Electronics For Dummies, 3rd Edition

419 Pages·2015·21.58 MB·English

by  Cathleen Shamieh

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Electronics
3rd Edition
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Electronics
3rd Edition
by Cathleen Shamieh
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Electronics For Dummies®, 3rd Edition
Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030‐5774, www.wiley.com
Copyright © 2015 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey
Published simultaneously in Canada
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2015944208
ISBN 978‐1‐119‐11797‐1 (pbk); ISBN 978‐1‐119‐11799‐5 (ebk); ISBN 978‐1‐119‐11798‐8 (ebk)
Manufactured in the United States of America
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Contents at a Glance
Introduction ................................................................ 1
Part I: Fathoming the Fundamentals of Electronics ......... 5
Chapter 1: Introducing You to Electronics .....................................................................7
Chapter 2: Gearing Up to Explore Electronics .............................................................25
Chapter 3: Running Around in Circuits .........................................................................35
Chapter 4: Making Connections .....................................................................................49
Part II: Controlling Current with Components ............... 65
Chapter 5: Meeting Up with Resistance ........................................................................67
Chapter 6: Obeying Ohm’s Law ......................................................................................89
Chapter 7: Getting Charged Up about Capacitors .....................................................105
Chapter 8: Identifying with Inductors .........................................................................131
Chapter 9: Diving into Diodes ......................................................................................147
Chapter 10: Tremendously Talented Transistors......................................................163
Chapter 11: Innovating with Integrated Circuits ........................................................183
Chapter 12: Acquiring Additional Parts ......................................................................215
Part III: Getting Serious about Electronics ................. 237
Chapter 13: Preparing Your Lab and Ensuring Your Safety .....................................239
Chapter 14: Interpreting Schematics ...........................................................................263
Chapter 15: Building Circuits .......................................................................................281
Chapter 16: Mastering Your Multimeter to Measure Circuits ..................................303
Chapter 17: Putting Projects Together .......................................................................325
Part IV: The Part of Tens .......................................... 351
Chapter 18: Ten Ways to Explore Electronics Further .............................................353
Chapter 19: Ten Great Electronics Parts Sources .....................................................357
Glossary .................................................................. 363
Index ...................................................................... 373
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Table of Contents
Introduction .............................................................. 1
About This Book........................................................................................1
Foolish Assumptions ................................................................................2
Icons Used in This Book ...........................................................................3
Beyond the Book .......................................................................................3
Where to Go from Here ............................................................................4
Part I: Fathoming the Fundamentals of Electronics ....... 5
Chapter 1: Introducing You to Electronics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Just What Is Electronics? .........................................................................8
Checking Out Electric Current ................................................................9
Exploring an atom ............................................................................9
Getting a charge out of protons and electrons ..........................11
Identifying conductors and insulators ........................................11
Mobilizing electrons to create current .......................................12
Understanding Voltage ...........................................................................13
Let the force be with you ..............................................................13
Why voltage needs to be different ...............................................14
Putting Electrical Energy to Work .........................................................15
Tapping into electrical energy .....................................................15
Working electrons deliver power ................................................16
Using Circuits to Make Sure Electrons Arrive
at Their Destination ............................................................................17
Supplying Electrical Energy ...................................................................18
Getting direct current from a battery .........................................19
Using alternating current from a power plant ...........................20
Transforming light into electricity ..............................................21
Using symbols to represent energy sources ..............................21
Marveling at What Electrons Can Do ....................................................22
Creating good vibrations ..............................................................22
Seeing is believing..........................................................................23
Sensing and alarming ....................................................................23
Controlling motion.........................................................................23
Computing ......................................................................................23
Voice, video, and data communications .....................................24
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viii
Electronics For Dummies
Chapter 2: Gearing Up to Explore Electronics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Getting the Tools You Need ...................................................................26
Stocking Up on Essential Supplies ........................................................28
Getting Ready to Rumble .......................................................................32
Using a Solderless Breadboard .............................................................33
Chapter 3: Running Around in Circuits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Comparing Closed, Open, and Short Circuits......................................35
Understanding Conventional Current Flow .........................................38
Examining a Basic Circuit ......................................................................38
Building the basic LED circuit ......................................................40
Examining voltages ........................................................................42
Measuring current .........................................................................46
Calculating power ..........................................................................47
Chapter 4: Making Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Creating Series and Parallel Circuits ....................................................49
Series connections .........................................................................50
Parallel connections ......................................................................51
Switching Electric Current On and Off .................................................55
Controlling the action of a switch ...............................................55
Making the right contacts .............................................................56
Creating a Combination Circuit .............................................................58
Switching On the Power .........................................................................61
What Do Circuits Look Like?..................................................................62
Part II: Controlling Current with Components ............. 65
Chapter 5: Meeting Up with Resistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Resisting the Flow of Current ................................................................67
Resistors: Passive Yet Powerful ............................................................69
What are resistors used for? ........................................................69
Choosing a type of resistor: Fixed or variable ...........................73
Rating resistors according to power ...........................................80
Combining Resistors ...............................................................................81
Resistors in series ..........................................................................82
Resistors in parallel .......................................................................84
Combining series and parallel resistors .....................................87
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