Year 9 Electronics Component Revision 2022

Electrical Theory
Year 9 Component Theory

Concept Development
Resistance
Resistance is a measure of the opposition to current flow in an electrical
circuit.
Resistors are used in circuits to slow current to acceptable levels for both
wiring and other circuits.
Resistance is measured in ohms, symbolized by the Greek letter omega (Ω).
Concept Development
Concept Development
SMT Resistors
Many modern circuits use SMT (Surface Mount Technology) resistors. Their
manufacture involves depositing a film of resistive material such as tin
oxide on a tiny ceramic chip. Their main advantage is that very high
component density can be achieved.
Concept Development
Body Colour
Although the body colour (the colour of the laquer coating) on metal
film resistors is often brown, this is not a reliable guide. Small
carbon, metal and oxide resistors may be made in various body
colours such as dark red, brown, blue, green, grey, cream or white.
Concept Development
Resistor Power Rating

When an electrical current passes
through a resistor due to the presence of
a voltage across it, electrical energy is lost
by the resistor in the form of heat and the
greater this current flow the hotter the
resistor will get. This is known as the
Resistor Power Rating.
Concept Development
Varistor
The word “Varistor” is a combination of the words VARI-able resi-STOR
used to describe their mode of operation way back in their early days of
development which is a little misleading since a varistor can not be
manually varied.
A Varistor but unlike a variable resistor whose resistance value can be
manually varied between its minimum and maximum values, the varistor
changes its resistance value automatically with the change in voltage
across it making it a voltage-dependant, non-linear resistor or VDR for
short.
Varistors are used primarily for surge voltage protection.
Concept Development
Photoresistors
Often called “light dependent resistors” this is
a type of resistor whose resistance varies
depending on the amount of light falling on its
surface. When the light falls on the resistor,
then the resistance changes. These resistors
are often used in many circuits where it is
required to sense the presence of light.
In the dark, their resistance is very high,
sometimes up to 1MΩ, but when the LDR
sensor is exposed to light, the resistance
drops dramatically, even down to a few ohms,
depending on the light intensity.
Concept Development
Concept Development
Diodes
The key function of an ideal diode is to control
the direction of current-flow. Current passing
through a diode can only go in one direction,
called the forward direction. Current trying to
flow the reverse direction is blocked. They're
like the one-way valve of electronics.
Concept Development
Circuit Symbol
Every diode has two terminals -- connections on each end of the
component -- and those terminals are polarized, meaning the two
terminals are distinctly different. It's important not to mix the
connections on a diode up. The positive end of a diode is called the
anode, and the negative end is called the cathode. Current can flow from
the anode end to the cathode, but not the other direction.
Concept Development
Real Diode Characteristics
Ideally, diodes will block any and all
current flowing the reverse direction, or
just act like a short-circuit if current flow
is forward. Unfortunately, actual diode
behavior isn't quite ideal. Diodes do
consume some amount of power when
conducting forward current, and they
won't block out all reverse current. Real-
world diodes are a bit more complicated,
and they all have unique characteristics
which define how they actually operate.
Concept Development
Types of Diodes
Signal Diodes
Standard signal diodes are among the most basic, average,
no-frills members of the diode family. They usually have a
medium-high forward voltage drop and a low maximum
current rating.
Power Diodes
A rectifier or power diode is a standard diode with a much
higher maximum current rating. This higher current rating
usually comes at the cost of a larger forward voltage.
Concept Development
Types of Diodes Continued

Light-Emitting Diodes (LEDs!)
Like normal diodes, LEDs only allow current through one direction.
They also have a forward voltage rating, which is the voltage required
for them to light up. The VF rating of an LED is usually larger than that
of a normal diode (1.2~3V), and it depends on the color the LED
emits. For example, the rated forward voltage of a Super Bright Blue
LED is around 3.3V, while that of the equal size Super Bright Red LED is
only 2.2V.Power Diodes
Concept Development
Capacitors
A capacitor is a device that holds an
electric charge. It consists of two metal
plates with an insulating layer that allows
an electric charge to build up between
the plates. Once the current is stopped,
the charge remains and can flow out of
the capacitor (called discharging the
capacitor) as soon as the charge voltage
stored in the capacitor is presented with
a new path for the current to take.
Concept Development
Measuring the Capacity of a

Capacitor
The amount of charge a capacitor can
hold is measured in Farads. One Farad is a
very large amount, as such capacitors are
generally measured in picofarads (pF) or
microfarads (µF). Capacitors are also
manufactured to accept certain voltage
maximums.
Concept Development
Capacitor Construction
Plates are used to hold the electrons
when the capacitor is charged. A
dielectric layer is placed inbetween the
plates to stop electrons flowing between
the charged plates. The plates can be
either layered or rolled to increase
surface area. The dielectric also affects
the capacitance and voltage of the
capacitor.
Concept Development
Transistors
Transistors are listed the most important invention of the 20th century.
“It has changed society. Look at transportation, computers,
government, finance, manufacturing...it’s affected them all. Look at
the change in the productivity of the whole economy. It’s probably
doubled from what it would have been without transistors.”
Risto Puhakka,
President of VLSI Research Inc.
Concept Development
Transistors as Switches
When using the transistor as a
switch, a small Base current
controls a much larger
Collector load current. Since
there are no mechanical
movements switching times
can be extremely fast.
Concept Development
Transistors as Amplifiers
Transistors are able to take a
small input voltage and create a
larger output voltage. This is
usually done with AC signals and
is often associated with audio
devices.
Concept Development
In Summary
•Transistors are one of the most commonly used items in the world today.
Intel estimates that about 10 quintillion (10,000,000,000,000,000,000)
transistors are shipped each year. Thats about 10,000 time the number of
ants on earth.
•In a Core i7-8700K CPU there are about 3 billion transistors.
•Transistors allow the switching of current by altering the voltage on the
base pin.
•Transistors can also be used to amplify signals.
Concept Development
Electronic Regulators
A voltage regulator is an electricity regulation device designed to
automatically convert voltage into a lower, usually direct current (DC),
constant voltage.
Concept Development
When a steady, reliable voltage is needed, then the voltage regulator is

the preferred device. It generates a fixed output voltage that remains
constant for any changes in an input voltage or load conditions. It acts as
a buffer for protecting components from damages.
Concept Development
Potentiometer
A potentiometer is a three-terminal
resistor with a sliding or rotating contact
that forms an adjustable voltage divider. If
only two terminals are used, one end and
the wiper, it acts as a variable resistor or
rheostat.
Concept Development
Construction
From the diagram it can be seen that a
potentiometer (or simply just pot) has
three terminals. The two outer pins carry
the whole resistance. The wiper changes
the resistance between the signal
terminal and the two outer terminals.
Concept Development
Using the Pot as a Variable Resistor

The potentiometer can be used as a variable resistor. By using one
outer terminal and the signal pin a resistance of 0Ω to max resistance
can be achieved.

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Electrical Theory

Year 9 Component Theory

Resistor Power Rating

Types of Diodes Continued

Measuring the Capacity of a

When a steady, reliable voltage is needed, then the voltage regulator is

Using the Pot as a Variable Resistor

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