EXPERIMENT NO.

01
Aim

StudyofBasicElectronicsComponentslikeresistor,capacitor,inductor,diode,
zenerdiode,LED(lightemittingdiode),transistoretc.&StudyofInstruments
likeMultimeter,Breadboard,powersupply,signalgenerator,CRO(cathoderay
oscilloscope)

Compo
nents

Resistor,capacitor,inductor,diode,zenerdiode,transistor.

Apparatus Multimeter,Powersupply,CRO,signalgenerator.
Theory
The most commonly used passive circuit components in electronic circuits are resistors,
capacitorsandinductors.
Resistor
Aresistorisanelectricalcomponentwithaknownspecifiedvalueofresistance.Thetwo
maincharacteristicofaresistorareitsresistanceandpowerrating. Itisusedtoestablish
propervaluedofcircuitvoltageduetoIRdrops,tolimitcurrentandtoprovideload.
Symbol:
Equation:R=(L/A)Whereisresistivity
TheresistanceRofagivenmaterialisproportionaltoitslengthLandinverselyproportional
toitsareaofcrosssectionA.

Resistor

types

Variable
Fixed

resistor
resistor

Potentio
Carbon
Carbon
Trimmer

meter
film etc.
(Pot)
Rheostat
composition
Inthecaseofvariableresistor,itsresistancecanbechangedbetweenzeroandacertainfixed
value.
Potentiometerisavariableresistoreitherofcarbonorwirewoundtype.Itissmallerinsize
comparedtoarheostat.Theyhavethreeterminals,thecenteronebeingconnectedtothe
variablearmwhichisusedforvaryingvoltage.
Rheostatisawirewoundpotthatcandissipatemorethan5W.Itisusedtocontrolmotor
speed, wedding current, ovens etc. the resistance element of rheostats is made of high
resistancewire;ithastwoterminalsandisconnectedinserieswithacircuitforadjustingthe

amountofcurrentflowingthroughit.Theyareusuallylargeinsizebecausetheypossesmuch
higherpowerrating.
Trimmerisusedwheretheresistancemustbeadjustablebutnotcontinuouslyvariable,in
whichtheresistancecanbeadjustedbyascrewdriver.
ValueofResistor:Seetheresistorgiventoyou.Itismadeupofhighresistivitymateriallike
carbon,spreadorwoundonaceramicmaterialandthencoatedbycolourwhichisnon
conductive.Youcanseetwoterminalsforconnection.Youcanalsoseedifferentcolourstrips
onit.Theyindicatevalueofresistor.Differentcoloursareassigneddifferentdigits:Black:0;
Brown:1;Red:2;Orange:3;Yellow:4;Green:5;Blue:6;Violet:7;Gray:8;White:9.
Thevalueisdeterminedlikethis:Ifthereare4stripsofcolour,first2stripsshouldbefor
mantissa;firstcolourdigitismostsignificantbit.Thirdstripistenthpowerofthatcolours
digitandthisistobemultipliedto2digitnumbertogetresistancevalueinW.Fourthcolour
showstolerance:forsilver,tolerance:+/10%andforgolden,tolerance:+/5%.Absence
offourthcolourshowsthattoleranceisnotspecified.
Forexampletheresistorwith1st,2nd,3rdcolourbandasbrown,black&Redandfourth
band(Toleranceband)asGoldthentheresistorvalueis10andmultiplierbandis10e2i.e.
100sotheresistorvalueis1000W+5%tolerancevalue.

Capacitors
Itisadevicewhichhastheabilitytostorecharge,toopposeanychangeofvoltageinthe
circuit&toblockthedirectcurrentthroughit.
A capacitor consist of two conducting plates separated by an insulating medium called
dielectric,itcouldbeair,mica,ceramic,paperetc.
Capacitanceisthemeasureofcapacitorabilitytostorecharge.Thecapacitanceofacapacitor
dependsontheplatearea(A),plateseparation(D)&onthetypeofdielectric
C=e0*er*Afarad
D
Where er is relative permittivity of dielectric and e 0 is absolute permittivity of vacuum
8.854*1012f/m
Ifwegiveacoulombofchargetooneofthetwoplatesofacapacitorandifapotential
differenceofVvoltsisestablishedbetweenthem,thenitscapacitanceis
C=Q/Vfarad(F)

