Electronics For Dummies, UK Edition E-Book

Dickon Ross

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Wissenschaft und neue Technologien
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 523

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2009

Beschreibung

Do you dream of wiring up a flashing LED, experimenting with infrared detectors, or building a walking-talking robot from scratch? Do you want to understand what capacitors, oscilloscopes and transistors actually do? Then look no further!

Electronics For Dummies, UK Editioncovers everything from understanding the technology behind day-to-day gadgets, to reading a schematic, getting to grips with multimeters, and devising projects that are both useful and fun. With UK-specific information on where to purchase components for your workbench and the most useful websites and resources, this essential guide will get you up, running, and switched on in no time. 

Electronics For Dummies, UK Edition includes:

Part I: Understanding The Fundamentals of Electronics

1. Chapter 1: What is Electronics and What Can It Do For You?
2. Chapter 2: Moving Electrons to Make Something Happen
3. Chapter 3: Meeting Up with Resistance
4. Chapter 4: Getting a Charge Out of Capacitors
5. Chapter 5: Curling Up With Coils and Crystals
6. Chapter 6: The Wide World of Semiconductors
7. Chapter 7: Packing Parts Together on Integrated Circuits
8. Chapter 8: Rounding Out Your Parts List

Part II: Getting Your Hands Dirty

1. Chapter 9: Setting Up Shop and Ensuring Your Safety
2. Chapter 10: Reading Schematics
3. Chapter 11: Constructing Circuits
4. Chapter 12: Measuring and Analysing Circuits

Part III: Putting Theory Into Practice

1. Chapter 13: Exploring Some Learning Circuits
2. Chapter 14: Great Projects You Can Build in 30 Minutes or Less
3. Chapter 15: Cool Robot Projects to Amaze Your Friends and Family

Part IV: The Part of Tens

1. Chapter 16: Ten (Or So) Terrific Tips to Help You Succeed
2. Chapter 17: Ten Great Electronics Parts Sources
3. Chapter 18: Ten Electronics Formulas You Should Know

Appendix: Internet Resources

1. Getting Up to Speed with Tutorials and General Information
2. Figuring Things Out with Calculators
3. Surfing for Circuits
4. Asking Questions in Discussion Forums
5. Getting Things Surplus

Leseprobe

Electronics For Dummies®

Table of Contents

Introduction

Why Buy This Book?

Why Electronics?

Foolish Assumptions

Safety Is Number 1

How This Book Is Organised

Part I: Understanding the Fundamentals of Electronics

Part II: Getting Your Hands Dirty

Part III: Putting Theory into Practice

Part IV: The Part of Tens

Icons Used in This Book

Part I: Understanding the Fundamentals of Electronics

Chapter 1: What Is Electronics and What Can It Do for You?

Just What Is Electronics?

Understanding Electric Current

Getting a charge out of electrons

Moving electrons in conductors

Harnessing Electricity to Do Work

Where Electrical Energy Comes From

Tapping into electrical energy

Giving electrons a nudge

Using conductors to make the circuit

Oh, the Things Electrons Can Do!

Creating good vibrations

Seeing is believing

Sensing and alarming

Controlling motion

Solving problems (aka computing)

Communicating with each other

Chapter 2: Manipulating Electricity to Make Something Happen

Supplying Electrical Energy

Getting direct current from a battery

Using alternating current from the power station

Transforming light into electricity

Understanding Directions: Real Electron Flow versus Conventional Current Flow

Examining a Simple Light Bulb Circuit

Controlling Electrical Current with Basic Components

Ways to control current

Active versus passive components

Making Connections: Series and Parallel

Series connections

Parallel connections

Combination circuits

Creating Electronic Systems

Making sound appear out of thin air

Painting pictures with electrons

Chapter 3: Meeting Up with Resistance

Resisting the Flow of Current

Resistors: Passive Yet Powerful

Discovering the usefulness of resistors

Choosing a type: fixed or variable

Decoding fixed resistors

Dialling with potentiometers

Rating resistors according to power

Combining Resistors

Using resistors in series

Employing resistors in parallel

Combining series and parallel resistors

Obeying Ohm’s Law

Driving current through a resistance

Understanding a relationship that’s constantly proportional!

Working with one law, three equations

Using Ohm’s Law to Analyse Circuits

Calculating current through a component

Working out voltage across a component

Determining an unknown resistance

What is Ohm’s Law Really Good For?

