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i c 2002-2009, Tony R. Kuphaldt This book is published under the terms and conditions of the Design Science License. These terms and conditions allow for free copying, distribution, and/or modication of this document by the general public. The full Design Science License text is included in the last chapter. As an open and collaboratively developed text, this book is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the Design Science License for more details. Available in its entirety as part of the Open Book Project collection at: www.ibiblio.org/obp/electricCircuits
PRINTING HISTORY First Edition: Printed in April 2002. Source les written in SubML format. SubML is a A simple markup language designed to easily convert to other markups like LTEX, HTML, or DocBook using nothing but search-and-replace substitutions.
Contents1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Electronics as science . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.2 Setting up a home lab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.3 Contributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 BASIC CONCEPTS AND TEST EQUIPMENT 2.1 Voltmeter usage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2 Ohmmeter usage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3 A very simple circuit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.4 Ammeter usage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.5 Ohms Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.6 Nonlinear resistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.7 Power dissipation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.8 Circuit with a switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.9 Electromagnetism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.10 Electromagnetic induction . . . . . . . . . . . 3 DC CIRCUITS 3.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.2 Series batteries . . . . . . . . . . . 3.3 Parallel batteries . . . . . . . . . . 3.4 Voltage divider . . . . . . . . . . . 3.5 Current divider . . . . . . . . . . . 3.6 Potentiometer as a voltage divider 3.7 Potentiometer as a rheostat . . . . 3.8 Precision potentiometer . . . . . . 3.9 Rheostat range limiting . . . . . . 3.10 Thermoelectricity . . . . . . . . . . 3.11 Make your own multimeter . . . . 3.12 Sensitive voltage detector . . . . . 3.13 Potentiometric voltmeter . . . . . 3.14 4-wire resistance measurement . . 3.15 A very simple computer . . . . . . 3.16 Potato battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1 3 12 15 15 21 28 35 42 45 48 53 55 57 59 59 60 63 67 78 87 93 99 102 109 112 117 122 127 131 136
CONTENTS3.17 Capacitor charging and discharging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138 3.18 Rate-of-change indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
4 AC CIRCUITS 4.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.2 Transformer power supply . . . . . . 4.3 Build a transformer . . . . . . . . . . . 4.4 Variable inductor . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.5 Sensitive audio detector . . . . . . . . . 4.6 Sensing AC magnetic elds . . . . . . . 4.7 Sensing AC electric elds . . . . . . . . 4.8 Automotive alternator . . . . . . . . . . 4.9 Induction motor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.10 Phase shift . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.11 Sound cancellation . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.12 Musical keyboard as a signal generator 4.13 PC Oscilloscope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.14 Waveform analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.15 Inductor-capacitor tank circuit . . . . 4.16 Signal coupling . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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145 145 147 151 153 155 160 162 164 170 174 177 180 183 186 188 191 199 200 201 203 211 216 219 225 228 233 236 239 244 249 253 259 264 267 272 275 286
5 DISCRETE SEMICONDUCTOR CIRCUITS 5.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.2 Commutating diode . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.3 Half-wave rectier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.4 Full-wave center-tap rectier . . . . . . . . 5.5 Full-wave bridge rectier . . . . . . . . . . 5.6 Rectier/lter circuit . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.7 Voltage regulator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.8 Transistor as a switch . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.9 Static electricity sensor . . . . . . . . . . . 5.10 Pulsed-light sensor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.11 Voltage follower . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.12 Common-emitter amplier . . . . . . . . . 5.13 Multi-stage amplier . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.14 Current mirror . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.15 JFET current regulator . . . . . . . . . . . 5.16 Differential amplier . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.17 Simple op-amp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.18 Audio oscillator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.19 Vacuum tube audio amplier . . . . . . . . Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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CONTENTS6 ANALOG INTEGRATED CIRCUITS 6.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.2 Voltage comparator . . . . . . . . . 6.3 Precision voltage follower . . . . . 6.4 Noninverting amplier . . . . . . . 6.5 High-impedance voltmeter . . . . 6.6 Integrator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.7 555 audio oscillator . . . . . . . . . 6.8 555 ramp generator . . . . . . . . 6.9 PWM power controller . . . . . . . 6.10 Class B audio amplier . . . . . . 7 DIGITAL INTEGRATED CIRCUITS 7.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.2 Basic gate function . . . . . . . . . 7.3 NOR gate S-R latch . . . . . . . . . 7.4 NAND gate S-R enabled latch . . 7.5 NAND gate S-R ip-op . . . . . . 7.6 555 Schmitt Trigger . . . . . . . . 7.7 LED sequencer . . . . . . . . . . . 7.8 Simple combination lock . . . . . . 7.9 3-bit binary counter . . . . . . . . 7.10 7-segment display . . . . . . . . . A-1 ABOUT THIS BOOK A-2 CONTRIBUTOR LIST A-3 DESIGN SCIENCE LICENSE INDEX
