
very large but provides only a small resistance to current flow. A
resistor of one million ohm's is physically small but presents a
high resistance to current flow. A resistance that develops 0.24
calorie of heat when one ampere of current flows through it for one
second has one ohm of resistance. The unit of resistance is often
represented by the Greek letter omega. Resistors are often made
of thin layers of carbon or lengths of small copper wire. They can
also be thin deposited layers of metallic material. An image of a
few resistor types is shown below.

What is electrical current? Electrical current, represented by the

letter "I" in formulas, and it is the flow or rate of electric charge.
This flowing electric charge is typically carried by moving
electrons in a metallic conductor or electronic components such
as resistors or transistors as an example. The unit of electrical
current is the ampere, named after a french mathematician, Andre
Marie Ampere. What is electrical voltage? Electrical voltage is
represented by the letter "V" in formulas and it is the electrical
pressure a moving charge is under. In the case of a static charge,
one that is not moving, then voltage is the potential difference or
pressure of the charge. The relationship between current (I),
resistance (R), and voltage (V) is represented by the formulas
developed in Ohm's law. We will study that in section 5 below.

RESISTORS AND RESISTOR CIRCUITS-

Resistors can be connected in series (end to

end), or in parallel (across one another), or in a
combination of series and parallel. If you
connect two, 1/4 watt, 100 ohm resistors across
one another (i.e. in parallel) then the total
resistance in ohms is one half of one of the
resistors. In this example the resistance would
be 50 ohms. The wattage doubles as the current is now split
between the two resistors. The combination can now handle up to
one half a watt safely. If the two resistors were connected end-to-
end (i.e. in series) the resistances add and in this case would be
200 ohms. The wattage in this series case stays the same, 1/4
watt. This information is handy to know as it is easy to calculate in
your head and will allow you to devise additional resister values
from a limited resistor bench stock.

RESISTORS IN SERIES: Connecting resistors in a string one pigtail

to another is called connecting them in series. When connected
this way the resistance of one resistor adds to the next in line. For
example a 100 ohm resistor in series with a 500 ohm resistor is the
same as having a 600 ohm resistor. The wattage capability stays
the same, in other words if the resistors are all 1/4 watt the string
is 1/4 watt.

Resistance in series resistance simply adds: R = R1 + R2. This

can be extended for more resistors: R = R1 + R2 + R3 + R4 + ...

RESISTORS IN PARALLEL: When resistors are connected in

parallel (parallel; meaning they are tied across one another) their
combined resistance is less than any of the individual resistances.
There is a special equation for the combined resistance of two
resistors R1 and R2:

Combined resistance of R1 × R2
R=
two resistors in parallel: R1 + R2

For more than two resistors connected in parallel a more difficult

equation must be used. This adds up the reciprocal ("one over") of
each resistance to give the reciprocal of the combined resistance,
R:

1 1 1 1
= + + + ...
R R1 R2 R3

The simpler equation for two resistors in parallel is much easier to

use!

Note that the combined resistance in parallel will always be less

than any of the individual resistances.

Resistor values are measured in ohms. A thousand ohms is

written as 1k to eliminate all the zeros. The k represents three
zeros. A million ohms is represented by 1M. Therefore; 1000
ohms = 1k ohm and 1000k ohms = 1M ohm. Since resistors are so
small their value is marked by a color code.

RESISTOR COLOR CODES - Resistors use color coded stripes to

indicate their value in ohms. 0=Black, 1=Brown, 2=Red, 3=Orange,
4=Yellow, 5=Green, 6=Blue, 7=Purple, 8=Gray, 9=White.

Black Brown Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Violet Grey White
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

5. OHMS LAW

Ohm's Law is extremely important in learning basic electronics.

What is Ohm's Law? Ohm's Law is a formula that describes the

relationship between resistance, current and voltage in an
electrical circuit. The formula is R (resistance in ohms) = (equals)
V (voltage in volts) divided by I (current in amperes).

