Electrical

Parameters
BY: DUSTIN & ERICA

Transistors

What is a transistor?

are usually three terminal devices. There are two major types of
transistors, bipolar and field effect transistors (FET). Transistors
can be used either as a solid state switch or as an amplifier.

A transistor is a semiconductor device used to amplify and switch

electronic signals and electrical power. It is composed of
semiconductor material with at least three terminals for
connection to an external circuit.

What does it do?

A transistor is a miniature electronic component that can do two

different jobs. It can work either as an amplifier or a switch:
When it works as an amplifier, it takes in a tiny electric current at
one end and produces a much bigger electric current at the
other.

Diodes

Diodes

Diodes are solid state devices with two terminals. They allow the
flow of current in one direction only and can have special
functions as voltage regulators or light emitters (LED).

A semiconductor diode, the most common type today, is a

crystalline piece of semiconductor material with a pn junction
connected to two electrical terminals. A vacuum tube diode has
two electrodes, a plate (anode) and a heated cathode.
Semiconductor diodes were the first semiconductor electronic
devices.

What does it do?

A diode allows electricity to flow in one direction only and blocks

the flow in the opposite direction. They may be regarded as oneway valves and they are used in various circuits, usually as a
form of protection.

Resistor

What is it?

A semiconductor diode, the most common type today, is a

crystalline piece of semiconductor material with a pn junction
connected to two electrical terminals. A vacuum tube diode has
two electrodes, a plate (anode) and a heated cathode.
Semiconductor diodes were the first semiconductor electronic
devices.

physical size depends on power dissipation. Fixed resistors are

wire wound and are usually
ceramic over wire or carbon
composite. Variable resistors can be either rheostats,
potentiometers.

Resistors act to drop voltages and limit current in a circuit and

convert electrical energy into heat.

What does it do?

A resistor is a passive two-terminal electrical component that

implements electrical resistance as a circuit element. Resistors
act to reduce current flow, and, at the same time, act to lower
voltage levels within circuits.

Capacitors

What is it?

Capacitors can be either fixed or variable. A fixed capacitor can

be either polarized and made from an electrolytic or no
polarized and made from tantalum. A capacitors functions to
store charge.

A capacitor (originally known as a condenser) is a passive twoterminal electrical component used to store electrical energy
temporarily in an electric field.

What does it do?

Capacitors are widely used as parts of electrical circuits in many

common electrical devices. Unlike a resistor, an ideal capacitor
does not dissipate energy. Instead, a capacitor stores energy in
the form of an electrostatic field between its plates.

Inductors

What is an inductor?

An inductor, also called a coil, choke or reactor, is a passive twoterminal electrical component which resists changes in electric
current passing through it. It consists of a conductor such as a
wire, usually wound into a coil.

are either fixed or variable and there are a range of inductors

available. Inductors are used to resist changes in current in a
circuit.

What does it do?

An inductor is a passive electronic component which is capable of

storing electrical energy in the form of magnetic energy.
Basically, it uses a conductor that is wound into a coil, and when
electricity flows into the coil from the left to the right, this will
generate a magnetic field in the clockwise direction.