v 287 287 289 292 296 299 303 309 312 315 319 329 329 331 335 339 341 345 348 357 360 362 365 369 373 376
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTIONContents1.1 1.2 Electronics as science Setting up a home lab 1.2.1 Work area . . . . 1.2.2 Tools . . . . . . . 1.2.3 Supplies . . . . . 1.3 Contributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . 3 . 3 . 3 . 10 . 12
Electronics as science
Electronics is a science, and a very accessible science at that. With other areas of scientic study, expensive equipment is generally required to perform any non-trivial experiments. Not so with electronics. Many advanced concepts may be explored using parts and equipment totaling under a few hundred US dollars. This is good, because hands-on experimentation is vital to gaining scientic knowledge about any subject. When I started writing Lessons In Electric Circuits, my intent was to create a textbook suitable for introductory college use. However, being mostly self-taught in electronics myself, I knew the value of a good textbook to hobbyists and experimenters not enrolled in any formal electronics course. Many people selessly volunteered their time and expertise in helping me learn electronics when I was younger, and my intent is to honor their service and love by giving back to the world what they gave to me. In order for someone to teach themselves a science such as electronics, they must engage in hands-on experimentation. Knowledge gleaned from books alone has limited use, especially in scientic endeavors. If my contribution to society is to be complete, I must include a guide to experimentation along with the text(s) on theory, so that the individual learning on their own has a resource to guide their experimental adventures. A formal laboratory course for college electronics study requires an enormous amount of work to prepare, and usually must be based around specic parts and equipment so that the 1
experiments will be sufcient detailed, with results sufciently precise to allow for rigorous comparison between experimental and theoretical data. A process of assessment, articulated through a qualied instructor, is also vital to guarantee that a certain level of learning has taken place. Peer review (comparison of experimental results with the work of others) is another important component of college-level laboratory study, and helps to improve the quality of learning. Since I cannot meet these criteria through the medium of a book, it is impractical for me to present a complete laboratory course here. In the interest of keeping this experiment guide reasonably low-cost for people to follow, and practical for deployment over the internet, I am forced to design the experiments at a lower level than what would be expected for a college lab course. The experiments in this volume begin at a level appropriate for someone with no electronics knowledge, and progress to higher levels. They stress qualitative knowledge over quantitative knowledge, although they could serve as templates for more rigorous coursework. If there is any portion of Lessons In Electric Circuits that will remain incomplete, it is this one: I fully intend to continue adding experiments ad innitum so as to provide the experimenter or hobbyist with a wealth of ideas to explore the science of electronics. This volume of the book series is also the easiest to contribute to, for those who would like to help me in providing free information to people learning electronics. It doesnt take a tremendous effort to describe an experiment or two, and I will gladly include it if you email it to me, giving you full credit for the work. Refer to Appendix 2 for details on contributing to this book. When performing these experiments, feel free to explore by trying different circuit construction and measurement techniques. If something isnt working as the text describes it should, dont give up! Its probably due to a simple problem in construction (loose wire, wrong component value) or test equipment setup. It can be frustrating working through these problems on your own, but the knowledge gained by troubleshooting a circuit yourself is at least as important as the knowledge gained by a properly functioning experiment. This is one of the most important reasons why experimentation is so vital to your scientic education: the real problems you will invariably encounter in experimentation challenge you to develop practical problem-solving skills. In many of these experiments, I offer part numbers for Radio Shack brand components. This is not an endorsement of Radio Shack, but simply a convenient reference to an electronic supply company well-known in North America. Often times, components of better quality and lower price may be obtained through mail-order companies and other, lesser-known supply houses. I strongly recommend that experimenters obtain some of the more expensive components such as transformers (see the AC chapter) by salvaging them from discarded electrical appliances, both for economic and ecological reasons. All experiments shown in this book are designed with safety in mind. It is nearly impossible to shock or otherwise hurt yourself by battery-powered experiments or other circuits of low voltage. However, hazards do exist building anything with your own two hands. Where there is a greater-than-normal level of danger in an experiment, I take efforts to direct the readers attention toward it. However, it is unfortunately necessary in this litigious society to disclaim any and all liability for the outcome of any experiment presented here. Neither myself nor any contributors bear responsibility for injuries resulting from the construction or use of any of these projects, from the mis-handling of electricity by the experimenter, or from any other unsafe practices leading to injury. Perform these experiments at your own risk!