Analysing complex circuits

Designing and altering circuits

The Power of Joule’s Law

Using Joule’s Law to choose components

Going perfectly together: Joule and Ohm

Trying Your Hand at Circuits with Resistors

Chapter 4: Getting a Charge Out of Capacitors

Reservoirs for Electrical Energy

Charging and discharging

Opposing voltage change

Allowing alternating current

Shining a light on capacitors

Characterising Capacitors

Calculating the charge a capacitor can store

Reading capacitor values

Keeping an eye on the working voltage

Selecting dielectrics

Sizing up capacitor packaging

Connecting with polarity

Varying capacitance

Combining Capacitors

Capacitors in parallel

Capacitors in series

Understanding Capacitive Reactance

Using Ohm’s Law for capacitive reactance

Understanding that behaviour depends on frequency

So What Have Capacitors Ever Done for Us?

Storing electrical energy

Blocking DC current

Smoothing out voltage

Creating timers

Tuning in (or out) frequencies

Teaming Up with Resistors

Timing is everything

Calculating RC time constants

Creating a timer

Selecting Frequencies with Simple RC Filters

Looking at low-pass filters

Encountering high-pass filters

Cutting off frequencies at the knees

Filtering frequency bands

Trying Out Simple Capacitive Circuits

Chapter 5: Curling Up with Coils and Crystals

Working Both Ways: Magnetism and Electricity

Drawing the (flux) lines with magnets

Producing a magnetic field with electricity

Inducing current with a magnet

Introducing the Inductor: A Coil with a Magnetic Personality

Measuring inductance

Opposing current changes

Alternating current gets nowhere fast

Understanding Inductive Reactance

Using Ohm’s Law for inductive reactance

Discovering that behaviour depends on frequency (again!)

Using Inductors in Circuits

Insulating and shielding inductors

Reading inductance values

Combining shielded inductors

Filtering signals with inductors

Calculating the RL time constant

Now Introducing Impedance!

Tuning in to Radio Broadcasts

Resonating with RLC circuits

Ensuring crystal-clear resonance

Calling on the Coil Next Door: Transformers

Letting unshielded coils interact

Isolating circuits from a power source

Stepping up, stepping down voltages

Chapter 6: The Wide World of Semiconductors

Are We Conducting, or Aren’t We?

Doping semiconductors

Combining n-types and p-types to create components

Forming a Junction Diode

Biasing the diode

Conducting current through a diode

Rating your diode

Discovering what’s in a name

Orientating yourself: Which way is up?

Using Diodes in Circuits

Rectifying AC

Regulating voltage with Zener diodes

Seeing the light with LEDs

Using diodes in other ways

Trillions of Transistors

Shrinking circuits

Examining the anatomy of a transistor

Operating a transistor

How Transistors Really Work

Emitting and collecting electrons

Gaining current

Saturating the transistor

Using a Model to Understand Transistors

Amplifying Signals with a Transistor

Turning it on

Turning it up

Turning it to your needs

Switching Signals with a Transistor

Choosing Transistors

Tackling transistor ratings

Identifying transistors

Recognising transistors

Integrating Components

Chapter 7: Cramming Components into Chips

Discovering Integrated Circuits

Linear, Digital or Both?

Making Decisions with Logic

Beginning with bits

Processing data with gates

Telling the truth

Understanding How to Use ICs

Identifying ICs with part numbers

Packaging is everything

Understanding IC pinouts

Relying on IC datasheets

Meeting Some Top Chips

Sounding out operational amplifiers

Playing with the IC time machine: the 555 timer

Counting on the 4017 decade counter

Expanding Your IC Horizons

Chapter 8: Rounding Out Your Parts List

Making Connections

Choosing wires wisely

Plugging in to connectors

Powering Up

Turning on the juice with batteries

Getting power from the sun

Working off your wall power (not recommended!)

