1 00:00:04,200 --> 00:00:12,280 Speaker 1: Get in touch with technology with text stuff from dot com. 2 00:00:12,360 --> 00:00:15,800 Speaker 1: Hey there, and welcome to text stuff. I'm Jonathan Strickland, 3 00:00:16,239 --> 00:00:20,240 Speaker 1: and today I wanted to address some listener mail and 4 00:00:20,239 --> 00:00:24,520 Speaker 1: and do a full episode based upon a request. This 5 00:00:24,640 --> 00:00:28,760 Speaker 1: comes from Chris via email Now. Chris wrote an incredible email, 6 00:00:28,920 --> 00:00:31,920 Speaker 1: very long, lots of different stuff in it and lots 7 00:00:31,920 --> 00:00:35,440 Speaker 1: of different suggestions, one of which was about the topic 8 00:00:35,440 --> 00:00:38,000 Speaker 1: will be covering today. So here's that section of the email, 9 00:00:38,520 --> 00:00:42,600 Speaker 1: so don't don't be alarmed. I'm going in medias race. 10 00:00:42,720 --> 00:00:45,120 Speaker 1: This is the middle of the email here or really 11 00:00:45,159 --> 00:00:48,320 Speaker 1: the end. Lastly, I was hoping in the future to 12 00:00:48,360 --> 00:00:52,839 Speaker 1: see topics covered like how electronics work, transistors, capacitors, chips, etcetera. 13 00:00:53,040 --> 00:00:55,240 Speaker 1: I worked at radio Shack for five years and got 14 00:00:55,280 --> 00:00:58,360 Speaker 1: really interested in electronic components, but found them pretty confusing. 15 00:00:59,080 --> 00:01:03,560 Speaker 1: That is perfectly understandable. I still have to look up 16 00:01:03,640 --> 00:01:07,679 Speaker 1: the various components and remind myself what each one does 17 00:01:07,760 --> 00:01:11,480 Speaker 1: because I don't tend to work with electronic circuits that frequently, 18 00:01:11,959 --> 00:01:15,240 Speaker 1: and I know in general what needs to happen, but 19 00:01:15,360 --> 00:01:18,960 Speaker 1: sometimes I forget the specifics because there's a lot of 20 00:01:18,959 --> 00:01:22,120 Speaker 1: stuff there, and if you aren't familiar. If you're not 21 00:01:22,160 --> 00:01:25,360 Speaker 1: always working in that world, it can very easily slip 22 00:01:25,400 --> 00:01:27,800 Speaker 1: away from you. And we are talking about lots of 23 00:01:27,800 --> 00:01:32,080 Speaker 1: different components that you measure using different units, And after 24 00:01:32,120 --> 00:01:34,399 Speaker 1: a while you just start to you know, if you again, 25 00:01:34,440 --> 00:01:36,959 Speaker 1: if you're not just naturally inclined to this kind of stuff, 26 00:01:36,959 --> 00:01:39,039 Speaker 1: you start to pull your hair out. Except in my case, 27 00:01:39,480 --> 00:01:41,360 Speaker 1: that's already been done for me, so I just kind 28 00:01:41,360 --> 00:01:44,360 Speaker 1: of rubbed my head. So let's start with the basics. 29 00:01:45,080 --> 00:01:48,360 Speaker 1: And I know this is going to sound incredibly basic, 30 00:01:48,520 --> 00:01:51,040 Speaker 1: but we have to build a foundation before we can 31 00:01:51,040 --> 00:01:54,480 Speaker 1: start talking about the components. So electronics are all about 32 00:01:54,560 --> 00:01:59,600 Speaker 1: leveraging electricity. Not a big surprise, you're you're leveraging electricity 33 00:01:59,600 --> 00:02:03,280 Speaker 1: in order to do something to accomplish something like a 34 00:02:03,440 --> 00:02:08,440 Speaker 1: radio is meant to receive and amplify radio signals and 35 00:02:08,440 --> 00:02:10,880 Speaker 1: and convert them into acoustic signal so that you can 36 00:02:10,880 --> 00:02:14,760 Speaker 1: actually hear them. That that's a simple example. A flashlight 37 00:02:15,240 --> 00:02:20,480 Speaker 1: is meant to channel electricity to end up powering a 38 00:02:20,600 --> 00:02:23,240 Speaker 1: light bulb, which is essentially a resistor. We will talk 39 00:02:23,280 --> 00:02:27,519 Speaker 1: about those that heats up. We're talking about a basic 40 00:02:27,560 --> 00:02:30,960 Speaker 1: incandescent light bulb here, Um and gives off light as 41 00:02:30,960 --> 00:02:35,280 Speaker 1: a result. That's your basic use of that kind of electronics. 42 00:02:35,639 --> 00:02:41,119 Speaker 1: So we're gonna talk about how electronics control electricity. These 43 00:02:41,160 --> 00:02:44,799 Speaker 1: basic components are all used to do that so that 44 00:02:44,840 --> 00:02:49,160 Speaker 1: you can accomplish whatever the goal of your electronic device is. Now, 45 00:02:49,160 --> 00:02:52,760 Speaker 1: most electronic devices have lots and lots of different components 46 00:02:52,760 --> 00:02:56,919 Speaker 1: to them, sometimes worked in various configurations, whether they're in 47 00:02:57,040 --> 00:02:59,839 Speaker 1: series or in parallel. I'm not going to get into 48 00:02:59,880 --> 00:03:02,880 Speaker 1: all all of that because that's beyond what I really 49 00:03:02,919 --> 00:03:07,040 Speaker 1: wanted to focus on in this episode. Instead, in this episode, 50 00:03:07,360 --> 00:03:11,200 Speaker 1: I want to talk about the very basic components and 51 00:03:11,240 --> 00:03:14,519 Speaker 1: what they are intended to do. These are the things 52 00:03:14,560 --> 00:03:17,360 Speaker 1: that make up the circuits that you would see in 53 00:03:17,400 --> 00:03:20,360 Speaker 1: physical circuitry. So if you ever have, uh, you know, 54 00:03:20,400 --> 00:03:23,480 Speaker 1: an old electronic device and you were to take it 55 00:03:23,520 --> 00:03:26,600 Speaker 1: apart and you saw all these little weird do dads 56 00:03:26,680 --> 00:03:29,200 Speaker 1: on a circuit board, I'm gonna tell you what those 57 00:03:29,200 --> 00:03:35,520 Speaker 1: do dads do. Dad. Alright, So first we describe an 58 00:03:35,560 --> 00:03:39,760 Speaker 1: electronics materials is having electrons that fall into certain energy 59 00:03:39,800 --> 00:03:43,240 Speaker 1: bands or electronic bands. Now, the two important ones that 60 00:03:43,320 --> 00:03:46,560 Speaker 1: to talk about are the valence band and the conduction band. 61 00:03:47,200 --> 00:03:49,640 Speaker 1: Electrons and the conduction band are able to move freely 62 00:03:49,680 --> 00:03:52,760 Speaker 1: through the material in question, assuming the conduction band isn't 63 00:03:52,760 --> 00:03:54,880 Speaker 1: totally full. You can think of it kind of like 64 00:03:54,960 --> 00:03:59,160 Speaker 1: a think of it like a nightclub. It's a nightclub 65 00:03:59,200 --> 00:04:04,480 Speaker 1: that's maybe you know, full, so you can still move 66 00:04:04,520 --> 00:04:08,240 Speaker 1: through it freely. Now that nightclubs packed, you're not going anywhere, 67 00:04:08,280 --> 00:04:10,520 Speaker 1: so there has to be you know, almost but not 68 00:04:10,600 --> 00:04:12,640 Speaker 1: quite full for you to be able to move around. 69 00:04:13,160 --> 00:04:18,159 Speaker 1: That's the conduction band. That's the basics of electrical conductivity. UH. 70 00:04:18,279 --> 00:04:21,279 Speaker 1: Whereas the valance band is kind of this um this 71 00:04:21,279 --> 00:04:24,800 Speaker 1: this basic energy level, and there is a gap between 72 00:04:24,800 --> 00:04:27,680 Speaker 1: the valence band and the conduction band. UH. It is 73 00:04:27,720 --> 00:04:31,200 Speaker 1: called the band gap. And depending upon the material, that 74 00:04:31,240 --> 00:04:33,680 Speaker 1: band gap will be of a certain size, and in 75 00:04:33,720 --> 00:04:37,719 Speaker 1: some cases the gap is insurmountable. You cannot get electrons 76 00:04:38,240 --> 00:04:41,840 Speaker 1: from the valence band into the conductance band, and you 77 00:04:41,880 --> 00:04:45,240 Speaker 1: cannot get them to flow, at least not under normal 78 00:04:45,279 --> 00:04:50,360 Speaker 1: operating circumstances. So in that sense, think of you've got 79 00:04:50,360 --> 00:04:52,520 Speaker 1: a like a holding room before you can get into 80 00:04:52,560 --> 00:04:58,240 Speaker 1: the nightclub, and the the doorway going into the nightclub 81 00:04:58,279 --> 00:05:00,200 Speaker 1: has got a big old bouncer and that a goal 82 00:05:00,200 --> 