In order to build the circuits described in this volume, you will need a small work area, as well as a few tools and critical supplies. This section describes the setup of a home electronics laboratory.
Work area
A work area should consist of a large workbench, desk, or table (preferably wooden) for performing circuit assembly, with household electrical power (120 volts AC) readily accessible to power soldering equipment, power supplies, and any test equipment. Inexpensive desks intended for computer use function very well for this purpose. Avoid a metal-surface desk, as the electrical conductivity of a metal surface creates both a shock hazard and the very distinct possibility of unintentional short circuits developing from circuit components touching the metal tabletop. Vinyl and plastic bench surfaces are to be avoided for their ability to generate and store large static-electric charges, which may damage sensitive electronic components. Also, these materials melt easily when exposed to hot soldering irons and molten solder droplets. If you cannot obtain a wooden-surface workbench, you may turn any form of table or desk into one by laying a piece of plywood on top. If you are reasonably skilled with woodworking tools, you may construct your own desk using plywood and 2x4 boards. The work area should be well-lit and comfortable. I have a small radio set up on my own workbench for listening to music or news as I experiment. My own workbench has a power strip receptacle and switch assembly mounted to the underside, into which I plug all 120 volt devices. It is convenient to have a single switch for shutting off all power in case of an accidental short-circuit!
A few tools are required for basic electronics work. Most of these tools are inexpensive and easy to obtain. If you desire to keep the cost as low as possible, you might want to search for them at thrift stores and pawn shops before buying them new. As you can tell from the photographs, some of my own tools are rather old but function well nonetheless. First and foremost in your tool collection is a multimeter. This is an electrical instrument designed to measure voltage, current, resistance, and often other variables as well. Multimeters are manufactured in both digital and analog form. A digital multimeter is preferred for precision work, but analog meters are also useful for gaining an intuitive understanding of instrument sensitivity and range. My own digital multimeter is a Fluke model 27, purchased in 1987: Digital multimeter
Most analog multimeters sold today are quite inexpensive, and not necessarily precision test instruments. I recommend having both digital and analog meter types in your tool collection, spending as little money as possible on the analog multimeter and investing in a goodquality digital multimeter (I highly recommend the Fluke brand). ====================================== A test instrument I have found indispensable in my home work is a sensitive voltage detector, or sensitive audio detector, described in nearly identical experiments in two chapters of this book volume. It is nothing more than a sensitized set of audio headphones, equipped with an attenuator (volume control) and limiting diodes to limit sound intensity from strong signals. Its purpose is to audibly indicate the presence of low-intensity voltage signals, DC or AC. In the absence of an oscilloscope, this is a most valuable tool, because it allows you to listen to an electronic signal, and thereby determine something of its nature. Few tools engender an intuitive comprehension of frequency and amplitude as this! I cite its use in many of the experiments shown in this volume, so I strongly encourage that you build your own. Second only to a multimeter, it is the most useful piece of test equipment in the collection of the budget electronics experimenter. Sensitive voltage/audio detector
As you can see, I built my detector using scrap parts (household electrical switch/receptacle box for the enclosure, section of brown lamp cord for the test leads). Even some of the internal components were salvaged from scrap (the step-down transformer and headphone jack were
taken from an old radio, purchased in non-working condition from a thrift store). The entire thing, including the headphones purchased second-hand, cost no more than $15 to build. Of course, one could take much greater care in choosing construction materials (metal box, shielded test probe cable), but it probably wouldnt improve its performance signicantly. The single most inuential component with regard to detector sensitivity is the headphone assembly: generally speaking, the greater the dB rating of the headphones, the better they will function for this purpose. Since the headphones need not be modied for use in the detector circuit, and they can be unplugged from it, you might justify the purchase of more expensive, high-quality headphones by using them as part of a home entertainment (audio/video) system. ====================================== Also essential is a solderless breadboard, sometimes called a prototyping board, or protoboard. This device allows you to quickly join electronic components to one another without having to solder component terminals and wires together. Solderless breadboard
