Electronics Glossary

The picture below is an LED or a Light Emitting Diode. The positive pin is longer than the negative pin and they need to be powered by a 1.5 - 3v power supply like a battery pack or an Arduino. The voltage they take depends on the color of the LED.


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The image below is a speaker. it has a magnet at the bottom and a tightly wrapped coil attached to a plastic diaphragm. When you send a pulsing voltage through the speaker coil, it will make sound.


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The image below is a motor. Motors are devices that convert electrical energy into rotating mechanical energy. If you spin a dc motor, you will generate electricity. Only dc motors can be used as generators.


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The image below has batteries. Batteries are devices that have different layers types of metals with a layer soaked in a conductive liquid between them.


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The image below shows a relay. A relay is a mechanical device that is used to control a large electrical current with a smaller electrical current. They are used in lots of different types of equipment.


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The image below is a transistor. The way they are used in a circuit is similar to a relay. They have less pins on them and they last longer because they are not mechanical.


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The image below is a diode. Diodes only let current flow in one direction. They are good for converting AC to DC .


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The text below will show what different electronic abbreviations mean.


RGB = Red, Green and Blue


LED = Light Emitting Diode


BJT = Bipolar Junction Transistor


W = Watts


V = Volts


A = Amps


mA = Milliamps


mAH = Milliamp Hours


Wh = Watt Hours