MATERIALS

1. Conductors
2. Insulators
3. Semiconductors

The PERIODIC TABLE

BASIC ELECTRONICS
1. Components & Devices
2. Measuring Instruments
3. Circuits

Components & Devices

PASSIVE Resistors
Capacitors
Diodes
Inductors, etc.
ACTIVE - Transistors
Op-Amps

Testing & Measuring Instruments

Power Supplies
Multimeters (Analog/Digital)
Oscilloscopes
Function Generators

CIRCUITS
Rectifiers
Amplifiers
Oscillators
Filters
Miscellaneous

Fixed Resistors - Types

Carbon Film 5%, 10%
Metal Film 1%, 2%
Wirewound
Chip Resistors

Resistors
Colour Coding

Variable Resistors
Potentiometers Linear
Logarithmic
Preset Resistors
Multi-turn Presets

Special Resistors
LDRs

Thermistors

Varistors (VDR)

OHMs Law
The CURRENT flowing through a
circuit is proportional to the
VOLTAGE, and inversely
proportional to the RESISTANCE.

Combinations of Resistors

Series

Parallel

Compound

LETs take
A SHORT BREAK!

Capacitors
A Capacitor is a device which
can store an electric charge.
In this respect, it behaves
like a battery, although there
is no chemical reaction
taking place within it.
Capacitors are characterized
by a large resistance to DC
and a relatively small
resistance to AC

Capacitor Construction
A capacitor is nothing more than two parallel
conducting plates separated by an
insulating medium.

How Capacitors work

When a DC voltage is applied to a
capacitor, a current flows in the circuit
thereby charging the capacitor.
As the capacitor acquires more and more
charge, the current reduces
proportionately.
Once the capacitor is fully charged, the
current drops to zero.

How Capacitors work

Behaviour of Capacitors
For an applied DC voltage, a capacitor
exhibits an infinite resistance. That is why
capacitors are used for blocking DC.
However, when AC voltages are applied,
the capacitor will pass the current.
The Reactance offered by a capacitor is

Units of Capacitance
The unit of Capacitance is the
Farad (F).
This, however, is a very large unit,
so for practical purposes, we use:
microFarad (uF) 10-6 F
nanoFarad (nF) 10 -9 F
picoFarad (pF) 10 -12 F

Capacitor Marking
The value of a capacitor
may be mentioned Numerically,
By colour coding, or
By letters or numbers.

Voltage Ratings
The maximum voltage that can
be applied across a capacitor
is dependent on the dielectric
used. It is also known as the
Break-Down Voltage.
A voltage in excess of the
break-down voltage will
cause the dielectric to
rupture, resulting in a shortcircuit within the capacitor.

Capacitors in Combination
Capacitors in series
1/Ct = 1/C1 + 1/C2
Ct =

C1.C2
C1 + C 2

Capacitors in Parallel
Ct = C 1 + C 2

Capacitor Types
Ceramic These use materials like
Titanium with Barium as Dielectric. As they
cannot be rolled, they are used to
advantage in hi-frequency applications.
Polystyrene Film These use
polystyrene film as a dielectric.
They are used in filter circuits or timing
circuits which work at frequencies
of several hundred kHz.

Capacitor Types - II
Mica Here the dielectric used is
mica, a high-insulation material.
Mica capacitors are used for high
voltage applications.
Electrolytic The important
characteristic of these capacitors is
that they have a distinct polarity.
While Aluminum is used for the
electrodes, a thin oxidation
membrane (electrolyte) is used as
the dielectric. They can have
values ranging from 1 uF to
thousands of uF.

Capacitor Types - III

Tantalum Markedly superior to electrolytic
capacitors in temperature and frequency
characteristics, they are more expensive.

They are used mainly in circuits requiring

high stability like analog signal systems.

Variable Capacitors
Here the capacitance can be changed (within
certain limits) by changing the area (of overlap)
between the two plates.
Pre Set (Trimmer)
Gang (Tuning)