00:05:04,000 Speaker 1: bouncers not letting anyone through. That's your band gap. You 83 00:05:04,160 --> 00:05:08,240 Speaker 1: cannot there's no one even collectively all of you working together, 84 00:05:08,320 --> 00:05:11,359 Speaker 1: you're not gonna be able to budge that bouncer. That 85 00:05:11,400 --> 00:05:14,200 Speaker 1: would be as if you were in a non conducting 86 00:05:14,279 --> 00:05:16,839 Speaker 1: material and I'll get into more of that later. Whereas 87 00:05:16,880 --> 00:05:20,239 Speaker 1: if you're in a room where there's a wide open 88 00:05:20,320 --> 00:05:22,840 Speaker 1: door and you're allowed to go through as long as 89 00:05:23,120 --> 00:05:26,279 Speaker 1: someone else is coming in, that would mean that you 90 00:05:26,320 --> 00:05:30,080 Speaker 1: could flow through properly. You've got you got electrical electrical 91 00:05:30,080 --> 00:05:33,040 Speaker 1: conductivity going on there, and I'll talk more about that 92 00:05:33,080 --> 00:05:35,880 Speaker 1: in a second. I realized this analogy isn't perfect, but 93 00:05:36,000 --> 00:05:39,279 Speaker 1: I'm just trying to simplify things for those who haven't 94 00:05:39,279 --> 00:05:43,600 Speaker 1: really taken this kind of class in physics. So a 95 00:05:43,720 --> 00:05:47,520 Speaker 1: large gap would represent a great deal of energy needed 96 00:05:47,520 --> 00:05:51,520 Speaker 1: to move electrons from the valence band to the conductance band, 97 00:05:52,480 --> 00:05:55,799 Speaker 1: and sometimes that gap is so large as to be 98 00:05:56,240 --> 00:06:02,279 Speaker 1: impossible to cross again under normal operating conditions. So let's 99 00:06:02,320 --> 00:06:08,920 Speaker 1: look at the basic materials that we talk about in electronics, conductors, insulators, 100 00:06:08,960 --> 00:06:16,120 Speaker 1: and semiconductors. Pretty simple to understand. Conductors have high electrical conductivity. 101 00:06:16,160 --> 00:06:19,479 Speaker 1: That means they facilitate the flow of electrons. Uh. They 102 00:06:19,480 --> 00:06:22,680 Speaker 1: have a nearly full but not completely full conduction band. 103 00:06:23,000 --> 00:06:26,880 Speaker 1: Electrons can move freely through this material in response to 104 00:06:26,880 --> 00:06:29,960 Speaker 1: an electric field applied to that material. So you apply 105 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:33,080 Speaker 1: an electrical field to this material, it will then allow 106 00:06:33,120 --> 00:06:37,040 Speaker 1: electrons to flow through freely. This is the stuff that 107 00:06:37,080 --> 00:06:40,080 Speaker 1: moves electrons from point A to point B. You apply 108 00:06:40,160 --> 00:06:43,080 Speaker 1: a voltage across it, you get electrons to flow. That's current, 109 00:06:43,440 --> 00:06:47,720 Speaker 1: Although technically current flows from positive to negative as opposed 110 00:06:47,720 --> 00:06:50,560 Speaker 1: to the flow of electrons, which is from negative to positive. 111 00:06:51,200 --> 00:06:56,960 Speaker 1: We can thank lots of early UH thinkers for that confusion. 112 00:06:57,520 --> 00:07:00,400 Speaker 1: So current flow and electron flow are in opposite to actions. 113 00:07:00,400 --> 00:07:05,080 Speaker 1: Thank you, Benjamin Franklin. Uh. Alright, So then you've got insulators. 114 00:07:05,560 --> 00:07:08,400 Speaker 1: These do not have electrons within the conduction band or 115 00:07:08,480 --> 00:07:11,680 Speaker 1: they have a full conduction band, so again no room 116 00:07:11,720 --> 00:07:15,000 Speaker 1: for electrons to move around, so there are no free electrons. 117 00:07:15,400 --> 00:07:19,280 Speaker 1: They impede the flow of electrons through that material, and 118 00:07:19,320 --> 00:07:23,560 Speaker 1: most solids fall into this category. Metals are UH an exception, 119 00:07:23,680 --> 00:07:28,680 Speaker 1: but most solids are insulators. So at normal operating parameters, 120 00:07:28,680 --> 00:07:31,080 Speaker 1: you wouldn't be able to apply a strong enough electric 121 00:07:31,160 --> 00:07:35,239 Speaker 1: field to make them conduct electricity. So you could apply 122 00:07:35,240 --> 00:07:38,920 Speaker 1: an electric field to these things, but it wouldn't be 123 00:07:39,000 --> 00:07:42,480 Speaker 1: able to jump that gap between the valence band and 124 00:07:42,520 --> 00:07:46,800 Speaker 1: the conductance band, so it would just stop. You wouldn't 125 00:07:46,800 --> 00:07:49,320 Speaker 1: have any electrical flow through that at all. So we 126 00:07:49,480 --> 00:07:52,960 Speaker 1: use insulators for things like insulation on wires where we 127 00:07:53,160 --> 00:07:58,760 Speaker 1: wrapped the wires in that to help prevent leakage or interference, because, 128 00:07:58,800 --> 00:08:02,160 Speaker 1: as we've talked about many times on this show, the 129 00:08:02,160 --> 00:08:07,400 Speaker 1: flow of electricity is also very closely related to magnetism 130 00:08:07,440 --> 00:08:10,080 Speaker 1: and vice versa. So you have to be able to 131 00:08:10,200 --> 00:08:14,360 Speaker 1: limit interference between different wires if you don't want there 132 00:08:14,400 --> 00:08:19,400 Speaker 1: to be that interaction obviously, otherwise you can end up 133 00:08:19,600 --> 00:08:23,400 Speaker 1: causing shorts, which is when you have an unintended connection 134 00:08:23,440 --> 00:08:26,360 Speaker 1: between two different elements of a circuit and it allows 135 00:08:26,360 --> 00:08:29,440 Speaker 1: electricity to pass from one to the other, almost like 136 00:08:29,480 --> 00:08:31,360 Speaker 1: you think of it like a short cut, you know, 137 00:08:31,400 --> 00:08:34,400 Speaker 1: when we say an electrical short and it means that 138 00:08:34,440 --> 00:08:37,880 Speaker 1: the device itself will not work properly because the electricity 139 00:08:37,960 --> 00:08:40,840 Speaker 1: is not flowing through the pathway you had intended it 140 00:08:40,920 --> 00:08:44,000 Speaker 1: to go in. All right, then we've got semi conductors, 141 00:08:44,040 --> 00:08:45,960 Speaker 1: and we'll talk more about them a little bit later, 142 00:08:46,800 --> 00:08:49,960 Speaker 1: but in general, semi conductors have an almost empty conduction 143 00:08:50,080 --> 00:08:53,920 Speaker 1: band and an almost full valence band, and the band 144 00:08:53,960 --> 00:08:58,200 Speaker 1: gap is relatively narrow. So if you don't apply a 145 00:08:58,200 --> 00:09:01,800 Speaker 1: strong enough electric field at as an insulator, but when 146 00:09:01,880 --> 00:09:04,920 Speaker 1: you apply the right amount of energy and electric field, 147 00:09:04,920 --> 00:09:07,520 Speaker 1: it will allow electrons jump from the valance band to 148 00:09:07,520 --> 00:09:10,520 Speaker 1: the conductor band and move freely within the material. You 149 00:09:10,600 --> 00:09:14,000 Speaker 1: do this by doping the material, which is when you 150 00:09:14,200 --> 00:09:20,160 Speaker 1: insert impurities into the semiconductor on purpose. Doping a semiconductor, 151 00:09:20,240 --> 00:09:26,280 Speaker 1: which is all about introducing impurities specifically at at predetermined levels, 152 00:09:26,960 --> 00:09:29,959 Speaker 1: will determine the energy levels required to do this, and 153 00:09:30,000 --> 00:09:33,200 Speaker 1: that's the basis for slid state electronics. We'll get into 154 00:09:33,240 --> 00:09:37,640 Speaker 1: more about semiconductors towards the end of this. And we 155 00:09:37,679 --> 00:09:41,280 Speaker 1: also have to remember voltage and current, something that I 156 00:09:41,400 --> 00:09:45,600 Speaker 1: always have trouble remembering. So voltage is a lot like 157 00:09:45,679 --> 00:09:48,960 Speaker 1: water pressure, all right. That's that's the the amount of 158 00:09:49,600 --> 00:09:54,320 Speaker 1: electrical pressure being applied, and the higher the voltage, the 159 00:09:54,360 --> 00:09:59,160 Speaker 1: more electrons want to move from the concentration of electrons 160 00:09:59,200 --> 00:10:03,480 Speaker 1: to the or positive side. Now, the actual flow of 161 00:10:03,480 --> 00:10:07,959 Speaker 1: electricity is the current, so they are related but not 162 00:10:08,000 --> 00:10:10,679 Speaker 1: the same thing. So voltage and current, and then you 163 00:10:10,760 --> 00:10:13,280 Speaker 1: multiply those two dependent together and you get the power. 