====================================== When working with wire, you need a tool to strip the plastic insulation off the ends so that bare copper metal is exposed. This tool is called a wire stripper, and it is a special form of plier with several knife-edged holes in the jaw area sized just right for cutting through the plastic insulation and not the copper, for a multitude of wire sizes, or gauges. Shown here are two different sizes of wire stripping pliers: Wire stripping pliers
====================================== In order to make quick, temporary connections between some electronic components, you need jumper wires with small alligator-jaw clips at each end. These may be purchased complete, or assembled from clips and wires. Jumper wires (as sold by Radio Shack)
The home-made jumper wires with large, uninsulated (bare metal) alligator clips are okay
to use so long as care is taken to avoid any unintentional contact between the bare clips and any other wires or components. For use in crowded breadboard circuits, jumper wires with insulated (rubber-covered) clips like the jumper shown from Radio Shack are much preferred. ====================================== Needle-nose pliers are designed to grasp small objects, and are especially useful for pushing wires into stubborn breadboard holes. Needle-nose pliers
====================================== No tool set would be complete without screwdrivers, and I recommend a complementary pair (3/16 inch slotted and #2 Phillips) as the starting point for your collection. You may later nd it useful to invest in a set of jewelers screwdrivers for work with very small screws and screw-head adjustments. Screwdrivers
====================================== For projects involving printed-circuit board assembly or repair, a small soldering iron and a spool of rosin-core solder are essential tools. I recommend a 25 watt soldering iron, no larger for printed circuit board work, and the thinnest solder you can nd. Do not use acid-core solder! Acid-core solder is intended for the soldering of copper tubes (plumbing), where a small amount of acid helps to clean the copper of surface impurities and provide a stronger bond. If used for electrical work, the residual acid will cause wires to corrode. Also, you should avoid
solder containing the metal lead, opting instead for silver-alloy solder. If you do not already wear glasses, a pair of safety glasses is highly recommended while soldering, to prevent bits of molten solder from accidently landing in your eye should a wire release from the joint during the soldering process and ing bits of solder toward you. Soldering iron and solder (rosin core)
====================================== Projects requiring the joining of large wires by soldering will necessitate a more powerful heat source than a 25 watt soldering iron. A soldering gun is a practical option. Soldering gun
====================================== Knives, like screwdrivers, are essential tools for all kinds of work. For safetys sake, I recommend a utility knife with retracting blade. These knives are also advantageous to have for their ability to accept replacement blades. Utility knife
====================================== Pliers other than the needle-nose type are useful for the assembly and disassembly of electronic device chassis. Two types I recommend are slip-joint and adjustable-joint (Channellock). Slip-joint pliers
Adjustable-joint pliers
Drilling may be required for the assembly of large projects. Although power drills work well, I have found that a simple hand-crank drill does a remarkable job drilling through plastic, wood, and most metals. It is certainly safer and quieter than a power drill, and costs quite a bit less. Hand drill
As the wear on my drill indicates, it is an often-used tool around my home! ====================================== Some experiments will require a source of audio-frequency voltage signals. Normally, this type of signal is generated in an electronics laboratory by a device called a signal generator or function generator. While building such a device is not impossible (nor difcult!), it often requires the use of an oscilloscope to ne-tune, and oscilloscopes are usually outside the budgetary range of the home experimenter. A relatively inexpensive alternative to a commercial signal generator is an electronic keyboard of the musical type. You need not be a musician to operate one for the purposes of generating an audio signal (just press any key on the board!), and they may be obtained quite readily at second-hand stores for substantially less than new price. The electronic signal generated by the keyboard is conducted to your circuit via a headphone cable plugged into the headphones jack. More details regarding the use of a Musical Keyboard as a Signal Generator may be found in the experiment of that name in chapter 4 (AC).