Switching Electricity On and Off

Controlling the action of a switch

Making the right contacts

Using Your Sensors

Seeing the light

Capturing sound with microphones

Feeling the heat

Trying other energising input transducers

Sensing Something’s Going On

Speaking of speakers

Sounding off with buzzers

Creating good vibrations with DC motors

Part II: Getting Your Hands Dirty

Chapter 9: Setting Up Shop and Staying Safe

Picking a Place to Practise Electronics

Creating a great lab

Choosing a workbench

Tooling Up

Shopping for soldering stuff

Measuring with a multimeter

Getting hands-on with hand tools

Collecting cloths and cleaners

Oiling the wheels

Sticking with it

Selecting other tools and supplies

Picking up Parts

Practising with solderless breadboards

Building a circuit-building starter kit

Adding up the extras

Organising all your parts

Protecting You and Your Electronics

Accepting that electricity can really hurt

Soldering safely

Avoiding static like the plague

Staying Safe: Safety Checklist

Chapter 10: Sussing out Schematics

Approaching Schematics

Seeing the Big Picture

Following connections

Looking at a simple battery circuit

Recognising Symbols of Power

Showing where the power is

Marking your ground

Labelling Circuit Components

Analogue electronic components

Digital logic and IC components

Odds and ends

Exploring a Schematic

Alternative Schematic Drawing Styles

Chapter 11: Constructing Circuits

Taking a Look at Solderless Breadboards

Exploring a solderless breadboard, inside and out

Sizing up the breadboards

Building Circuits on Solderless Breadboards

Preparing your parts and tools

Saving time with pre-stripped wires

Laying out your circuit

Avoiding damaged circuits

Soldering On

Preparing to solder

Soldering for success

Inspecting the joint

Desoldering when necessary

Cooling down after soldering

Ensuring safe soldering

Committing to a Permanent Circuit

Moving your circuit to a solder breadboard

Prototyping with strip boards

Wrapping with wires

Making a custom circuit board

Chapter 12: Measuring and Analysing Circuits

Multitasking with a Multimeter

It’s a voltmeter!

Now, it’s an ammeter!

Ohm my! It’s an ohmmeter, too!

Meeting Your First Multimeter

Unpacking your digital multimeter

Homing in on the range

Setting Up Your Multimeter

Operating Your Multimeter

Measuring voltage

Measuring current

Measuring resistance

Running other multimeter tests

Using a Multimeter to Check Your Circuits

Introducing Logic Probes and Oscilloscopes

Probing the depths of logic

Scoping out signals with an oscilloscope

Part III: Putting Theory into Practice

Chapter 13: Exploring Some Simple Circuits

Getting Equipped

Seeing Is Believing: Ohm’s Law Really Works!

Analysing a series circuit

Dividing up voltage

Parallel parking resistors

Charging and Discharging a Capacitor

Watching your charges go up and down

Varying the RC time constant

Dropping Voltages across Diodes

Turning on an LED

Clipping voltages

Gaining Experience with Transistors

Amplifying current

Measuring tiny currents

Creating light at your fingertip

Using Your Logic

Seeing the light with a logic gate

Turning three NAND gates into an OR gate

Chapter 14: Great Projects You Can Build in 30 Minutes or Less

What to Get and Where to Get It

Building Brilliant, Blinking, Bright Lights

Following the 555 fast flasher

Gathering parts for the LED flasher

Putting the Squeeze on with Piezoelectricity

Experimenting with piezoelectricity

Getting the parts for the piezoelectric circuit

Assembling the Amazing See-in-the-Dark Infrared Detector

Searching for infrared light

Tracking down parts for the infrared detector

Keeping People Away with a Siren!

Making your siren sound

Sorting the siren parts list

Lighting the Way with an Electronic Compass

Checking under the compass bonnet

Locating your electronic compass parts

Alarming Way to Sense the Light

Making your alarm work for you

Assembling a light alarm parts list

’Lil but Loud Amp

Making Music with a Melody Maker

Building the Pocket Water Tester

Understanding how the water tester works

Gathering water tester parts

Generating Cool Lighting Effects

Arranging the LEDs

Chasing down the parts

Making an Electronic Die

Part IV: The Part of Tens

Chapter 15: Ten Exciting Electronics Extras

Trying Out Ready-Made Electronics Kits

Varying Your Voltage

Counting Up Those Megahertz

Generating All Kinds of Signals

Sweeping Frequencies Up and Down

Taking the Pulse

Analysing Your Logic

Simulating with Software

Buying Testing Tool Deals

Boxing Your Tricks – With Knobs On

Chapter 16: Ten Great Sources for Electronics Parts

Buying British: Suppliers within the UK

Maplin

RS Components

Farnell

RSH Electronics

Bitsbox

ESR Electronic Components

Ordering from across the Pond

Digikey

All Electronics

B.G. Micro

Mouser Electronics

Appendix: Internet Resources

Electronics For Dummies®

by Dickon Ross, Cathleen Shamieh, and Gordon McComb

Electronics For Dummies®

Published byJohn Wiley & Sons, LtdThe AtriumSouthern GateChichesterWest SussexPO19 8SQEngland

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Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, Chichester, West Sussex

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ISBN: 978-0-470-68178-7

Printed and bound in Great Britain by TJ International, Padstow, Cornwall

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

About the Authors

Dickon Ross, adapting author of the UK edition, has been a science and technology journalist for 20 years, working on titles ranging from Electronics Times to Focus. Dickon is now Editor-in-Chief of Engineering & Technology magazine and Flipside – the magazine he launched for teenagers – for the Institution of Engineering and Technology.