164 00:10:13,679 --> 00:10:17,440 Speaker 1: So voltage times current equals power. Alright, So those are 165 00:10:17,440 --> 00:10:20,520 Speaker 1: your basics. Now we're gonna go through and talk about 166 00:10:20,640 --> 00:10:24,760 Speaker 1: the very individual components and what they do. So first 167 00:10:24,800 --> 00:10:28,680 Speaker 1: we have resistors. Resistor does pretty much what it sounds 168 00:10:28,720 --> 00:10:32,319 Speaker 1: like it does. It resists but does not halt the 169 00:10:32,320 --> 00:10:36,800 Speaker 1: flow of electricity. I'm gonna talk a lot about electricity 170 00:10:36,800 --> 00:10:39,880 Speaker 1: in terms of water because it is a useful analogy, 171 00:10:39,960 --> 00:10:44,480 Speaker 1: and it's also very common to talk about the similarities 172 00:10:44,520 --> 00:10:49,000 Speaker 1: between electricity flowing and water flowing when you're discussing these components. 173 00:10:49,520 --> 00:10:52,319 Speaker 1: So let's say that you have two different pipes. You've 174 00:10:52,320 --> 00:10:56,040 Speaker 1: got a brand spanking new pipe. It's shiny and beautiful 175 00:10:56,120 --> 00:11:00,880 Speaker 1: and free from any any irregularities, and it allows water 176 00:11:00,960 --> 00:11:04,080 Speaker 1: to flow through with a minimum of resistance. That water 177 00:11:04,120 --> 00:11:07,360 Speaker 1: is just flowing right through easily. You've got a second, old, 178 00:11:07,400 --> 00:11:11,440 Speaker 1: gnarly pipe, and this one's got calcium build up in it. 179 00:11:11,559 --> 00:11:13,880 Speaker 1: They're all these bumps and stuff on the inside. So 180 00:11:13,960 --> 00:11:18,600 Speaker 1: water actually encounters resistance friction, if you will, as it's 181 00:11:18,600 --> 00:11:22,840 Speaker 1: flowing through, and it does not flow through as easily. 182 00:11:23,440 --> 00:11:26,800 Speaker 1: Resistors are like that old gnarly pipe, and they are 183 00:11:27,400 --> 00:11:32,280 Speaker 1: invented on purpose for specific reasons. So why would you 184 00:11:32,320 --> 00:11:36,520 Speaker 1: want to have an electronic component that actually slows down 185 00:11:36,600 --> 00:11:39,560 Speaker 1: or impedes the flow of electricity for some reason. Well, 186 00:11:40,360 --> 00:11:42,640 Speaker 1: sometimes you have to limit the amount of electricity that 187 00:11:42,640 --> 00:11:45,360 Speaker 1: can flow through part of a circuit within a given 188 00:11:45,400 --> 00:11:49,360 Speaker 1: amount of time, sort of like how a faucet going 189 00:11:49,400 --> 00:11:51,600 Speaker 1: back to water, how fauce it can limit how much 190 00:11:51,600 --> 00:11:54,440 Speaker 1: water can flow through your water pipes into your sink. 191 00:11:55,200 --> 00:11:58,160 Speaker 1: So you wouldn't want just an on off switch for 192 00:11:58,240 --> 00:12:00,560 Speaker 1: the water coming into your home. That water is at 193 00:12:00,559 --> 00:12:02,959 Speaker 1: a much higher pressure, you know, it's it's a higher 194 00:12:02,960 --> 00:12:05,640 Speaker 1: pressure to deliver the water to your house. And if 195 00:12:05,679 --> 00:12:08,040 Speaker 1: all you had wasn't on off switch and you flipped it, 196 00:12:08,320 --> 00:12:12,760 Speaker 1: you would have water blasting through the pipe according to 197 00:12:12,800 --> 00:12:14,760 Speaker 1: the amount of pressure that was built up behind it. 198 00:12:15,280 --> 00:12:18,440 Speaker 1: That'd be a little bit nerving, especially if you just 199 00:12:18,440 --> 00:12:21,080 Speaker 1: wanted to have a nice frosty glass water. So you 200 00:12:21,120 --> 00:12:23,720 Speaker 1: want to have some sort of limiter on that to 201 00:12:23,920 --> 00:12:26,719 Speaker 1: control the amount of water that's or the pressure of 202 00:12:26,760 --> 00:12:29,880 Speaker 1: the water that's coming in. So resistors reduced the amount 203 00:12:29,880 --> 00:12:34,040 Speaker 1: of voltage placed on other electronic components within a circuit 204 00:12:34,440 --> 00:12:36,960 Speaker 1: by restricting the amount of current that can flow through 205 00:12:37,000 --> 00:12:40,800 Speaker 1: the resistor. The reason why this is important is that 206 00:12:41,360 --> 00:12:47,240 Speaker 1: we cannot create a battery for every single type of 207 00:12:47,320 --> 00:12:51,520 Speaker 1: electronic device that's out there. It's not practical. So batteries, 208 00:12:51,600 --> 00:12:56,839 Speaker 1: different batteries, Different types of batteries have different voltages. So 209 00:12:57,400 --> 00:13:02,840 Speaker 1: you could, in theory, develop a battery specifically for a 210 00:13:03,360 --> 00:13:07,320 Speaker 1: particular type of electronic device that would not require resistors 211 00:13:07,400 --> 00:13:11,240 Speaker 1: because the battery is providing exactly the voltage needed for 212 00:13:11,440 --> 00:13:15,840 Speaker 1: whatever electronic components are in net. But it's not practical 213 00:13:15,880 --> 00:13:19,480 Speaker 1: to do that for everything. We want standardized batteries, and 214 00:13:19,520 --> 00:13:22,599 Speaker 1: then we use things like resistors to help control the 215 00:13:22,720 --> 00:13:26,280 Speaker 1: voltage in those electronic components so that the right amount 216 00:13:26,320 --> 00:13:29,240 Speaker 1: of voltage is applied to those specific parts of the 217 00:13:29,240 --> 00:13:34,120 Speaker 1: electronic circuit, rather than having to have a billion different 218 00:13:34,120 --> 00:13:38,280 Speaker 1: types of batteries. That would not be practical. So there 219 00:13:38,320 --> 00:13:41,280 Speaker 1: are many different types of resistors designed to work on 220 00:13:41,360 --> 00:13:45,480 Speaker 1: specific amounts of electrical power. Now, some have changeable resistor 221 00:13:45,640 --> 00:13:49,040 Speaker 1: values dependent upon the amount of voltage placed across them. 222 00:13:49,120 --> 00:13:54,560 Speaker 1: They're called nonlinear or voltage dependent resistors. Resistor values can 223 00:13:54,559 --> 00:13:58,440 Speaker 1: also change when the temperature of the resistor changes UH. 224 00:13:58,640 --> 00:14:01,760 Speaker 1: Different types of resistors do this. Some can also be 225 00:14:01,920 --> 00:14:06,360 Speaker 1: mechanically adjusted. So it all depends upon what you need 226 00:14:06,400 --> 00:14:08,719 Speaker 1: the resistor for and why what you needed to do. 227 00:14:08,880 --> 00:14:12,360 Speaker 1: That's what would determine which type of resistor you would use. 228 00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:15,600 Speaker 1: The unit of measurement for a resistor is the ohm 229 00:14:16,440 --> 00:14:20,440 Speaker 1: oh h M. Resistor values are ten percent apart from 230 00:14:20,440 --> 00:14:24,080 Speaker 1: each other, and resistors are color coded with bands of 231 00:14:24,120 --> 00:14:27,520 Speaker 1: color or rings of color. So the first ring represents 232 00:14:27,560 --> 00:14:30,600 Speaker 1: the first digit of the resistors value. So what you 233 00:14:30,600 --> 00:14:32,160 Speaker 1: would do is you would look at the first ring, 234 00:14:32,280 --> 00:14:35,040 Speaker 1: whatever color it was, you would cross reference that with 235 00:14:35,640 --> 00:14:39,880 Speaker 1: the with a color UH index, and it would tell 236 00:14:39,880 --> 00:14:42,440 Speaker 1: you what the value of the resistor is for the 237 00:14:42,480 --> 00:14:45,840 Speaker 1: first digit. The second ring tells you the value of 238 00:14:45,840 --> 00:14:48,920 Speaker 1: the second digit. So then you've got the two UH 239 00:14:49,120 --> 00:14:51,400 Speaker 1: the two digits that are involved. The third tells you 240 00:14:51,440 --> 00:14:54,760 Speaker 1: the power of ten to multiply by, so it might 241 00:14:54,880 --> 00:14:58,880 Speaker 1: be ten thousand, and then you would multiply. Let's say 242 00:14:58,880 --> 00:15:01,920 Speaker 1: that your first two digits are a twenty two and 243 00:15:01,960 --> 00:15:04,080 Speaker 1: a seven, and you would multiply that by ten thousand. 