Wire used in solderless breadboards must be 22-gauge, solid copper. Spools of this wire are available from electronic supply stores and some hardware stores, in different insulation colors. Insulation color has no bearing on the wires performance, but different colors are sometimes useful for color-coding wire functions in a complex circuit. Spool of 22-gauge, solid copper wire
Note how the last 1/4 inch or so of the copper wire protruding from the spool has been stripped of its plastic insulation. ====================================== An alternative to solderless breadboard circuit construction is wire-wrap, where 30-gauge (very thin!) solid copper wire is tightly wrapped around the terminals of components inserted through the holes of a berglass board. No soldering is required, and the connections made are at least as durable as soldered connections, perhaps more. Wire-wrapping requires a spool of this very thin wire, and a special wrapping tool, the simplest kind resembling a small screwdriver. Wire-wrap wire and wrapping tool
====================================== Large wire (14 gauge and bigger) may be needed for building circuits that carry signicant levels of current. Though electrical wire of practically any gauge may be purchased on spools, I have found a very inexpensive source of stranded (exible), copper wire, available at any hardware store: cheap extension cords. Typically comprised of three wires colored white, black, and green, extension cords are often sold at prices less than the retail cost of the constituent wire alone. This is especially true if the cord is purchased on sale! Also, an extension cord provides you with a pair of 120 volt connectors: male (plug) and female (receptacle) that may be used for projects powered by 120 volts. Extension cord, in package
To extract the wires, carefully cut the outer layer of plastic insulation away using a utility knife. With practice, you may nd you can peel away the outer insulation by making a short cut in it at one end of the cable, then grasping the wires with one hand and the insulation with the other and pulling them apart. This is, of course, much preferable to slicing the entire length of the insulation with a knife, both for safetys sake and for the sake of avoiding cuts in the individual wires insulation. ====================================== During the course of building many circuits, you will accumulate a large number of small components. One technique for keeping these components organized is to keep them in a plastic organizer box like the type used for shing tackle. Component box
In this view of one of my component boxes, you can see plenty of 1/8 watt resistors, transistors, diodes, and even a few 8-pin integrated circuits (chips). Labels for each compartment were made with a permanent ink marker.
Contributors to this chapter are listed in chronological order of their contributions, from most recent to rst. See Appendix 2 (Contributor List) for dates and contact information.
Michael Warner (April 9, 2002): Suggestions for a section describing home laboratory setup.
Chapter 2
Voltmeter usage
PARTS AND MATERIALS Multimeter, digital or analog Assorted batteries One light-emitting diode (Radio Shack catalog # 276-026 or equivalent) Small hobby motor, permanent-magnet type (Radio Shack catalog # 273-223 or equivalent) 15
A multimeter is an electrical instrument capable of measuring voltage, current, and resistance. Digital multimeters have numerical displays, like digital clocks, for indicating the quantity of voltage, current, or resistance. Analog multimeters indicate these quantities by means of a moving pointer over a printed scale. Analog multimeters tend to be less expensive than digital multimeters, and more benecial as learning tools for the rst-time student of electricity. I strongly recommend purchasing an analog multimeter before purchasing a digital multimeter, but to eventually have both in your tool kit for these experiments.
CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 1, chapter 1: Basic Concepts of Electricity Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 1, chapter 8: DC Metering Circuits
Digital multimeter V VOFF
Analog multimeter
+ Test leads
Test leads
Test probes
In all the experiments in this book, you will be using some sort of test equipment to measure aspects of electricity you cannot directly see, feel, hear, taste, or smell. Electricity at least in small, safe quantities is insensible by our human bodies. Your most fundamental eyes in the world of electricity and electronics will be a device called a multimeter. Multimeters indicate the presence of, and measure the quantity of, electrical properties such as voltage, current, and resistance. In this experiment, you will familiarize yourself with the measurement of voltage. Voltage is the measure of electrical push ready to motivate electrons to move through a conductor. In scientic terms, it is the specic energy per unit charge, mathematically dened as joules per coulomb. It is analogous to pressure in a uid system: the force that moves uid through a pipe, and is measured in the unit of the Volt (V). Your multimeter should come with some basic instructions. Read them well! If your multimeter is digital, it will require a small battery to operate. If it is analog, it does not need a battery to measure voltage. Some digital multimeters are autoranging. An autoranging meter has only a few selector switch (dial) positions. Manual-ranging meters have several different selector positions for each basic quantity: several for voltage, several for current, and several for resistance. Autoranging is usually found on only the more expensive digital meters, and is to manual ranging as an automatic transmission is to a manual transmission in a car. An autoranging meter shifts gears automatically to nd the best measurement range to display the particular quantity being measured. Set your multimeters selector switch to the highest-value DC volt position available. Autoranging multimeters may only have a single position for DC voltage, in which case you need to set the switch to that one position. Touch the red test probe to the positive (+) side of a battery, and the black test probe to the negative (-) side of the same battery. The meter should now provide you with some sort of indication. Reverse the test probe connections to the battery if the meters indication is negative (on an analog meter, a negative value is indicated by the pointer deecting left instead of right). If your meter is a manual-range type, and the selector switch has been set to a high-range position, the indication will be small. Move the selector switch