Discover the expert in you.
Discover the expert in you.
The diode was the precursor to the transistor. The basic principles it functions opened the way to build the first transistor. Most diodes are manufactured from silicone, and they allow electric current to flow in just one direction. This unique property makes the diode useful in a number of electronic circuit types, particularly in power supplies, radio and computer-related circuits.
Originally invented by Michael Faraday, famed English physicist and chemist, today's electric motors share the same basic principles as those discovered by Faraday. Through experiments he conducted between 1815 and 1821, Faraday learned that electric motors convert electrical power into rotational movement through the use of magnetic fields. These motors work by rotating other objects such as fans, electric mixers, tools and more. Magnetism and electromagnetic rotation are what make electric motors perform.
There are two kinds of electricity: alternating current and direct current. Direct currents flow one way through a circuit. Alternating currents oscillate back and forth. Diode rectifiers are circuits that change alternating current (AC) into direct current (DC).
The LM35 is basically a thermometer on a chip, designed by National Semiconductor. Instead of using mercury or another fluid, it relies on a property of diodes that causes the breakdown voltage of the diode to increase with temperature. This relationship is linear and predictable, making the LM35 a very accurate temperature sensor, with a voltage output that is linearly proportional to temperature.
Electrical diagrams range from the very simple to the very complicated, but they all are based on the same elementary principles. To learn how to read them, it is necessary to have a basic understanding of the parts used in circuits, including their symbols, what they are used for, and how they are placed inside a circuit.
LEDs (light-emitting diodes) are a modified form of semiconductor diode--that is, a device that allows current to flow in one direction while blocking it in the other. Made of a semiconductive material, smaller than traditional lighting sources and using less energy, LEDs can produce light of all colors and outside the visible light spectrum.