244 00:15:04,120 --> 00:15:07,320 Speaker 1: You have twenty seven thousand poems there, and the fourth 245 00:15:07,720 --> 00:15:10,000 Speaker 1: ring would tell you the tolerance of the resistor plus 246 00:15:10,120 --> 00:15:14,480 Speaker 1: or minus whatever percentage. Uh So, the physical size of 247 00:15:14,520 --> 00:15:16,600 Speaker 1: the resistor and the amount of power it can handle 248 00:15:16,640 --> 00:15:18,960 Speaker 1: tends to be proportional. So in other words, the larger 249 00:15:19,000 --> 00:15:23,120 Speaker 1: the resistor, the more power it can handle. In general. 250 00:15:23,560 --> 00:15:27,640 Speaker 1: So those are resistors covers that basic component. Now let's 251 00:15:27,640 --> 00:15:33,240 Speaker 1: move on to capacitors. Alright. So capacitors are similar to 252 00:15:33,280 --> 00:15:37,120 Speaker 1: batteries and that it's a means of storing electrical energy, 253 00:15:37,480 --> 00:15:43,000 Speaker 1: but unlike batteries, instead of creating an a uh, electrical 254 00:15:43,040 --> 00:15:46,680 Speaker 1: flow through a chemical reaction that is steady the entire 255 00:15:46,800 --> 00:15:51,440 Speaker 1: time it is designed to release a it's it's entire 256 00:15:51,520 --> 00:15:57,880 Speaker 1: stored electrical charge all at once. So let's say they've 257 00:15:57,880 --> 00:16:01,080 Speaker 1: got two leads of a capacitor. You have a difference 258 00:16:01,120 --> 00:16:04,320 Speaker 1: in voltage across these two leads. That's when a capacitor 259 00:16:04,440 --> 00:16:07,760 Speaker 1: is charged. So one lead has a greater build up 260 00:16:07,760 --> 00:16:11,400 Speaker 1: of electrons than the other lead does. Uh. Now, if 261 00:16:11,440 --> 00:16:14,640 Speaker 1: you were to connect the leads together, you would short them. 262 00:16:15,080 --> 00:16:18,200 Speaker 1: You would have a discharge of that capacitor and the 263 00:16:18,280 --> 00:16:21,480 Speaker 1: voltage would equalize across the two, so you get a 264 00:16:21,520 --> 00:16:25,240 Speaker 1: release of a quick burst of electricity. So capacitors can 265 00:16:25,280 --> 00:16:29,040 Speaker 1: pass alternating current freely. A C current will just pass 266 00:16:29,080 --> 00:16:31,640 Speaker 1: through a capacitor as if it were not really there. 267 00:16:32,320 --> 00:16:35,200 Speaker 1: Direct current, however, will charge a capacitor. It will have 268 00:16:35,400 --> 00:16:39,480 Speaker 1: that build up of electrons on one side, while the 269 00:16:39,520 --> 00:16:42,120 Speaker 1: other side doesn't get that build up of electrons, and 270 00:16:42,160 --> 00:16:45,720 Speaker 1: then you have that difference in voltage. Alternating current just 271 00:16:45,960 --> 00:16:50,640 Speaker 1: will pass back and forth through it without any problems. 272 00:16:50,640 --> 00:16:54,400 Speaker 1: So capacitors contain the same fundamental parts. You have at 273 00:16:54,480 --> 00:16:59,040 Speaker 1: least two conductive plates separated by a non conductive material. 274 00:16:59,120 --> 00:17:02,680 Speaker 1: That's the dilector. The amount of charge held by capacitor 275 00:17:02,760 --> 00:17:06,040 Speaker 1: is measured in units called faret's. But a faret is 276 00:17:06,119 --> 00:17:10,520 Speaker 1: a large amount of capacitance, so large that you don't 277 00:17:10,600 --> 00:17:13,760 Speaker 1: really ever talk about a ferret. Instead we end up 278 00:17:13,800 --> 00:17:17,600 Speaker 1: talking about micro farets, which are about a well, which 279 00:17:17,640 --> 00:17:22,439 Speaker 1: are one million of a ferret, so much smaller. Faret, 280 00:17:22,520 --> 00:17:26,560 Speaker 1: by the way, not ferret, two different things. Nice Mormot 281 00:17:26,880 --> 00:17:31,800 Speaker 1: capacitance is dependent upon surface area, so it's directly proportional 282 00:17:31,840 --> 00:17:35,960 Speaker 1: to the surface area of those leads. Those those capacity plates. Um. 283 00:17:36,000 --> 00:17:40,520 Speaker 1: It is indirectly proportional to the distance between the plates. 284 00:17:40,600 --> 00:17:43,480 Speaker 1: So the greater the distance between the plates, the lower 285 00:17:43,520 --> 00:17:49,520 Speaker 1: the capacitance. Uh. It's also uh dependent upon the dielectric 286 00:17:49,600 --> 00:17:53,879 Speaker 1: constant of the insulating material. And they are used for 287 00:17:53,960 --> 00:17:56,679 Speaker 1: things that need a quick release of electricity rather than 288 00:17:56,720 --> 00:18:01,000 Speaker 1: a steady flow. So, for example, a tradition all flash 289 00:18:01,119 --> 00:18:03,960 Speaker 1: on a camera. So you've got an old camera and 290 00:18:04,000 --> 00:18:07,160 Speaker 1: you've got the the the flash, Uh, you know it 291 00:18:07,200 --> 00:18:09,560 Speaker 1: bursts in this quick burst of light. Well, it needs 292 00:18:09,640 --> 00:18:12,600 Speaker 1: that quick It needs access to a quick burst of 293 00:18:12,720 --> 00:18:16,240 Speaker 1: electricity in order to do that, and that's what capacitors 294 00:18:16,240 --> 00:18:18,440 Speaker 1: are good for. And it takes some time for the 295 00:18:18,480 --> 00:18:20,719 Speaker 1: capacitors to build up the charge again so it can 296 00:18:20,760 --> 00:18:23,080 Speaker 1: do it another time. That's sort of you know, if 297 00:18:23,119 --> 00:18:27,000 Speaker 1: you're using the old ones, you hear that noise. It's 298 00:18:27,040 --> 00:18:30,800 Speaker 1: the the discharge and then charging of the capacitors that 299 00:18:31,000 --> 00:18:34,600 Speaker 1: require you to take a moment between taking pictures with 300 00:18:34,680 --> 00:18:40,240 Speaker 1: those old style camera flashes. Now obviously newer ones used 301 00:18:40,280 --> 00:18:43,760 Speaker 1: different a different approach, but you often have capacitors that 302 00:18:43,840 --> 00:18:48,159 Speaker 1: actually provide the electricity for those. Now, the voltage of 303 00:18:48,160 --> 00:18:53,400 Speaker 1: a capacitor cannot change instantly, it's important to remember, and 304 00:18:53,560 --> 00:18:58,720 Speaker 1: quick voltage changes in a capacitor produced large current changes. 305 00:18:59,080 --> 00:19:02,440 Speaker 1: Capacitor store energy in an electric field. Now, the reason 306 00:19:02,520 --> 00:19:05,280 Speaker 1: I mentioned all that is because we're now going to 307 00:19:05,320 --> 00:19:10,960 Speaker 1: talk about inductors, and inductors are kind of, um the 308 00:19:11,040 --> 00:19:14,800 Speaker 1: opposite of capacitors, or really maybe not even opposite is 309 00:19:14,840 --> 00:19:17,439 Speaker 1: the right way of saying it. In many ways that 310 00:19:17,720 --> 00:19:20,800 Speaker 1: they behave in opposite ways than capacitors do, but we'll 311 00:19:20,840 --> 00:19:31,639 Speaker 1: get to that. So basically, an inductor at its most 312 00:19:31,760 --> 00:19:34,800 Speaker 1: basic level is a coil of wires, so sometimes we 313 00:19:34,880 --> 00:19:39,640 Speaker 1: just call them coils and not inductors. Uh. They deal 314 00:19:39,760 --> 00:19:44,479 Speaker 1: with what is the electrical equivalent of momentum. So if 315 00:19:44,480 --> 00:19:48,320 Speaker 1: you're familiar with momentum, essentially this is that idea that 316 00:19:48,359 --> 00:19:51,119 Speaker 1: you get a you know, objects in motion tend to 317 00:19:51,119 --> 00:19:54,440 Speaker 1: stay in motion. So let's say you've got a large 318 00:19:54,480 --> 00:19:58,200 Speaker 1: mass moving at a particular velocity. It has a certain 319 00:19:58,240 --> 00:20:00,960 Speaker 1: amount of momentum, and you have to overcome that momentum 320 00:20:01,000 --> 00:20:05,680 Speaker 1: to slow down and stop that