Cathleen Shamieh is a writer with an engineering background who specialises in creating communication materials focused on technology and its business benefits. She received an outstanding education in electrical engineering at Manhattan College and MIT, and enjoyed working as an engineer for several years in the medical electronics and telecommunications industries. Accepting a challenge from a respected colleague, she shifted her career into business consulting with a focus on technology implementation, eventually migrating into marketing and communications consulting for high-tech companies. Cathleen enjoys leveraging her technical and business background to create white papers and other materials for not-so-technical audiences.

Gordon McComb has penned 60 books and over a thousand magazine articles. More than a million copies of his books are in print, in over a dozen languages. For 13 years, Gordon wrote a weekly syndicated newspaper column on personal computers. When not writing about hobby electronics and other fun topics, he serves as a consultant on digital cinema to several notable Hollywood clients.

Dedication

To my parents, Beth and Jim Corbett, who taught me that I can do anything I put my mind to; to Sister Eustelle, who made a writer out of me; to my wonderful husband, Bill, who’s always there to support me; and to my four fantastic sons, Kevin, Peter, Brendan, and Patrick, who make life a fun, loving adventure every single day.

C.S.

To my father, Wally McComb, who instilled in me a fascination with electronics; and to Forrest Mims, who taught me a thing or two about it.

G.M.

Authors’ Acknowledgments

Dickon Ross would like to thank his son Edmund for his help in building and testing the circuits in this book.

Cathleen Shamieh extends her thanks to the excellent editors at Wiley, especially Katie Feltman and Christopher Morris, for their hard work, support, and gentle reminders, and to Kirk Kleinschmidt for his intense technical scrutiny of the material. She is also grateful to Linda Hammer and Ken Donoghue, who kindly recommended her work to Wiley. Finally, Cathleen thanks her family and friends, whose support, assistance, and understanding helped make her goal of becoming a Dummies author a reality.

Gordon McComb gives heartfelt thanks to Wiley and the hard-working editors at Wiley, especially Katie Feldman, Nancy Stevenson, Carol Sheehan, Laura Miller and Amanda Foxworth. Many thanks also to Ward Silver, for his excellent and thorough technical review, and Matt Wagner at Waterside Productions for always having a positive outlook. Gordon also wishes to thank his family, who once again put their lives on hold while he finished another book.

Publisher’s Acknowledgments

We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our Dummies online registration form located at www.dummies.com/register/.

Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:

Commissioning, Editorial, and Media Development

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Brand Reviewer: Rev Mengle

Introduction

Are you curious to know what makes your iPod tick? How about your mobile phone, laptop, stereo system, digital camera, plasma TV – or, well, just about every piece of electronics you use for work or play, in the office, at home or on the move?

Perhaps you’ve even thought that you could design and build your own little electronic circuit or gadget to do something you want it to do?

If you’ve ever wondered how transistors, capacitors and other building blocks of electronics work, or if you’ve been tempted to try building your own electronic devices, you’ve come to the right place!

Electronics For Dummies is your entry into the electrifying world of modern electronics. No dry, boring or incomprehensible tome, this; what you hold in your hands is the book that enables you to understand, create and troubleshoot your own electronic devices. We’re getting excited already!

Why Buy This Book?

All too often, electronics seems like a mystery, because it involves controlling something you can’t see – electric current – which you’ve been warned repeatedly not to touch. That’s enough to scare most people away. But as you continue to experience the benefits of electronics on a daily basis, you may begin to wonder how so many incredible things can happen in such tight spaces.

This book is designed to explain electronics in ways you can relate to. It gives you a basic understanding of exactly what electronics is, provides down-to-earth explanations of how major electronic components work and gives you just what you need to build and test working electronic circuits and projects. Although this book doesn’t pretend to answer all your questions about electronics, it does give you a good grounding in the essentials.

We hope that when you’re done with this book, you’ll realise that electronics isn’t as complicated as you may have thought. And we want to arm you with the knowledge and confidence you need to go deeper into the exciting world of electronics.

Why Electronics?