Types of
capacitor
Variable
capacitor

Fixed
capacitor

electrolytic

nonelectrolytic

Non electrolytic typecapacitors include paper,micaand ceramic capacitor such capacitor

havenopolarityrequirementi.e.theycanbeconnectedineitherdirectioninacircuit.
Electrolytic capacitor consist of a positive plate of aluminum and negative plate of an
electrolyte(boraxoracarbonsalt)materialwithextremelythininsulatingfilmofaluminum
oxide(Al2O3)becauseofwhichsuchcapacitorpossessverylargecapacitancerangingfromf
to10,000finverycompactsize.Sincetheyuseanelectrolyteasthenegativeplatetheyare
polarizedcapacitori.e.theymustbeconnectedinthecircuitaccordingtothe+&marking.
Thereversedpolarityresultsingasformationwhichmaycausethecapacitortoexplode.They
havehighleakagecurrent.
Variablecapacitanceisonewhosecapacitancecanbevariedbyrotatingashaft.Itisusedas
tuningcapacitorinradioreceiver.Whenwetunetwodifferentstationsweactuallyverythe
capacitance.
Youaregivenceramicanddielectriccapacitors.Ontothedielectriccapacitor,thecapacitance
iswrittendirectlywhichcanbereadoutinFarad.Ontotheceramiccapacitor,thenumbering
like103writtenisinterpretedlike:1x103x1012.F

Inductor
unlikeresisterandcapacitorwhicharereadilyavailableasperdesiredspecificationcoilsare
requiredtobewoundbythecircuitdesigneraspertherequirements.Itisacoilwoundona
suitablematerial.
Typesofinductor:
I)AircoreII)ironcoreIII)ferritecore
(i)aircore:itconsistsofno.ofturnsofwirewoundonaformer.Ithastheleastinductance
foragivenno.ofturnsandcorelength;therearenocorelossesevenathighfrequency.(ii)
ironcore:itconsistsofno.ofturnsofwirewoundoverasolidironcore,puttingironinside
hastheeffectofincreasingitsinductanceasmanytimesastherelativepermeabilityofiron.
Ithasminimallossesatlowfrequencybutbecomesconsiderableathighfrequency.They
possessmuchhigherinductancethenaircorecoils.(iii)ferritecore:itconsistsofno.ofturns
ofwirewoundonacoremadeofferrite.Ithasminimumeddycurrentlossevenathigh
frequencywithhighinductancevalue.

Whenevercurrentthroughaninductorchanges,acounterEMFisinduceinitwhichtendsto
opposethischange.Thispropertyofthecoilduetowhichiscalledinductance(L).
L=m
o*
m
r*A*N

2henrys

l
Wheremoispermeabilityoffreespace4*107H/m,mrisrelativepermeabilityofcore,lis
corelength,AiscorecrosssectionareaandNisno.ofturnsofthecoil.
Diode
Thisisanelectroniccomponentmadeupofpandntypematerialssandwichedtogether
hencemakingaPNjunctiondiode.Thisdeviceallowscurrenttopassonlyinonedirection
whenanodeismadepositivewithrespecttocathodeanddoesnotallowcurrenttoflowin
theoppositecondition.Seethediodegiven,itisablackcoloredtwoterminaldevice,the
silverstripshowthatthenearingterminaliscathode(K)andoppositeterminalisanode(A).

Zenerdiode
Itisaspecialtypeofdiodewhichbreaksdownandallowsalargecurrenttoflowthroughit
whenoperatedinreversedirection,maintainingthevoltageacrossitconstant(Thisvoltageis
calledzenerbreakdownvoltage).Henceitworksasavoltageregulator.Seethezenerdiode
giventoyouitiseithercoloredortransparent.Theterminalnearwhichthereisastripis
calledCathode(K).
LED(LightEmittingDiode)
ItisaspecialtypeofPNjunctiondiodewhichemitsvisiblelightwhenenergized.WhenLED
isF.BelectronsfromhigherconductionbandofNsidecombineswithholesinthelower
valancebandonthePside,duringwhichsomeofthisenergydifferenceisgivenupinthe
formofheatandlight,forSiandGejunctionsgreaterpercentageofthisenergyisgivenupin
theformofheatwhereasinthecaseofsemiconductorlikegalliumarsenoid(GaAs),gallium