uh, that that mass. 321 00:20:05,720 --> 00:20:08,119 Speaker 1: So it's the same type of thing with inductors, except 322 00:20:08,119 --> 00:20:11,240 Speaker 1: we're talking about the electrical equivalent of momentum. We're talking 323 00:20:11,280 --> 00:20:15,320 Speaker 1: about the flow of electricity. So again going back to 324 00:20:15,359 --> 00:20:19,119 Speaker 1: the water analogy, Let's say that you've got a water hose, 325 00:20:19,359 --> 00:20:22,320 Speaker 1: a really long one, several hundred feet long, and you've 326 00:20:22,320 --> 00:20:26,320 Speaker 1: coiled it up so it's in a nice long coil 327 00:20:26,840 --> 00:20:30,040 Speaker 1: and it's filled with water. There are gallons of water 328 00:20:30,240 --> 00:20:33,080 Speaker 1: inside this hose, and the end of the hose is 329 00:20:33,119 --> 00:20:34,919 Speaker 1: tilted at such an angle so the water is not 330 00:20:35,000 --> 00:20:37,840 Speaker 1: just flowing right out. You put a plunger into the 331 00:20:37,920 --> 00:20:41,400 Speaker 1: other end and you start to press on the plunger 332 00:20:41,520 --> 00:20:44,440 Speaker 1: to push the water out. Now, all of that water 333 00:20:44,560 --> 00:20:47,920 Speaker 1: is not just going to simultaneously start to move together. 334 00:20:48,040 --> 00:20:50,719 Speaker 1: It actually is going to take some time for the 335 00:20:50,760 --> 00:20:54,600 Speaker 1: pressure you are applying to exert enough force to push 336 00:20:54,640 --> 00:20:59,159 Speaker 1: the water out to overcome the inertia within that coil 337 00:20:59,440 --> 00:21:02,760 Speaker 1: of water hose. And once you get that water coming 338 00:21:02,800 --> 00:21:05,600 Speaker 1: out at the speed at which it can come out 339 00:21:05,680 --> 00:21:07,359 Speaker 1: and you let go of the plunger, the plunger is 340 00:21:07,359 --> 00:21:12,119 Speaker 1: going to continue going down that tube because of inertia. 341 00:21:12,400 --> 00:21:14,800 Speaker 1: That's the same sort of thing with inductors, except instead 342 00:21:14,840 --> 00:21:18,080 Speaker 1: of water, we're talking about electricity. So coils of wire 343 00:21:18,119 --> 00:21:22,320 Speaker 1: will pass d C current but will block a C current. 344 00:21:22,400 --> 00:21:25,920 Speaker 1: So in other words, direct current can flow through an inductor, 345 00:21:26,640 --> 00:21:30,280 Speaker 1: but alternating current would be blocked because it cannot flow 346 00:21:30,359 --> 00:21:33,760 Speaker 1: the opposite way through the coil. So that makes it 347 00:21:34,359 --> 00:21:38,520 Speaker 1: the opposite of capacitors. Remember, capacitors would pass alternating current 348 00:21:38,560 --> 00:21:41,679 Speaker 1: that can flow straight through, but would block direct current. 349 00:21:41,760 --> 00:21:44,440 Speaker 1: Direct current would charge a capacitor a capacitor, but could 350 00:21:44,440 --> 00:21:47,520 Speaker 1: not just flow through the capacitor. In this case, direct 351 00:21:47,520 --> 00:21:51,360 Speaker 1: current can flow through an inductor, but a c alternating 352 00:21:51,400 --> 00:21:55,359 Speaker 1: current would be blocked. The standard unit of inductance is 353 00:21:55,680 --> 00:21:59,159 Speaker 1: the henry. I wish I could tell you why, but 354 00:21:59,280 --> 00:22:02,159 Speaker 1: I honestly don't know. I'm sure some of you out there, 355 00:22:02,200 --> 00:22:05,680 Speaker 1: you electricians, are very familiar with the reason why and 356 00:22:05,760 --> 00:22:09,160 Speaker 1: could tell me and feel free to I I honestly 357 00:22:09,240 --> 00:22:12,280 Speaker 1: do not off hand. No, the inductance of a coil 358 00:22:12,400 --> 00:22:15,679 Speaker 1: is indirectly proportional to the length of the coil, but 359 00:22:16,040 --> 00:22:20,679 Speaker 1: directly proportional to the cross sectional area of the wire, So, 360 00:22:20,720 --> 00:22:23,880 Speaker 1: in other words, the gauge of the wire is important here. 361 00:22:24,040 --> 00:22:26,600 Speaker 1: It's also proportional to the square of the number of 362 00:22:26,720 --> 00:22:30,040 Speaker 1: turns in the coil, and it's directly proportional to the 363 00:22:30,080 --> 00:22:33,840 Speaker 1: permeability of the core material. Now the core is whatever 364 00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:36,160 Speaker 1: this coil is wrapped around. Now it could be wrapped 365 00:22:36,200 --> 00:22:39,280 Speaker 1: around air, or it could be wrapped around something like iron, 366 00:22:39,480 --> 00:22:43,240 Speaker 1: which is incredibly effective. So those are that's what we're 367 00:22:43,240 --> 00:22:45,919 Speaker 1: talking about with the cords, whatever the wire or is 368 00:22:46,000 --> 00:22:51,520 Speaker 1: coiled around. So when current first starts flowing into the coil, 369 00:22:51,640 --> 00:22:55,280 Speaker 1: the coil wants to build up a magnetic field. We've 370 00:22:55,280 --> 00:22:58,919 Speaker 1: talked about this again and again that you start running 371 00:22:58,960 --> 00:23:04,560 Speaker 1: electricity through a coil of wire that's coiled around like 372 00:23:04,600 --> 00:23:07,159 Speaker 1: an iron core, like a nail, and you start to 373 00:23:07,240 --> 00:23:11,600 Speaker 1: you create an electro magnet. Well, once that field is built. 374 00:23:11,960 --> 00:23:14,600 Speaker 1: While while the magnetic field is building, the coil inhibits 375 00:23:14,640 --> 00:23:17,439 Speaker 1: the flow of current through the wire. But once the 376 00:23:17,480 --> 00:23:20,960 Speaker 1: field is built, current can flow normally through the wire. 377 00:23:21,760 --> 00:23:26,119 Speaker 1: So if you were to have an inductor hooked up 378 00:23:26,160 --> 00:23:29,119 Speaker 1: to a light bulb, let's say and you flip a 379 00:23:29,160 --> 00:23:32,360 Speaker 1: switch so that you know, technically in an electronics would 380 00:23:32,359 --> 00:23:34,520 Speaker 1: say that you close the switch, so you have created 381 00:23:34,560 --> 00:23:38,280 Speaker 1: a closed path so electrons can flow through. The electrons 382 00:23:38,280 --> 00:23:40,520 Speaker 1: would flow through the inductor, which would start to build 383 00:23:40,560 --> 00:23:43,520 Speaker 1: up a magnetic field. So at first you would get 384 00:23:43,560 --> 00:23:46,000 Speaker 1: the light bulb coming on, then it would start to 385 00:23:46,119 --> 00:23:48,920 Speaker 1: dim a bit because as that magnetic field is getting 386 00:23:48,960 --> 00:23:52,719 Speaker 1: built up the lightbulb, you know, the electricity would be 387 00:23:52,800 --> 00:23:55,320 Speaker 1: limited to the light bulb. It would actually act as 388 00:23:55,320 --> 00:23:57,680 Speaker 1: sort of resistor, and the light bulb would start to 389 00:23:57,680 --> 00:24:01,400 Speaker 1: get dimmer. But then eventually then that magnetic field would 390 00:24:01,400 --> 00:24:03,720 Speaker 1: get charged up as much as it can because it's 391 00:24:03,800 --> 00:24:07,480 Speaker 1: direct current, not alternating current, and you would reach a 392 00:24:07,600 --> 00:24:11,880 Speaker 1: level where it was stabilized. Current would flow fine. At 393 00:24:11,880 --> 00:24:17,280 Speaker 1: that point, you can actually turn off the switch, you 394 00:24:17,320 --> 00:24:20,680 Speaker 1: can open it. In other words, the magnetic field around 395 00:24:20,720 --> 00:24:23,719 Speaker 1: the coil would keep current flowing through the coil until 396 00:24:23,840 --> 00:24:27,040 Speaker 1: that magnetic field collapsed. So even though you turn the 397 00:24:27,040 --> 00:24:31,360 Speaker 1: switch to off, because you have an inductor, that lightbulb 398 00:24:31,359 --> 00:24:35,520 Speaker 1: would stay lit until the magnetic field and the inductor collapsed, 399 00:24:35,560 --> 00:24:38,520 Speaker 1: in which case it would stop inducing current to flow 400 00:24:38,560 --> 00:24:42,760 Speaker 1: through and the light bulb would go off. So the 401 00:24:42,840 --> 00:24:45,959 Speaker 1: experience you would have is turn the switch on, light 402 00:24:46,040 --> 00:24:49,640 Speaker 1: bulb comes on, light bulb starts to get dim, light 403 00:24:49,680 --> 00:24:52,640 Speaker 1: bulb gets bright again, You turn the switch off, lightbulb 404 00:24:52,680 --> 00:24:55,560 Speaker 1: stays lit for a while, and then turns off. That's 405 00:24:55,560 --> 00:24:59,159 Speaker 1: what it would look like to you, So pretty interesting 406 00:24:59,240 --> 00:25:02,919 Speaker 1: to me. Now. So, an inductor stores energy in its 407 00:25:03,000 --> 00:25:06,240 Speaker 1: magnetic field, and it tends to resist any change in 408 00:25:06,280 --> 00:25:09,960 Speaker 1: the amount of current flowing through it, thus making it 409 00:25:10,040 --> 00:25:13,520 Speaker 1: different from capacitors. Because capacitors store things an electric field, 410 00:25:14,040 --> 00:25:19,080 Speaker 1: inductor store things energy, not just things. Capacitor store energy 411 00:25:19,119 --> 00:25:22,400 Speaker 1: and electric fields, and inductor store energy and magnetic fields. 