Electronics is everywhere. You find electronics in your phones, audio and video systems, and kitchen appliances. Electronic systems control traffic lights, Internet commerce, medical devices – even many toys. You can’t see most of them, but electronic systems also proliferate throughout your car. Try for just one minute to imagine your life without electronics; you may as well be living in the Dark Ages!

So what does all this mean to you as you peruse this book? After all, you don’t expect to be able to design satellite communication systems after a sit-down session with this humble For Dummies book.

Remember though that even the most complicated electronics systems consist of no more than a handful of different electronic component types governed by the same set of rules that make simple circuits work. So if you want to understand complex electronic systems, you start with the basics – just like the designers of those systems did when they started out.

More importantly, understanding the basics of electronics can enable you to create some really useful, albeit somewhat simple, electronic devices. You can build circuits that flash lights at just the right time, sound a buzzer upon sensing an intruder or even move an object around the room. And when you know how to use integrated circuit (IC) chips, which are populated with easy-to-use fully functioning circuits, you can create some rather clever designs for just a few well-spent pounds.

Technology development being what it is – lightning fast, smaller and cheaper year after year – you can now hold the ingredients for very advanced electronic systems in the palm of your hand. With a little knowledge and a willingness to experiment, you can build a unique musical birthday card, fantastic flashing decorations or an alarm that senses someone trying to get into your bedroom or biscuit tin.

Also, you may have another hobby that can be enriched by electronics. If you’re into model railways, you can build your own automated switching points. If your hobby is racing radio-controlled cars, electronics know-how may enable you to improve the performance of your car and win the next championship. Knowing more about electronics can really enhance your hobbies.

Last but not least, electronics is fun. Finding out about and messing with electronics is its own reward.

Foolish Assumptions

This book assumes that you’re curious about electronics, but you really don’t know much, if anything, about its inner workings. You chose this book, rather than a book consisting exclusively of recipes for electronic circuits, and therefore we assume that you want to discover more about how parts such as resistors, capacitors and transistors actually work.

So we take the time (and more than half the book) to explain the basics to you, distilling fairly technical information down into easy-to-understand concepts. You don’t need to be well-versed in physics or mathematics to benefit from reading this book, although a little bit of school algebra is helpful (but we do our best to refresh that possibly painful memory).

We assume you may want to jump around this book a bit, diving deep into a topic or two that holds special interest for you, and possibly skimming through other topics. For this reason, we provide loads of chapter cross-references to point you to information that can fill in any gaps or refresh your memory on a topic. And although the first half of the book is devoted to how electronic circuits and individual parts work, we include cross-references to simple circuits and projects that appear later in the book. That way, as soon as you find out about a component, you can jump ahead, if you like, and build a circuit that uses that very component.

The table of contents at the front of the book provides an excellent resource that you can use to find quickly exactly what you’re looking for. Finally, the good people at Wiley have thoughtfully provided a thorough index at the back of the book to help you find what you want fast.

Safety Is Number 1

Reading about electronics is pretty safe. About the worst that can happen is that your eyes get tired from too many late nights with this book. But actually building electronic projects is another matter. Lurking behind the fun of your electronics hobby are high voltages that can electrocute you, soldering irons that can burn you and little bits of wire that can fly into your eyes when you snip them off with sharp cutters. Aaaagh!

Safety comes first in electronics. It’s so important, in fact, that we devote a major section of Chapter 9 to it – and continually refer you to this section. If you’re brand new to electronics, please be sure to read this section thoroughly. Don’t skip over it, even if you think you’re the safest person on earth. Even if you’ve dabbled in electronics before, we still say you should read this bit as you may be surprised by some of the information. When you follow proper precautions, electronics is a very safe and sane hobby. Be sure to keep it that way!

Although we try to give you great advice about safety throughout, we can’t possibly give you every safety precaution in the world in one book. In addition to reading our advice, use your own common sense, read manufacturer’s instructions for parts and tools that you work with and always stay alert.

How This Book Is Organised

Electronics For Dummies is organised so that you can quickly find, read and understand the information that you want. Also, if you have some experience with electronics, or want to deepen your knowledge of one particular topic, you can skip around and focus on the chapters that interest you.

The chapters in this book are divided into parts to help you zero in on the information that you’re looking for quickly and easily.

Part I: Understanding the Fundamentals of Electronics

Turn to Part I if you want to get a thorough grounding in basic electronics theory. Chapter 1 gives you the big picture of exactly what electronics is and the amazing things it can do for you. You discover the fundamentals of electronic circuits and get introduced to voltage, current and sources of electrical energy in Chapter 2.