to the next lower DC voltage range setting and reconnect to the battery. The indication should be stronger now, as indicated by a greater deection of the analog meter pointer (needle), or more active digits on the digital meter display. For the best results, move the selector switch to the lowest-range setting that does not over-range the meter. An over-ranged analog meter is said to be pegged, as the needle will be forced all the way to the right-hand side of the scale, past the full-range scale value. An over-ranged digital meter sometimes displays the letters OL, or a series of dashed lines. This indication is manufacturer-specic. What happens if you only touch one meter test probe to one end of a battery? How does the meter have to connect to the battery in order to provide an indication? What does this tell us about voltmeter use and the nature of voltage? Is there such a thing as voltage at a single point? Be sure to measure more than one size of battery, and learn how to select the best voltage range on the multimeter to give you maximum indication without over-ranging. Now switch your multimeter to the lowest DC voltage range available, and touch the meters test probes to the terminals (wire leads) of the light-emitting diode (LED). An LED is designed to produce light when powered by a small amount of electricity, but LEDs also happen to generate DC voltage when exposed to light, somewhat like a solar cell. Point the LED toward
a bright source of light with your multimeter connected to it, and note the meters indication:Light source
Batteries develop electrical voltage through chemical reactions. When a battery dies, it has exhausted its original store of chemical fuel. The LED, however, does not rely on an internal fuel to generate voltage; rather, it converts optical energy into electrical energy. So long as there is light to illuminate the LED, it will produce voltage. Another source of voltage through energy conversion a generator. The small electric motor specied in the Parts and Materials list functions as an electrical generator if its shaft is turned by a mechanical force. Connect your voltmeter (your multimeter, set to the volt function) to the motors terminals just as you connected it to the LEDs terminals, and spin the shaft with your ngers. The meter should indicate voltage by means of needle deection (analog) or numerical readout (digital). If you nd it difcult to maintain both meter test probes in connection with the motors terminals while simultaneously spinning the shaft with your ngers, you may use alligator clip jumper wires like this:
Jumper wire
Alligator clip +
Determine the relationship between voltage and generator shaft speed? Reverse the generators direction of rotation and note the change in meter indication. When you reverse shaft rotation, you change the polarity of the voltage created by the generator. The voltmeter indicates polarity by direction of needle direction (analog) or sign of numerical indication (digital). When the red test lead is positive (+) and the black test lead negative (-), the meter will register voltage in the normal direction. If the applied voltage is of the reverse polarity (negative on red and positive on black), the meter will indicate backwards.
Ohmmeter usage
PARTS AND MATERIALS Multimeter, digital or analog Assorted resistors (Radio Shack catalog # 271-312 is a 500-piece assortment) Rectifying diode (1N4001 or equivalent; Radio Shack catalog # 276-1101) Cadmium Sulphide photocell (Radio Shack catalog # 276-1657) Breadboard (Radio Shack catalog # 276-174 or equivalent) Jumper wires Paper Pencil Glass of water Table salt This experiment describes how to measure the electrical resistance of several objects. You need not possess all items listed above in order to effectively learn about resistance. Conversely, you need not limit your experiments to these items. However, be sure to never measure the resistance of any electrically live object or circuit. In other words, do not attempt to measure the resistance of a battery or any other source of substantial voltage using a multimeter set to the resistance (ohms) function. Failing to heed this warning will likely result in meter damage and even personal injury. CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 1, chapter 1: Basic Concepts of Electricity Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 1, chapter 8: DC Metering Circuits LEARNING OBJECTIVES Determination and comprehension of electrical continuity Determination and comprehension of electrically common points How to measure resistance Characteristics of resistance: existing between two points Selection of proper meter range Relative conductivity of various components and materials
Incandescent lamp
Diode Photocell
INSTRUCTIONS Resistance is the measure of electrical friction as electrons move through a conductor. It is measured in the unit of the Ohm, that unit symbolized by the capital Greek letter omega (). Set your multimeter to the highest resistance range available. The resistance function is usually denoted by the unit symbol for resistance: the Greek letter omega (), or sometimes by the word ohms. Touch the two test probes of your meter together. When you do, the meter should register 0 ohms of resistance. If you are using an analog meter, you will notice the needle deect full-scale when the probes are touched together, and return to its resting position when the probes are pulled apart. The resistance scale on an analog multimeter is reverse-printed from the other scales: zero resistance in indicated at the far right-hand side of the scale, and innite resistance is indicated at the far left-hand side. There should also be a small adjustment knob or wheel on the analog multimeter to calibrate it for zero ohms of resistance. Touch the test probes together and move this adjustment until the needle exactly points to zero at the right-hand end of the scale. Although your multimeter is capable of providing quantitative values of measured resistance, it is also useful for qualitative tests of continuity: whether or not there is a continuous electrical connection from one point to another. You can, for instance, test the continuity of a piece of wire by connecting the meter probes to opposite ends of the wire and checking to see the the needle moves full-scale. What would we say about a piece of wire if the ohmmeter needle didnt move at all when the probes were connected to opposite ends? Digital multimeters set to the resistance mode indicate non-continuity by displaying some non-numerical indication on the display. Some models say OL (Open-Loop), while others display dashed lines. Use your meter to determine continuity between the holes on a breadboard: a device used for temporary construction of circuits, where component terminals are inserted into holes on a plastic grid, metal spring clips underneath each hole connecting certain holes to others. Use small pieces of 22-gauge solid copper wire, inserted into the holes of the breadboard, to connect the meter to these spring clips so that you can test for continuity:
Analog meter
22-gauge wire
No continuity
BreadboardAn important concept in electricity, closely related to electrical continuity, is that of points being electrically common to each other. Electrically common points are points of contact on a device or in a circuit that have negligible (extremely small) resistance between them. We could say, then, that points within a breadboard column (vertical in the illustrations) are electrically common to each other, because there is electrical continuity between them. Conversely, breadboard points within a row (horizontal in the illustrations) are not electrically common, because there is no continuity between them. Continuity describes what is between points of contact, while commonality describes how the points themselves relate to each other. Like continuity, commonality is a qualitative assessment, based on a relative comparison of resistance between other points in a circuit. It is an important concept to grasp, because there are certain facts regarding voltage in relation to electrically common points that are valuable in circuit analysis and troubleshooting, the rst one being that there will never be substantial voltage dropped between points that are electrically common to each other. Select a 10,000 ohm (10 k) resistor from your parts assortment. This resistance value is indicated by a series of color bands: Brown, Black, Orange, and then another color representing the precision of the resistor, Gold (+/- 5%) or Silver (+/- 10%). Some resistors have no color for precision, which marks them as +/- 20%. Other resistors use ve color bands to denote their value and precision, in which case the colors for a 10 k resistor will be Brown, Black, Black,
Red, and a fth color for precision. Connect the meters test probes across the resistor as such, and note its indication on the resistance scale:
If the needle points very close to zero, you need to select a lower resistance range on the meter, just as you needed to select an appropriate voltage range when reading the voltage of a battery. If you are using a digital multimeter, you should see a numerical gure close to 10 shown on the display, with a small k symbol on the right-hand side denoting the metric prex for kilo (thousand). Some digital meters are manually-ranged, and require appropriate range selection just as the analog meter. If yours is like this, experiment with different range switch positions and see which one gives you the best indication. Try reversing the test probe connections on the resistor. Does this change the meters indication at all? What does this tell us about the resistance of a resistor? What happens when you only touch one probe to the resistor? What does this tell us about the nature of resistance, and how it is measured? How does this compare with voltage measurement, and what happened when we tried to measure battery voltage by touching only one probe to the battery? When you touch the meter probes to the resistor terminals, try not to touch both probe tips to your ngers. If you do, you will be measuring the parallel combination of the resistor and your own body, which will tend to make the meter indication lower than it should be! When measuring a 10 k resistor, this error will be minimal, but it may be more severe when measuring other values of resistor. You may safely measure the resistance of your own body by holding one probe tip with the ngers of one hand, and the other probe tip with the ngers of the other hand. Note: be very careful with the probes, as they are often sharpened to a needle-point. Hold the probe tips along their length, not at the very points! You may need to adjust the meter range again after measuring the 10 k resistor, as your body resistance tends to be greater than 10,000
ohms hand-to-hand. Try wetting your ngers with water and re-measuring resistance with the meter. What impact does this have on the indication? Try wetting your ngers with saltwater prepared using the glass of water and table salt, and re-measuring resistance. What impact does this have on your bodys resistance as measured by the meter? Resistance is the measure of friction to electron ow through an object. The less resistance there is between two points, the harder it is for electrons to move (ow) between those two points. Given that electric shock is caused by a large ow of electrons through a persons body, and increased body resistance acts as a safeguard by making it more difcult for electrons to ow through us, what can we ascertain about electrical safety from the resistance readings obtained with wet ngers? Does water increase or decrease shock hazard to people? Measure the resistance of a rectifying diode with an analog meter. Try reversing the test probe connections to the diode and re-measure resistance. What strikes you as being remarkable about the diode, especially in contrast to the resistor? Take a piece of paper and draw a very heavy black mark on it with a pencil (not a pen!). Measure resistance on the black strip with your meter, placing the probe tips at each end of the mark like this:
Move the probe tips closer together on the black mark and note the change in resistance value. Does it increase or decrease with decreased probe spacing? If the results are inconsistent, you need to redraw the mark with more and heavier pencil strokes, so that it is consistent
in its density. What does this teach you about resistance versus length of a conductive material? Connect your meter to the terminals of a cadmium-sulphide (CdS) photocell and measure the change in resistance created by differences in light exposure. Just as with the lightemitting diode (LED) of the voltmeter experiment, you may want to use alligator-clip jumper wires to make connection with the component, leaving your hands free to hold the photocell to a light source and/or change meter ranges:Light source
Experiment with measuring the resistance of several different types of materials, just be sure not to try measure anything that produces substantial voltage, like a battery. Suggestions for materials to measure are: fabric, plastic, wood, metal, clean water, dirty water, salt water, glass, diamond (on a diamond ring or other piece of jewelry), paper, rubber, and oil.
