How to Build a Circuit for Light Bulbs
Lighting light bulbs with an electric circuit is simple. Light bulbs are not polarized, so you do not have to worry about getting the positive and negative terminals straight. The major issue is getting the voltage and amperage right. If the voltage is too high, you will burn out your light bulbs quickly. If the voltage or amperage is too low, they will only glow dimly. Read on to learn how to build a circuit for light bulbs.
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Instructions
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Choose your light bulbs. If you are just doing this as a demonstration or hobby project, use small, low voltage lamps from an electronic hobby store. Try to keep the voltage below 12v.
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Learn about series and parallel circuits. In a series circuit, the voltage of everything is added to get the total voltage. For example, a 12v power supply could power four 3v lamps in series. In a parallel circuit, everything receives the total voltage. In a 12v parallel light circuit, for example, you would want to use several 12v lamps.
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Get a power supply. Your power supply should supply DC at the same voltage as your lights or the sum of your lights, depending if you want to wire your circuit in series or parallel. It should also be able to supply at least as much amperage as you need. For example, if you want to power two 50 milliamp lamps, your circuit should be able to supply at least 100 milliamps.
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Learn to solder. Strip off the end of the copper wire with a wire stripper, wrap it around the terminal you want to join it too, and heat the wire and the terminal with a soldering iron. Then, apply lead core solder to the component. See the article below for more information about soldering.
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Wire your lamps together in series or parallel. For series, wire them one at a time in a long chain. For parallel, attach all of the terminals on one side to one wire, and on the other side to a second wire.
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Wire one side of the lamp assembly to the power supply. You can attach it to either terminal.
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Attach the free terminal of the power supply to the switch.
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Attach the free end of the switch to the free end of the lamp assembly. Plug it in and turn it on.
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Tips & Warnings
A power supply should not supply more voltage than you need for the circuit. Getting a power supply that is capable of putting out more amperage than you need, however, is fine.
Never work on a circuit while it is plugged in.