In Chapters 3–6, you dive deep into the heart of all the major electronic components, including resistors, capacitors, inductors, transformers, diodes and transistors. You find out how each component works, how it handles electric current and what role it plays in electronic circuits.

Chapter 7 introduces you to integrated circuits (ICs) and explains a bit about digital logic and how three popular ICs function. Chapter 8 covers sensors, speakers, buzzers, switches, wires and connectors.

Throughout Part I, we point you to introductory circuits you can build in Part III to see what each component does.

Part II: Getting Your Hands Dirty

Part II is all about tooling-up, constructing real circuits and probing around working (and non-working) circuits – without electrocuting yourself.

In Chapter 9, you find out how to set up an electronics workbench, what electronic components, tools and other supplies you need to build circuits, and how to protect yourself and your electronic components as you work on circuits. Chapter 10 explains how to interpret circuit diagrams (known as schematics) so that you know how to connect components together when you build a circuit.

You discover various methods of wiring up temporary and permanent circuits in Chapter 11, including how to solder. Finally, Chapter 12 explains how to use the most important testing tool in electronics – the multimeter – to explore and analyse your circuits. This chapter also introduces you very briefly to two other tools: the logic probe and oscilloscope.

Part III: Putting Theory into Practice

If you’re anxious to wire up some circuits and get your electronic juices flowing, Part III is the place to be.

Chapter 13 shows you some elementary circuits that you can build to demonstrate the principles of electronics and observe specific electronic components functioning as advertised. Turn to this chapter if you want to reinforce your theoretical knowledge of electronics or gain experience building simple circuits.

When you’re ready for more involved circuits, explore Chapter 14. Here, you find several projects that you can have fun building and exploring. You may even decide to put one or two of them to good use in your home or office.

Part IV: The Part of Tens

As you may expect, Part IV is where you can find further information laid out in top-ten list format.

Chapter 15 offers pointers to help you expand your electronics horizons. Here, you can find information on all-inclusive project kits and circuit simulation software, suggestions for additional testing tools and tips on how to get great deals on electronics supplies.

When you’re ready to shop for all things electronic, turn to Chapter 16 for a list of the top electronics suppliers in the UK and abroad.

Icons Used in This Book

We can’t place dozens of Post-it notes in each and every copy of Electronics For Dummies, so we use icons to draw your attention to critical information.

Tips alert you to information that can really save you time, headaches or money (or all three!). If you use our tips, your electronics experience is that much more enjoyable.

When you tinker with electronics, you’re bound to encounter situations that call for extreme caution. Enter the Warning icon: a not-so-gentle reminder to take extra precautions to avoid personal injury or prevent damage to your tools, components, circuits – or your bank balance.

This icon reminds you of important ideas or facts that you really need to keep in mind. Occasionally, we use this icon to note where in the book an important concept is originally introduced, so that you can flick back to more detailed information for a refresher, if you need one.

Even though this entire book is about technical stuff, we flag up some mini topics to alert you to deeper techie info that may require a little more brain power to digest. Of course, if you choose to skip over this info, that’s absolutely fine; you can still follow along with no problem. Think of this techie stuff as extra material – a diversion off the main path, if you will – like bonus questions in a quiz.

Part I

Understanding the Fundamentals of Electronics

In this part . . .

Do you ever wonder what makes electronic devices tick? Are you ever curious to know how speakers speak, motors move and computers compute? Well, then, you’ve come to the right place!

In the chapters ahead, we explain exactly what electronics is, what it can (and does) do for you and how all sorts of electronic things work. But don’t worry. We don’t bore you with long essays involving physics and mathematics. We use analogies and down-to-earth examples to make understanding electronics easy – fun, even. And while you’re enjoying yourself, you’re discovering how electronic components work and combine forces to make amazing things happen.

Chapter 1

What Is Electronics and What Can It Do for You?

In This Chapter

Seeing electric current for what it really is

Recognising the power of electrons

Using conductors to go with the flow (of electrons)

Making the right connections with a circuit

Controlling the destiny of electrons with electronic components

Applying electrical energy to loads of things

If you’re like most people, you probably have some idea about what electronics is. You’ve been up close and personal with lots of so-called consumer electronics devices, such as iPods, stereo equipment, personal computers, digital cameras and televisions, but to you, they may seem like mysteriously magical boxes with buttons that respond to your every desire.