That is: R = V ÷ I

...and algebraic rules tells us that I - V ÷ R and V = I*R.

I = V ÷ R, V = I*R, R = V ÷ I, and P (power in watts) = I*V are the

fundamental formulas of Ohm's law. (The * means to multiply the
two quantities together). Where V is the circuit voltage in volts, I is
the circuits amperage in amps, and R is the resistance in ohms.

Almost every electrical and electronic circuit involves resistance,

current and voltage. This is why it is vital you understand the
relationships between them.

As an experiment you can set up a circuit by connecting resistors

in series with a battery, measure the voltage across the resistors
with a voltmeter, measure the current in the circuit by placing an
ammeter in series with the resistors and the battery. If you know
the voltages and current in the circuit you can use Ohms law to
calculate the resistance. With the resistor out of the circuit you
can measure it's resistance directly with an ohm meter. The multi-
meters today can measure ohms, volts and amperes (usually
measured in miliamperes in practical circuits) all in one piece of
test equipment.

Below is a graphic chart showing the various relationships

between resistance, current, voltage, and power and shows how
one unknown can be calculated if you know the other two.

6. CAPACITORS -

A capacitor is a device that stores an electrical

charge when a potential difference (voltage)
exists between two conductors which are
usually two plates separated by a dielectric
material (an insulating material like air, paper, or special chemicals
between two sheets of aluminum foil). Capacitors block DC
voltages and pass AC voltages. They are used as filters, AC
coupling capacitors and as by-pass capacitors. They are also
used in conjunction with resistors and inductors to form tuned
circuits and timing circuits. A capacitors value C (in Farads) is
dependent upon the ratio of the charge Q (in Coulombs) divided by
the V (in volts). Common capacitors come in values of
microfarads or Pico farads. Often you will have to convert
between Pico farads and micro farads. A chart is provided below
to assist in the conversion. For a list of capacitor terms defined:
Click HERE. Measuring capacitance requires a capacitance
meter. This is separate piece of test equipment. There are
attachments for multimeters that allow measurement of
capacitance directly. Also read this tutorial on how to test
capacitors.

CAPACITOR Value Conversions:

Some capacitors may be marked in micro farads and others of the

same capacitance value marked in Pico farads. One Pico farad
equals one micro-micro farad. You may need to make conversions
between the two equivalents.

Prefix Power of 10 Example

Mili 10^-3 .001
Micro 10^-6 .000001
Nano 10^-9 .000000001
Pico 10^-12 .000000000001

1 micro F = 1000000 uuf

1 uuf = 1 pf
.01 uf = 10000 pf
 .005 uf = 5000 pf
.009 uf = 9000 pf
.0001 uf = 100 pf
.0005 uf = 500 pf
.0009 uf = 900 pf

A capacitor marked 104M is a .001 uf +- 20%

A capacitor marked 103M is a .01 uf +- 20%

A capacitor marked 102M is a .1 uf +- 20%

7. INDUCTORS -

Inductors are usually made with coils of wire.

The wire coils are wound around iron cores,
ferrite cores, or other materials except in the case
of an air core inductor where there is no core
other than air. The inductor stores electrical
charge in magnetic fields. When the magnetic field collapses it
induces an electrical charge back into the wire. Inductors are
associated with circuit capacitance and can form a tuned circuit
and resonate at a particular frequency. Two coils close to one
another, as they are in a transformer, literally transfer charge from
one coil to the other. This is called mutual inductance.

Inductor Calculator

Testing Unknown Ferrite Cores

Ferrites are roughly divided into two groups. Those with

permeabilities up to 850 are usually made from nickel-zinc material
and have high volume resistivity ranging from 1x105 to 1x108.
Higher permeability ferrites are usually made from manganese-zinc
material and have volume resistivity ranging from 0.1x102 to
1x102. Iron powder cores are usually color coded and have very
high volume resistivity. An initial test of the material can be made
by checking the dc resistance between opposite faces/sides of a
core. Low readings indicate a high permeability material. If you can
measure inductance at a low frequency (10-100kHz), wind 10 turns
of wire on the core and measure the inductance. You can then
work back from the ferrite material formula and calculate the AL
value, which can be compared with the tables of known cores of
the same physical dimensions and so come up with a reasonable
match. If 10 turns does not give a measurable reading try 20 or 30
turns.