412 00:25:23,240 --> 00:25:28,760 Speaker 1: And capacitors resist changes to voltage, whereas inductors resist changes 413 00:25:28,800 --> 00:25:33,119 Speaker 1: to current. So really interesting about that. So because of 414 00:25:33,160 --> 00:25:38,000 Speaker 1: this relationship between inductors and capacitors, these two different components 415 00:25:38,040 --> 00:25:42,719 Speaker 1: are sometimes referred together as dual components because they they 416 00:25:42,760 --> 00:25:46,399 Speaker 1: are opposites that complement one another. The current in an 417 00:25:46,440 --> 00:25:49,840 Speaker 1: inductor cannot change instantly the quick current changes produced the 418 00:25:49,920 --> 00:25:53,360 Speaker 1: large voltage, and inductors store their energy in those magnetic fields. 419 00:25:53,400 --> 00:25:56,639 Speaker 1: That's what sets them opposite of capacitors, because they are 420 00:25:56,680 --> 00:25:59,920 Speaker 1: all the opposite of those things. And you might wonder 421 00:26:00,119 --> 00:26:02,520 Speaker 1: what are inductors used for. I mean, that lightbulb example 422 00:26:02,560 --> 00:26:06,200 Speaker 1: seems kind of crazy. Well, they're used for lots of stuff. 423 00:26:06,200 --> 00:26:09,400 Speaker 1: For example, if you've ever gone to uh, like traffic 424 00:26:09,480 --> 00:26:12,360 Speaker 1: lights that are that respond to the presence of vehicles. 425 00:26:12,800 --> 00:26:16,520 Speaker 1: Most of those are using inductors. So underneath the pavement 426 00:26:16,920 --> 00:26:19,720 Speaker 1: where you're driving on top of you know, there are 427 00:26:20,040 --> 00:26:25,040 Speaker 1: giant coils of wire, and when you stop your car 428 00:26:25,200 --> 00:26:28,560 Speaker 1: at a stoplight that has one of these systems, your 429 00:26:28,560 --> 00:26:32,280 Speaker 1: car starts to act as the core for that inductor loop. 430 00:26:32,320 --> 00:26:35,359 Speaker 1: You've got this massive amount of steel that's right there 431 00:26:35,440 --> 00:26:39,760 Speaker 1: that affects the inductance of the that cable. You have 432 00:26:39,800 --> 00:26:42,720 Speaker 1: a meter attached to the cable that measures the inductance. 433 00:26:43,560 --> 00:26:46,960 Speaker 1: So when it measures a change in inductance, that meter 434 00:26:47,160 --> 00:26:51,480 Speaker 1: knows there's a vehicle at that location and sends that 435 00:26:51,560 --> 00:26:55,479 Speaker 1: information to the control unit for the traffic system and 436 00:26:55,520 --> 00:26:58,760 Speaker 1: thus changes the traffic cycle so that you get a 437 00:26:58,840 --> 00:27:01,439 Speaker 1: green light faster. So if you're ever at one of 438 00:27:01,440 --> 00:27:06,560 Speaker 1: those intersections where the the light cycles depend heavily upon 439 00:27:06,640 --> 00:27:09,440 Speaker 1: whether or not there are cars present at the intersection, 440 00:27:10,280 --> 00:27:13,840 Speaker 1: that's generally speaking, what is happening. You've got these inductors. 441 00:27:13,880 --> 00:27:17,359 Speaker 1: The inductance changes, sends the message to the meter, or 442 00:27:17,440 --> 00:27:20,080 Speaker 1: rather the meter detects the inductor the change in inductance 443 00:27:20,520 --> 00:27:23,840 Speaker 1: and then sends that onto the traffic control system that 444 00:27:23,960 --> 00:27:27,040 Speaker 1: will then, at least in theory, get you on your 445 00:27:27,040 --> 00:27:32,600 Speaker 1: way a little faster. So that's inductors. Now let's take 446 00:27:32,640 --> 00:27:37,160 Speaker 1: a look at transformers, which are more than meets the eye. 447 00:27:37,840 --> 00:27:40,159 Speaker 1: So I'm not talking about autobots in Decepticons, as much 448 00:27:40,200 --> 00:27:42,960 Speaker 1: as I would love to do that, instead of talking 449 00:27:43,000 --> 00:27:46,360 Speaker 1: about the basic electronic component. So let's say you've got 450 00:27:46,400 --> 00:27:50,520 Speaker 1: a single core, like like that iron nail. Let's say 451 00:27:51,560 --> 00:27:55,520 Speaker 1: and you put multiple coils of wire over this same 452 00:27:55,600 --> 00:27:59,200 Speaker 1: iron core, and then you force a DC current through 453 00:27:59,400 --> 00:28:01,960 Speaker 1: one of those coils of wire, not all of them, 454 00:28:02,119 --> 00:28:05,719 Speaker 1: just one. Now, as that current charges, it will induce 455 00:28:05,760 --> 00:28:08,639 Speaker 1: current to flow through the other coils wrapped around that 456 00:28:08,800 --> 00:28:13,679 Speaker 1: same core, and constantly changing the voltage of that primary coil. 457 00:28:14,040 --> 00:28:16,119 Speaker 1: The one that you've got attached to some sort of 458 00:28:16,200 --> 00:28:20,520 Speaker 1: voltage generator will cause currents that change in a similar 459 00:28:20,560 --> 00:28:24,080 Speaker 1: fashion in the other coils. Now, if the other coils 460 00:28:24,080 --> 00:28:27,600 Speaker 1: have more loops than the primary coil, the voltage will 461 00:28:27,640 --> 00:28:30,639 Speaker 1: be greater, but the current will be lower. I'll explain 462 00:28:30,680 --> 00:28:32,640 Speaker 1: that in the second. So let's say we've got we'll 463 00:28:32,680 --> 00:28:35,440 Speaker 1: make it really simple. We'll just do two coils. Let's 464 00:28:35,440 --> 00:28:38,040 Speaker 1: say we've got an iron core and we've got a 465 00:28:38,080 --> 00:28:42,200 Speaker 1: primary wire coiled around it ten times, and we have 466 00:28:42,240 --> 00:28:45,200 Speaker 1: a second wire coiled in the same direction around that 467 00:28:45,280 --> 00:28:49,120 Speaker 1: iron core, but it is coiled twenty times, and we 468 00:28:49,200 --> 00:28:53,560 Speaker 1: apply a varying voltage across the primary wire. The voltage 469 00:28:53,560 --> 00:28:55,920 Speaker 1: across the second wire will be twice as much because 470 00:28:55,920 --> 00:28:59,480 Speaker 1: there are twice as many coils, but the current will 471 00:28:59,520 --> 00:29:03,440 Speaker 1: be as much as that in the primary coil. And 472 00:29:03,480 --> 00:29:06,920 Speaker 1: that's because you have to conserve power. You cannot create 473 00:29:07,000 --> 00:29:09,840 Speaker 1: or destroy power. You have to conserve it. And power, 474 00:29:09,880 --> 00:29:13,360 Speaker 1: like I said earlier, is equal to voltage times current. 475 00:29:13,680 --> 00:29:16,760 Speaker 1: So if we double the voltage, but ultimately the power 476 00:29:16,800 --> 00:29:18,959 Speaker 1: in the secondary coil has to be the same as 477 00:29:19,000 --> 00:29:22,640 Speaker 1: the primary coil. The only way to address that is 478 00:29:22,680 --> 00:29:28,040 Speaker 1: to have the current. So that's you know, that's what happens. 