Engineering - Electronic Components Review

ceramic capacitor

A fixed value capacitor in which ceramic material acts as the dielectric.

diode

A semiconductor device with two terminals, typically allowing the flow of current in one direction only.

speaker

A transducer which converts electrical energy to sound.

electrolytic capacitor

A type of capacitor that uses an electrolyte to achieve a larger capacitance than other capacitor types.

Potentiometer

A variable resistor with a third adjustable terminal.

resistor

An electrical component that resists the flow of electrical current

push button

Causes a temporary change in the state of an electrical circuit only while the switch is physically actuated. An automatic mechanism (i.e. a spring) returns the switch to its default position immediately afterwards, restoring the initial circuit condition.

integrated circuit

IC, sometimes called a chip or microchip. Semiconductor wafer on which thousands or millions of tiny resistors, capacitors, and transistors are fabricated. Can function as an amplifier, oscillator, timer, counter, computer memory, or microprocessor.

LED

Light Emitting Diode, semiconductor device that emits visible light when an electric current passes through

SCR gate

SCRs are unidirectional devices (i.e. can conduct current only in one direction). SCRs can be triggered normally only by currents going into the gate.

NPN Transistor

Transistors can be regarded as a type of switch. They are central to electronics and there are two main types; NPN and PNP. Most circuits tend to use NPN. The BASE is the lead responsible for activating the transistor. The COLLECTOR is the positive lead. The EMITTER is the negative lead.

battery

container consisting of one or more cells in which chemical energy is converted into electricity and used as a source of power

PNP transistor

positive - negative - positive