Dictionary of elements in a circuit board:
(This information was taken from Renesas, everything that has been quaoted has been supported on this website)
Passive components:
1. Resistor
Definition: The resistor is a component that has two leads. The material that is between the two leads restricts the flow of the current. The amount of opposition that they create is called resistance and is measured in ohms. The resistors are used to controlled the voltage in different areas of the circuit and at different points. Ohm's law establishes that E=IR, where E is the voltage, R is the resistance and I is the current flowing through the resistor.
Meaure: ohm
Methaphor:
As a metaphor: the resistor is like a wall that blocks the flow of energy or the current
.
2. Capacitor-
Meaning: The capacitor also has two leads but these are used to store and release electric charge. "A capacitor's ability to store charge is referred to as its capacitance, measured in farads). The capacitor receives direct current flow, and in this way it starts building (positive and negative) charge (Q) which accumulates up to its capacity (C). Then the capacitor releases this alternative energy. ยจ"The amount (of charge ) is determined by the capacitance value (C) and the voltage applied across the component: (Q=CV)".
Measure: Farads
Metaphor: A capacitor is like a water cistern, which accumulates water (when there is directly rain) and holds it until something tells it to release it.
3.Inductor (Also known as coil)-
Meaning- This is another component that stores energy but in the form of a magnetic field. The coil is used as a storage of energy. The amount of storage depends on the amount of loops and on the type of energy.
Measure: Henry or henries in plural (H)
Metaphor: The inductor is like a coil field where the energy flows, and it slows down its flow.
Other components:
4. button
5. slide
6. crystal - "A crystal oscillator is an electronic oscillator circuit that uses the mechanical resonance of a vibrating crystal of piezoelectric material to create an electrical signal with a precise frequency. This frequency is commonly used to keep track of time, as in quartz wristwatches, to provide a stable clock signal for digital integrated circuits, and to stabilize frequencies for radio transmitters and receivers." (Wikipedia)
7. Semiconductors- These elements "are positioned midway between conductors and insulators. They are the materials --such as silicon (Si) and germanium (Ge) that resist electric current better than metals like silver and aluminum, but not as well as insulators like quartz and ceramic" (Renesas tutorial) There are two types of semiconductors, the p-types and the n-type. There are semiconductors because usually 4 out of 5 electrons are bounded and one is free. If the electron that is free is negative then this is a n-type of semiconductoy. "The free electrons in the material will drift from a negative elctrode toward a positive" (About Education) The p-type is a semiconductor instead of having free electrons, the electrols fill holes "meaning that it behaves as if a positive particle is moving from the positive electrode to the negative electrode" (About Education) .
7.1 diode- A diode is a semiconductor and current pass only in one direction. It consists of a P-type semiconductor on one side and a N-type semiconductor on the other. The diode has two active terminals: an anode and a cathode, between which a current can flow.
Metaphor: The diode is like a one way street.
7.2 . transistor - "A transistor is a semiconductor device used to amplify or switch electronic signals and electrical power" (Wikipedia). It is usually used to control a large amount of current or voltage with a small amount of current or voltage. This control is obtained by switching one semiconductor between two other semiconductors. "Each end of the transistor is an n-type semiconductor material and between them is an p-type semiconductor material" (About Education). It is composed of semiconductor material with at least three terminals for connection to an external circuit.
Metaphor: The transistor is like an amplifier of current.
7.2.1 Mosfet- A mosfet is a type of transistor. Indeed its acronym means metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor. "It is the most common transistor in both digital and analog circuits" (Wikipedia). There are two channels through which it works, an N-type and a P-type. In total there are four terminals: i) source, ii) gate, iii) drain, and iv) body (substrate). "The gate is an oxide film that serves as an insulator between the source and the drain. When voltage is applied to the gate it attracts and pulls up free electrons that are just under the gate. These electrons form a channel over which current can no flow freely" (Renesas)
I am not 100% sure about this but I think the source and the drain are a n-type of semiconductor and the gate is a p-type of semi-conductor.
Metaphor- I mosfet is like a the Ying-Yang. The Ying (isulator) is present when there is no voltage and the Yang (flow of current) is present when there is voltage.
Other definitions
CURRENT (I) is the directed flow of charge through a conductor. (Taken from tutorial)
VOLTAGE (E) is the force that generates the current. (Taken from tutorial)
RESISTANCE is an opposition to current that is provided by a material, component, or circuit (taken from tutorial)
E (voltage)
LED- Light-emitting diode, a semiconductor diode that glows when a voltage is applied
GROUND- Ground is the reference point relative to which other voltages in the circuit are measured. Vcc+ is positive relative to ground. We usually call the ground "zero volts", to make the other measurements simpler.
Apply the black (-) end of your meter to ground on a powered circuit and the red (+) end of the meter on VCC to measure the voltage. (Taken from tutorial)
Vcc+ is positive relative to ground.
Other definitions to be completed.
I (intensity, energy)
R
Alternative current
Direct current
Charge
Capacity
9. battery , regulator
10. op-amp
11. microcontroller
12. sensors
13. actuators