Electronic circuit
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An electronic circuit is a closed path formed by the interconnection of electronic components through which an electric current can flow. The electronic circuits may be physically constructed using any number of methods. Breadboards, perfboards or stripboards are common for testing new designs. Mass-produced circuits are typically built using a printed circuit board (PCB) that is used to mechanically support and electrically connect electronic components.
Electronic circuits can display highly complex behaviors, even though they are governed by the same laws of physics as simpler circuits.
An electronic circuit can usually be categorized as an analog circuit, a digital circuit, or a mixed-signal circuit (a combination of analog circuits and digital circuits).
Some electronic circuits are built entirely out of discrete electronic components manually connected together. An integrated circuit is a special kind of electronic circuit in which many devices and their connections are simultaneously fabricated in an automated process. An integrated circuit is typically used as a component in some larger electronic circuit. Individual integrated circuits themselves may be classified as an analog IC, a digital IC, or a mixed-signal integrated circuit.
Analog electronic circuits are those in which signals may vary continuously with time to correspond to the information being represented. Electronic equipment like voltage amplifiers, power amplifiers, tuning circuits, radios, and televisions are largely analog (with the exception of their control sections, which may be digital, especially in modern units).
The basic units of analog circuits are passive resistors,capacitors, inductors, and recently memristors and active independent power sources and dependent power sources. Components such as transistors may be represented by a model containing passive components and dependent sources. Another classification is to take impedance and independent sources and operational amplifier as basic electronic components; this allows us to model frequency dependent negative resistors, gyrators, negative impedance converters, and dependent sources as secondary electronic components. There are two main types of circuits: series and parallel. A string of Christmas lights is a good example of a series circuit: if one goes out, they all do. In a parallel circuit, each bulb is connected to the power source separately, so if one goes out the rest still remain shining.
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[edit] Digital circuits
In digital electronic circuits, electric signals take on discrete values, which are not dependent upon time, to represent logical and numeric values. These values represent the information that is being processed. The transistor is one of the primary components used in digital circuits, and combinations of these can be used to create logic gates. These logic gates may then be used in combination to create a desired output from an input.
Larger circuits may contain several complex components, such as FPGAs or Microprocessors. These along with several other components may be interconnected to create a large circuit that operates on large amount of data.
Examples of electronic equipment which use digital circuits include digital wristwatches, calculators, PDAs, and microprocessors.
[edit] Mixed-signal circuits
Mixed-signal or hybrid circuits contain elements of both analog and digital circuits. Examples include comparators, timers, PLLs, ADCs (analog-to-digital converters), and DACs (digital-to-analog converters).
[edit] Three Basic Parts
Energy source - converts nonelectric energy into electric energy. Examples are batteries and generators.
Output device - uses electric energy to do work. Examples are motor, lamp, or display.
Connection - allows electric current to flow. Examples are wire and cable.
[edit] References
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[edit] External links
- BuildingGadgets- Electronic Circuits and Projects for the hobbyist.