phosphide(GaP),agraterpercentageofenergyisgivenoutintheformoflight.Itoperatesat
voltagelevelfrom1.5Vto3.3V.LEDsareavailableindifferentcolourslikered,green,amber,
as well as different sizes like 3mm, 5mm,10 mm. See the terminals: longer terminal is
AnodeandshorteroneisCathode.
Transistor
ItisathreeterminaldeviceavailableasPNPorNPNtype.Theterminalsareemitter,baseand
collector.Transistorcanbeusedincommonbase,commonEmitterorCommoncollector
configurationinthecircuit.
Breadboard
itisusedtoformcircuitusingdiscretecomponents.Horizontalandverticalslotsareavailable
forthegripofterminalsofelectroniccomponents.
Multimeter
Voltmeter is used to measure voltage between two points. Ammeter is used to measure
currentthroughanybranchandOhmmeterisusedtomeasureresistancebetweentwopoints
inacircuit.Seedifferentrangeofabovemetersavailableinthelaboratory.Theyareanalog
metersandDArsonvalmovementisusedforthepointermovement.Necessarychangesare
made inthe basic galvanometertoconstructabovemeters.Multimeterishavingvoltage,
currentandresistancemeasurements,allinoneapparatus.Itisamultipurposeinstrument,
withacurrentmeteravoltmeterandanohmmeterplacedinside.Itisprovidedwithbatteries
(formakingitanohmmeter),withshuntresistance(formakingitmultirangecurrentmeter)
andwithhighseriesresistance(formakingitmultirangevoltmeter),inallthreecasesthe
detection occur due to current, in resistance measurement this current is inversely
proportionaltoresistance,involtagemeasurementcurrentisproportionaltothevoltage.
ThesemeterschangeinputanalogquantityintodigitalnumberanddisplaysonLEDorLCD
displaystheyaremorereadablecomparetoanalogtype.Digitalmultimetersarealsohas
facilityofmeasurementofhfeoftransistor,capacitanceofcapacitoretc.
Powersupply
Itisusedtoprovidedesiredsupplyvoltageinthecircuitforitsfunctioning.230voltsignal
phase 50Hz supply is converted to DC voltage using step down transformer and bridge
rectifiersusingdiodes.ThisvoltageisfilteredusingfilterstomakeitsmoothDCvoltage.This
voltageisregulatedagainstsupplyvoltageandloadcurrentvariationsusingregulators.See
the front panel of the power supply available in the laboratory. It can offer constant or
variablevoltage.Forvariablevoltagefineandcourseknobsareavailableonthefrontpanel.
Eventhereisaknobtselectvoltagerange.

Function(Signal)Generator
It generatesstandard voltage signalslikesinusoidal,square, and triangularwaveformsof
different frequencies and amplitudes. You can provide input to your circuit using
signal/functiongeneratorwiththeBNCconnector.INBNCconnectortheinnercorewireis
high in potential and outer one is ground or low. You can select sine, rectangular,
triangular orpulseshape by selecting the waveformfromfrontpanelcontrol of function
generator.Youcanchangefrequencyaswellamplitudeusingknobsonfrontpanel.
CRO(CathoderayOscilloscope)
Thisinstrumentiscalledaneyetoseewhatishappeningintheelectricalandelectronics
circuit. The oscilloscopeisusing cathoderaytubeas aheartofit.Itcanconvert kinetic
energyofelectronstrikingthephosphorscreenintovisiblelight.Thepositionoftheelectron
beam generated from the electron gun is determined by the magnitude and polarity of
voltageappliedtohorizontalanddeflectionplates.InCROhorizontaldeflectionplatesare
providedexternalsignalwhichwewanttoobserve.Duetointernalrampwaveform,electron
beamtravelsfromlefttorightwithconstantspeedinastraightlineandquicklyreturnsto
leftagainandrepeats.Nowinthepresenceofinputsignalbeamgetsdeflectedinvertical
directionalso,therebydisplayinginputsignal.Thefrequencyofsawtoothissohighthat
inputsignalbeingdisplayedlooksstationary.Youcanselectappropriatevoltagescaleusing
volts/divandtimescaleusingtime/divsothatdisplayedsignalfitsintothescreensize.If
yourCROisadualtrace,youcansimultaneouslyseetwowaveformsprovidedbothofthem
haveacommonground.Thetimescalesforbotharesamebutvoltagescalescanbeset
independently.
Conclusion: