When doing circuit analysis, you need to know some essential laws, electrical quantities, relationships, and theorems.Ohm’s law is a key device equation that relates current, voltage, and resistance. Using Kirchhoff’s laws, you can simplify a network of resistors using a single equivalent resistor. You can also do the same type of calculation to obtain the equivalent capacitance and inductance for a network of capacitors or inductors.

This electronics project shows how to assemble a simple transistor NAND gate on a solderless breadboard. Normally open pushbuttons are used for the two inputs. The LED will be on until you press both of the pushbuttons. This action causes both inputs to go HIGH, which causes the output to go LOW and the LED to go dark.

An electronic circuit is a complete course of conductors through which current can travel. Circuits provide a path for current to flow. To be a circuit, this path must start and end at the same point. In other words, a circuit must form a loop. An electronic circuit and an electrical circuit has the same definition, but electronic circuits tend to be low voltage circuits.

Most electronic circuits contain an on/off switch. In addition to the on/off switch, many circuits contain switches that control how the circuit works or activate different features of the circuit. One way to classify switches is by the connections they make. If you were under the impression that switches simply turn circuits on and off, guess again.

You've scrounged around your growing electronics bin and come up with wires to connect a circuit together and batteries to power the circuit. So how do you turn the power on and off? You use switches and relays. Turning current on and off with switches When you move the switch to shut off your flashlight, you disconnect the wires that run from the battery to the light bulb.

The easiest way to provide a voltage source for an electronic circuit is to include a battery. There are plenty of other ways to provide voltage, including AC adapters (which you can plug into the wall) and solar cells (which convert sunlight to voltage). However, batteries remain the most practical source of juice for most electronic circuits.

To measure voltage on an electronic circuit, you don't have to insert the meter into the circuit. Instead, all you have to do is touch the leads of the multimeter to any two points in the circuit. When you do, the multimeter displays the voltage that exists between those two points. For example, you can insert a voltmeter into the LED circuit so that you can measure voltage.

If there's enough room on the capacitor, most manufacturers of electronics components print the capacitance directly on the capacitor along with other information such as the working voltage and perhaps the tolerance. However, small capacitors don't have enough room for all that. Many capacitor manufacturers use a shorthand notation to indicate capacitance on small caps.

The 555 is a single-chip version of a commonly used circuit called a multivibrator, which is useful in a wide variety of electronic circuits. The 555 timer chipis probably the most popular integrated circuit ever made. You can use the 555 chips for basic timing functions, such as turning a light on for a certain length of time, or you can use it to create a warning light that flashes on and off.