George Tafari

INTRODUCTION TO ELECTRONICS: The Balanced Wheatstone Bridge

The voltage ( V ) drops across parallel-circuit resistors ( R ) are equal in magnitude; conversely, the currents ( I ) traveling through parallel branches may or may not be the same. For this reason, parallel circuits are sometimes referred to as being current dividers. Take the following diagram into consideration: Since the R1Continue reading “INTRODUCTION TO ELECTRONICS: The Balanced Wheatstone Bridge“

INTRODUCTION TO ELECTRONICS: Bleeder Current in Multi-Tap Voltage-Divider Circuits

Adding a tap to a series circuit alters the untapped voltage ( V ) output across the resistor ( R ) downstream of it. We will now expand our studies to be inclusive of multi-tap voltage-divider circuits. The objective is to determine the magnitude of the bleeder current ( I3 ) flowing through the lowermostContinue reading “INTRODUCTION TO ELECTRONICS: Bleeder Current in Multi-Tap Voltage-Divider Circuits“

INTRODUCTION TO ELECTRONICS: Voltage Dividers With Resistive Loads ( Part 2 )

In a previous exercise, we saw how the addition of a stiff voltage divider to a two-resistor series circuit lowers the voltage ( V ) drop across the lattermost resistor. We are now ready to examine this phenomena with a circuit that contains unequal resistor values: Q: a. What is the unloaded output voltage? b.Continue reading “INTRODUCTION TO ELECTRONICS: Voltage Dividers With Resistive Loads ( Part 2 )“

INTRODUCTION TO ELECTRONICS: Voltage Dividers With Resistive Loads ( Part 1 )

A series circuit that contains two equal-value resistors ( R ) will split the amount of work ( J ) done by the charges equally: Prior to arrival at R1, a coulomb of charged particles ( I ) will contain 10.0 J of energy available to perform work. After passing through R1, the charges willContinue reading “INTRODUCTION TO ELECTRONICS: Voltage Dividers With Resistive Loads ( Part 1 )“

INTRODUCTION TO ELECTRONICS: Voltage Divider Principle in Series-Parallel Circuits

The voltage-divider formula is expressed as follows: Vx = ( Rx / RT )( Vs ) This formula is used to determine how series resistors ( R ) split voltage drops apart as current passes through them. The net voltage drop across a series circuit’s resistors is always ( ignoring small losses ) equal toContinue reading “INTRODUCTION TO ELECTRONICS: Voltage Divider Principle in Series-Parallel Circuits“

INTRODUCTION TO ELECTRONICS: Series-Parallel Circuit Branch Identification

Due to the complexity of some series-parallel circuits, it takes time to appropriately identify circuit branches that negate the larger circuit being classified as purely series or parallel. There is no substitute for practice! Prior to using the appropriate mathematics and equations to solve series-parallel circuit problems, visual engagement with a wide variety of circuitContinue reading “INTRODUCTION TO ELECTRONICS: Series-Parallel Circuit Branch Identification“

INTRODUCTION TO ELECTRONICS: Two-Resistor Current Divider Derivation

We have previously seen how parallel circuits with two resistors ( R ) may be added together using specialized techniques. In one such case, the resistors had equal values, and in other cases, the values differed. These resistance values were then used to ascertain how currents ( I ) divide along each branch of theContinue reading “INTRODUCTION TO ELECTRONICS: Two-Resistor Current Divider Derivation“

INTRODUCTION TO ELECTRONICS: Series-Parallel Circuits

For the most part, the circuits we’ve encountered have been either series or parallel circuits with no deviance from either extreme. The only exception to this trend regarded circuits that had multiple voltage sources positioned within their multi-loop matrix. Adding to this complexity was the fact that these voltage sources could be oriented in anyContinue reading “INTRODUCTION TO ELECTRONICS: Series-Parallel Circuits“

INTRODUCTION TO ELECTRONICS: Power in Parallel Circuits

Power is the rate at which energy is deposited within ( or liberated from ) some medium. As pertains to electronics, the watt is a measure of how many joules ( J ) of energy are deposited per second within the resistive elements of a circuit. The SI unit of power is the watt (Continue reading “INTRODUCTION TO ELECTRONICS: Power in Parallel Circuits“

INTRODUCTION TO ELECTRONICS: Parallel Circuits

In the study of parallel resistor ( Rx ) circuits, where “ x “ is the number of a particular resistor ( x = 1, 2, 3, … n ), a common point of confusion regards how the total resistance ( Rt ) of the circuit is always less than the lowest calculated resistor value.Continue reading “INTRODUCTION TO ELECTRONICS: Parallel Circuits“