479 00:29:28,080 --> 00:29:30,960 Speaker 1: So if the second coil is coiled in the same 480 00:29:30,960 --> 00:29:33,640 Speaker 1: direction as the primary, like I was saying before, the 481 00:29:33,760 --> 00:29:37,360 Speaker 1: voltage is in the same polarity as that of the 482 00:29:37,440 --> 00:29:41,040 Speaker 1: generator the primary coil. If the second coil is coiled 483 00:29:41,040 --> 00:29:44,680 Speaker 1: in the opposite direction of the primary coil, then the 484 00:29:44,760 --> 00:29:48,640 Speaker 1: voltage is in the opposite polarity from the primary coil. 485 00:29:49,080 --> 00:29:52,680 Speaker 1: Polarity is really important but also pretty complicated, So I'll 486 00:29:52,680 --> 00:29:57,520 Speaker 1: probably spend another episode to explain that concept because it's 487 00:29:57,640 --> 00:30:02,400 Speaker 1: really a bit much to go into right now. But anyway, 488 00:30:02,440 --> 00:30:07,160 Speaker 1: this is the basics for power transmission using alternating current. 489 00:30:07,200 --> 00:30:11,640 Speaker 1: It's the reason why we have alternating current distributing our 490 00:30:11,680 --> 00:30:14,920 Speaker 1: power instead of direct current. So, and that old Tesla 491 00:30:15,120 --> 00:30:20,840 Speaker 1: versus Edison argument, really i should say Westinghouse versus Edison argument, 492 00:30:21,400 --> 00:30:24,960 Speaker 1: where Edison was saying direct current was best and Westinghouse 493 00:30:25,040 --> 00:30:28,760 Speaker 1: was saying no alternating current was best. The things that 494 00:30:28,840 --> 00:30:31,760 Speaker 1: let alternating current win out over direct current, or that 495 00:30:32,280 --> 00:30:37,480 Speaker 1: using transformers you could boost the voltage to huge high 496 00:30:37,600 --> 00:30:41,480 Speaker 1: voltage numbers, which were great for power transmission. You could 497 00:30:41,480 --> 00:30:46,560 Speaker 1: transmit over vast distances using high voltage wires, and then 498 00:30:46,600 --> 00:30:49,400 Speaker 1: you would use other transformers on the opposite end to 499 00:30:49,600 --> 00:30:53,040 Speaker 1: step down the voltage until you reach the level that 500 00:30:53,120 --> 00:30:55,200 Speaker 1: was safe for homes, which in the United States is 501 00:30:55,240 --> 00:30:58,640 Speaker 1: two forty volts. Uh. Now, keep in mind that when 502 00:30:58,680 --> 00:31:01,800 Speaker 1: you're talking about transmiss voltages, it could be anywhere between 503 00:31:01,800 --> 00:31:05,880 Speaker 1: a hundred fifty five thousand to seven sixty thousand volts. 504 00:31:05,920 --> 00:31:09,400 Speaker 1: So we're talking huge differences here, and it's all because 505 00:31:09,520 --> 00:31:13,520 Speaker 1: you could use this basic element of electronics with these 506 00:31:14,120 --> 00:31:17,600 Speaker 1: transformers to step up or step down the voltage simply 507 00:31:17,640 --> 00:31:23,520 Speaker 1: by using different coils along a core, So that was 508 00:31:23,560 --> 00:31:27,200 Speaker 1: incredibly useful. You could end up transmitting power over great distances. 509 00:31:27,280 --> 00:31:30,880 Speaker 1: Direct current, however, is very different. It is most efficient 510 00:31:31,040 --> 00:31:33,959 Speaker 1: if it is close to whatever the load is on 511 00:31:34,000 --> 00:31:37,960 Speaker 1: the line. So the load is whatever the electricity is 512 00:31:38,000 --> 00:31:40,520 Speaker 1: meant to power. So in the case of homes, you 513 00:31:40,560 --> 00:31:43,960 Speaker 1: would want the power plant to be relatively close to 514 00:31:43,960 --> 00:31:47,480 Speaker 1: the homes that are receiving electricity. If you were using 515 00:31:47,480 --> 00:31:50,960 Speaker 1: direct current, um this is you know, it would be 516 00:31:50,960 --> 00:31:55,120 Speaker 1: incredibly useful to have direct current powering our homes because 517 00:31:55,160 --> 00:31:59,120 Speaker 1: most of the stuff we have relies on direct current. 518 00:32:00,120 --> 00:32:03,560 Speaker 1: It actually has to convert the alternating current that comes 519 00:32:03,600 --> 00:32:07,600 Speaker 1: to the house into direct current. You have these converters 520 00:32:07,600 --> 00:32:10,080 Speaker 1: that are part of the electronics that allow it to 521 00:32:10,160 --> 00:32:14,440 Speaker 1: do that. If you had direct current being uh supplied 522 00:32:14,480 --> 00:32:17,080 Speaker 1: directly to your house, you wouldn't need the conversion part 523 00:32:17,240 --> 00:32:20,640 Speaker 1: of those devices. However, you wouldn't be able to transmit 524 00:32:20,640 --> 00:32:23,800 Speaker 1: it over great distances like you can with alternating current. 525 00:32:24,320 --> 00:32:27,240 Speaker 1: So in case you're wondering about the power grades in 526 00:32:27,240 --> 00:32:30,360 Speaker 1: the United States, we I mentioned that you have those 527 00:32:30,440 --> 00:32:33,920 Speaker 1: those high voltage lines that are carrying between a HUDD 528 00:32:33,960 --> 00:32:37,240 Speaker 1: to s hred sixty thousand volts. When you get to 529 00:32:37,720 --> 00:32:41,840 Speaker 1: distribution levels, you step down that voltage to less than 530 00:32:41,880 --> 00:32:45,040 Speaker 1: ten thousand volts typically, and then you get to distribution 531 00:32:45,120 --> 00:32:48,600 Speaker 1: buses that have transformers that reduce it further to seven thousand, 532 00:32:48,640 --> 00:32:51,280 Speaker 1: two hundred volts or less. And then you have the 533 00:32:51,320 --> 00:32:53,760 Speaker 1: homes that are connected to a final transformer that step 534 00:32:53,760 --> 00:32:57,360 Speaker 1: it down again to the voltage of two volts or so. 535 00:32:57,360 --> 00:33:04,680 Speaker 1: So incredibly useful and here at how stuff works. Recently, 536 00:33:04,880 --> 00:33:07,440 Speaker 1: as of the recording of this podcast, we had a 537 00:33:07,560 --> 00:33:12,160 Speaker 1: lovely transformer fire right next to the building we work in, 538 00:33:12,160 --> 00:33:14,920 Speaker 1: which cut power to our part of the building for 539 00:33:15,000 --> 00:33:18,080 Speaker 1: some time. So if you've ever been near a transformer 540 00:33:18,160 --> 00:33:21,600 Speaker 1: when it's blown, it's a pretty spectacular thing. It's usually 541 00:33:21,680 --> 00:33:24,800 Speaker 1: lots of sparks in a really loud bang, and often 542 00:33:24,840 --> 00:33:29,960 Speaker 1: requires the work of dedicated personnel to repair. And it 543 00:33:30,040 --> 00:33:33,280 Speaker 1: does also typically mean that you have a loss of 544 00:33:33,360 --> 00:33:38,760 Speaker 1: power for at least a localized area. Pretty impressive when 545 00:33:38,800 --> 00:33:41,760 Speaker 1: it happens. Luckily, it doesn't happen all that frequently. The 546 00:33:41,880 --> 00:33:45,920 Speaker 1: electrical storms and areas of or times of great use 547 00:33:46,560 --> 00:33:50,880 Speaker 1: can make them more vulnerable. Now let's move on to 548 00:33:51,480 --> 00:33:55,200 Speaker 1: semiconductors and how they are used in electronics. So we've 549 00:33:55,240 --> 00:33:57,760 Speaker 1: got lots of different uses for semiconductors. I'm going to 550 00:33:57,880 --> 00:34:01,600 Speaker 1: talk about two specific ones. There are iodes. Diodes are 551 00:34:01,600 --> 00:34:04,720 Speaker 1: really useful. They allow current to flow in only one direction, 552 00:34:04,760 --> 00:34:07,600 Speaker 1: so it's like a one way channel or a valve. 