RF power rating can be roughly checked by using two exactly

similar cores each wound with the same primary and secondary
turns (say 10 turns each on primary and secondary) and then
connecting the cores back to back as shown. This arrangement
provides a 1:1 equivalent so that the transmitter sees the correct
load. Losses are doubled by using two transformers, but this does
not matter for the test. Set the transmitter to the desired frequency
and reduce the rf power output to a minimum. Increase the power
output in small steps (say 5 -10W per step) holding each setting for
30 seconds then checking the temperature of each transformer.
The transformers should only get warm to touch but NEVER hot.
When the final temperature of each transformer has reached about
40 deg.C you can say that you have reached the power limit for
that particular core. Some cores will get hot at very low power. You
have to make a value judgment about the core physical size versus
the power rating achieved.

Ferrite (software program) is used to calculate the number of turns

required on toroidal ferrite cores to achieve the desired millihenry-
value inductance. 15 different ferrite toroids are included in this
application. This program will calculate the winding data for an
inductance range of 0.001 to 27 millihenries.
Style: CONSOLE , File size: 64K , zipped 31K.

RESONANT CIRCUITS - a combination of capacitance, inductance

and resistance.

Tuned circuits are found within electronic circuits where, for

example, only one certain frequency is of interest. The filtering
action of a tuned circuit is often associated with amplifiers as is
found in a radios intermediate frequency stage. Only one
frequency is amplified due to the filtering action of the tuned
circuit. Tuned circuits may be designed for a very a narrow band
of frequencies or with a wide bandwidth. Tuned circuits are also
found in oscillators. Here the tuned circuit allows oscillations only
at the tuned circuits resonant frequency in a properly designed
circuit. Resonant circuits are a combination of inductance,
capacitance and resistance. Please look at some of the links below
for more detailed study of resonant circuits..

14, BASIC DIGITAL ELECTRONICS

Digital electronics is based on electronic switches. A circuit is

either on or off represented by the presence of a voltage or not or
in some cases two different voltages. A string of on or off
conditions are made to represent numbers. These are usually
binary numbers but could be based on a variety of mathematical
bases. For example, "Hexadecimal" or a base of 16. But the most
common is binary. Any number can be represented in a binary
based system with a series of ones' and zero's (voltage on/off
conditions). Here is a short table of some binary numbers and
their decimal equivalents. The binary numbers place values from
right to left as shown in the table are; one, two, four, and eight. So,
binary 1111 is the same as adding 1+2+4+8 from right to left and
that equals 15. See the samples below then study the chart.

1 1 1 1 = 15 binary 1 0 0 1 = 9 binary 1 0 1 1 = 11
binary

8+4+2+1 = 15 decimal 8+0+0+1 = 9 decimal 8+0+2+1 = 11

decimal

DECIMAL= BINARY DECIMAL = BINARY

0 0000 8 1000
1 0001 9 1001
2 0010 10 1010
3 0011 11 1011
4 0100 12 1100
5 0101 13 1101
6 0110 14 1110
7 0111 15 1111

For an online course on digital electronics and how binary

mathematics is used in LOGIC blocks visit this web site:

These basic concepts are the building blocks for more

sophisticated configurations of digital electronic integrated
circuits. Today digital integrated circuits combine hundreds and
thousands of switches per IC package. It is not necessary to know
exactly what the internal circuitry is but you must know the
fundamentals to understand how to use the IC's together to build
digital equipment. Our computer industry today depends upon
many people knowing and using these same basic fundamentals.