553 00:34:07,960 --> 00:34:10,520 Speaker 1: So electricity flowing one way is fine, but it cannot 554 00:34:10,560 --> 00:34:14,560 Speaker 1: flow back the other way, and semiconductor doping allows for 555 00:34:14,600 --> 00:34:17,600 Speaker 1: this to happen. Remember I mentioned earlier. Doping is when 556 00:34:17,640 --> 00:34:21,480 Speaker 1: you have introduced impurities into the semiconductor material to give 557 00:34:21,480 --> 00:34:25,920 Speaker 1: it specific UH features. So there are two different types 558 00:34:26,560 --> 00:34:29,440 Speaker 1: that we're going to talk about. There's end type layers 559 00:34:29,520 --> 00:34:31,759 Speaker 1: of semiconductors, so you can think of that as an 560 00:34:31,760 --> 00:34:35,960 Speaker 1: excess of electrons. It has lots of negative electrons that 561 00:34:36,040 --> 00:34:39,319 Speaker 1: are just ready to flow out of there. And then 562 00:34:39,360 --> 00:34:44,120 Speaker 1: you have P type layers and these have electron holes 563 00:34:44,320 --> 00:34:45,840 Speaker 1: or at least you know, in other words, of the 564 00:34:45,840 --> 00:34:50,400 Speaker 1: capacity to take on electrons. So if you pair this together, 565 00:34:50,880 --> 00:34:54,000 Speaker 1: you get what's called a P N diode, which only 566 00:34:54,040 --> 00:34:57,279 Speaker 1: allows electricity to flow in one direction. It can Electrons 567 00:34:57,320 --> 00:35:01,880 Speaker 1: can come through UH and flow to the holes, but 568 00:35:01,920 --> 00:35:05,440 Speaker 1: they can't go the other way, so very useful and 569 00:35:05,520 --> 00:35:08,840 Speaker 1: electronic components where you need to direct the flow of 570 00:35:08,840 --> 00:35:11,840 Speaker 1: electricity along a particular path and prevent it from coming 571 00:35:11,840 --> 00:35:17,360 Speaker 1: back through that pathway. Transistors are another type of semiconductor 572 00:35:17,440 --> 00:35:19,880 Speaker 1: that use a small amount of current to control a 573 00:35:20,040 --> 00:35:24,239 Speaker 1: large amount of current. So while a diode is p n, 574 00:35:25,280 --> 00:35:29,840 Speaker 1: transistors are either p n P or n p n, 575 00:35:30,600 --> 00:35:33,480 Speaker 1: and if you apply an electrical current to the center layer, 576 00:35:33,560 --> 00:35:36,120 Speaker 1: which is also known as the base, electrons will move 577 00:35:36,239 --> 00:35:38,800 Speaker 1: from the N type side to the P type side, 578 00:35:39,080 --> 00:35:41,800 Speaker 1: and that initial small current allows for much larger current 579 00:35:41,800 --> 00:35:44,960 Speaker 1: to flow through the material at that point. So transistors 580 00:35:45,080 --> 00:35:50,440 Speaker 1: act as switches or amplifiers incredibly useful. So when we 581 00:35:50,440 --> 00:35:54,759 Speaker 1: talk about transistors in solid state electronics, these are the 582 00:35:54,800 --> 00:35:59,000 Speaker 1: things that allow us to build logic circuits. And it's 583 00:35:59,040 --> 00:36:03,400 Speaker 1: because we can allow electrons to either flow or prevent 584 00:36:03,440 --> 00:36:07,480 Speaker 1: them from flowing. It's also why things like electron tunneling 585 00:36:07,520 --> 00:36:11,760 Speaker 1: can be such a problem. Electron tunneling is a quantum effect, 586 00:36:12,239 --> 00:36:14,480 Speaker 1: so you can think of an electron as not really 587 00:36:14,480 --> 00:36:19,160 Speaker 1: existing in a specific point in space at any given time, 588 00:36:19,200 --> 00:36:23,160 Speaker 1: but rather having the potential to exist in an area 589 00:36:23,360 --> 00:36:26,560 Speaker 1: of space at any point in time. So think of 590 00:36:26,600 --> 00:36:30,880 Speaker 1: it like a cloud where an electron could be, and 591 00:36:30,960 --> 00:36:34,120 Speaker 1: that cloud covers all the potential places the electron could be, 592 00:36:34,160 --> 00:36:37,000 Speaker 1: and there's different probability for different parts of the cloud. 593 00:36:37,960 --> 00:36:42,640 Speaker 1: If your transistor gates are so small, so narrow, so thin, 594 00:36:42,760 --> 00:36:46,120 Speaker 1: I guess I should say not narrow, that the cloud 595 00:36:46,280 --> 00:36:50,759 Speaker 1: of potential can overlap the transistor gate. That means there 596 00:36:50,840 --> 00:36:54,600 Speaker 1: is the possibility that at some point the electron could 597 00:36:54,600 --> 00:36:57,319 Speaker 1: exist on the other side of the transistor gate, even 598 00:36:57,320 --> 00:37:01,400 Speaker 1: if the gate never opened. And if there's a possibility, 599 00:37:01,520 --> 00:37:04,160 Speaker 1: that means sometimes it does appear on the other side 600 00:37:04,200 --> 00:37:06,200 Speaker 1: of the gate. We call it electron tunneling. It's not 601 00:37:06,400 --> 00:37:09,719 Speaker 1: really tunneling. It's just if there is the possibility that 602 00:37:09,800 --> 00:37:12,080 Speaker 1: could be on the other side, sometimes it is on 603 00:37:12,120 --> 00:37:15,680 Speaker 1: the other side, which means that you cannot actually control 604 00:37:15,719 --> 00:37:18,000 Speaker 1: the flow of electrons. In that case, it would mean 605 00:37:18,040 --> 00:37:21,239 Speaker 1: that your transistors would be ineffective in doing what they're 606 00:37:21,280 --> 00:37:23,080 Speaker 1: supposed to do. They wouldn't really be able to act 607 00:37:23,080 --> 00:37:27,720 Speaker 1: to switches reliably, and you would get errors in your computations. 608 00:37:28,200 --> 00:37:30,879 Speaker 1: It might work most of the time and then only 609 00:37:31,080 --> 00:37:33,719 Speaker 1: some of the time not work. But even then that's problematic, 610 00:37:34,000 --> 00:37:38,239 Speaker 1: which is one of the engineering challenges that transistor designers 611 00:37:38,239 --> 00:37:42,399 Speaker 1: and multi or rather microprocessor designers encounter all the time, 612 00:37:42,520 --> 00:37:46,920 Speaker 1: you know, finding new materials that are better at acting 613 00:37:47,000 --> 00:37:51,200 Speaker 1: as transistors switches, it's a big part of it. And 614 00:37:51,400 --> 00:37:54,799 Speaker 1: coming up with different architectures to really take advantage of 615 00:37:54,880 --> 00:37:58,360 Speaker 1: electron flow is another big part of it, alright. So 616 00:37:58,480 --> 00:38:02,480 Speaker 1: those are the basics, the basic electronic components that you 617 00:38:02,520 --> 00:38:05,719 Speaker 1: can talk about with, you know, if you're looking at 618 00:38:05,719 --> 00:38:08,239 Speaker 1: it from a very high level. Obviously there's tons of 619 00:38:08,239 --> 00:38:10,640 Speaker 1: other stuff that I didn't get into, and some of 620 00:38:10,680 --> 00:38:15,560 Speaker 1: it just requires you to pair up or otherwise put 621 00:38:15,600 --> 00:38:18,200 Speaker 1: into series or parallels some of the components I've mentioned 622 00:38:18,480 --> 00:38:21,560 Speaker 1: to to get whatever effects you want. But those are 623 00:38:21,560 --> 00:38:24,440 Speaker 1: the basics, so when you look at those different components, 624 00:38:24,520 --> 00:38:27,520 Speaker 1: you can remember that this is all about making sure 625 00:38:27,840 --> 00:38:31,440 Speaker 1: that the electrons are behaving in the way that makes 626 00:38:31,480 --> 00:38:35,200 Speaker 1: whatever it is you intend to do possible. I want 627 00:38:35,200 --> 00:38:38,720 Speaker 1: to thank Chris for sending that email in and asking 628 00:38:38,760 --> 00:38:41,720 Speaker 1: about this, because it was fun to cover this this 629 00:38:41,719 --> 00:38:44,400 Speaker 1: this topic again and to really kind of dive in 630 00:38:44,560 --> 00:38:47,360 Speaker 1: more deeply than I had before, and I want to 631 00:38:47,440 --> 00:38:51,560 Speaker 1: encourage you guys to write in and ask about other topics. 632 00:38:51,560 --> 00:38:54,560 Speaker 1: Whether it's a technology or a company or a person, 633 00:38:55,680 --> 00:38:58,160 Speaker 1: or maybe it's someone that you want to have on 634 00:38:58,200 --> 00:39:00,440 Speaker 1: the show, either as a guest host or someone for 635 00:39:00,480 --> 00:39:03,480 Speaker 1: me to interview. Any of that is fine. Please let 636 00:39:03,520 --> 00:39:05,560 Speaker 1: me know, or just feedback in general about the show. 637 00:39:05,600 --> 00:39:07,680 Speaker 1: I would love to hear more from you guys. Sent 638 00:39:07,800 --> 00:39:10,879 Speaker 1: me a message. The email address is tech Stuff at 639 00:39:11,000 --> 00:39:13,760 Speaker 1: how stuff works dot com, or drop me a line 640 00:39:13,800 --> 00:39:16,919 Speaker 1: on Facebook, Twitter, or Tumblr. The handle it all three 641 00:39:16,960 --> 00:39:19,719 Speaker 1: is tech Stuff H s W. And I'll talk to 642 00:39:19,719 --> 00:39:28,480 Speaker 1: you again really soon. For more on this and thousands 643 00:39:28,520 --> 00:39:40,239 Speaker 1: of other topics. Works dot com