PARTS AND MATERIALS 6-volt battery 6-volt incandescent lamp Jumper wires Breadboard Terminal strip From this experiment on, a multimeter is assumed to be necessary and will not be included in the required list of parts and materials. In all subsequent illustrations, a digital multimeter will be shown instead of an analog meter unless there is some particular reason to use an analog meter. You are encouraged to use both types of meters to gain familiarity with the operation of each in these experiments. CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 1, chapter 1: Basic Concepts of Electricity LEARNING OBJECTIVES Essential conguration needed to make a circuit Normal voltage drops in an operating circuit Importance of continuity to a circuit Working denitions of open and short circuits Breadboard usage Terminal strip usage
+ Battery
INSTRUCTIONS This is the simplest complete circuit in this collection of experiments: a battery and an incandescent lamp. Connect the lamp to the battery as shown in the illustration, and the lamp should light, assuming the battery and lamp are both in good condition and they are matched to one another in terms of voltage. If there is a break (discontinuity) anywhere in the circuit, the lamp will fail to light. It does not matter where such a break occurs! Many students assume that because electrons leave the negative (-) side of the battery and continue through the circuit to the positive (+) side, that the wire connecting the negative terminal of the battery to the lamp is more important to circuit operation than the other wire providing a return path for electrons back to the battery. This is not true!
No light! Lamp
break in circuit
Using your multimeter set to the appropriate DC volt range, measure voltage across the battery, across the lamp, and across each jumper wire. Familiarize yourself with the normal voltages in a functioning circuit.
Now, break the circuit at one point and re-measure voltage between the same sets of points, additionally measuring voltage across the break like this:
What voltages measure the same as before? What voltages are different since introducing the break? How much voltage is manifest, or dropped across the break? What is the polarity of the voltage drop across the break, as indicated by the meter?
Re-connect the jumper wire to the lamp, and break the circuit in another place. Measure all voltage drops again, familiarizing yourself with the voltages of an open circuit.
Construct the same circuit on a breadboard, taking care to place the lamp and wires into the breadboard in such a way that continuity will be maintained. The example shown here is only that: an example, not the only way to build a circuit on a breadboard:
Experiment with different congurations on the breadboard, plugging the lamp into different holes. If you encounter a situation where the lamp refuses to light up and the connecting wires are getting warm, you probably have a situation known as a short circuit, where a lowerresistance path than the lamp bypasses current around the lamp, preventing enough voltage from being dropped across the lamp to light it up. Here is an example of a short circuit made on a breadboard:
No light!
"shorting" wire
BreadboardHere is an example of an accidental short circuit of the type typically made by students unfamiliar with breadboard usage:
Here there is no shorting wire present on the breadboard, yet there is a short circuit, and the lamp refuses to light. Based on your understanding of breadboard hole connections, can you determine where the short is in this circuit? Short circuits are generally to be avoided, as they result in very high rates of electron ow, causing wires to heat up and battery power sources to deplete. If the power source is substantial enough, a short circuit may cause heat of explosive proportions to manifest, causing equipment damage and hazard to nearby personnel. This is what happens when a tree limb shorts across wires on a power line: the limb being composed of wet wood acts as a low-resistance path to electric current, resulting in heat and sparks. You may also build the battery/lamp circuit on a terminal strip: a length of insulating material with metal bars and screws to attach wires and component terminals to. Here is an example of how this circuit might be constructed on a terminal strip:
Terminal strip
Ammeter usage
PARTS AND MATERIALS 6-volt battery 6-volt incandescent lamp Basic circuit construction components such as breadboard, terminal strip, and jumper wires are also assumed to be available from now on, leaving only components and materials unique to the project listed under Parts and Materials.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES How to measure current with a multimeter How to check a multimeters internal fuse Selection of proper meter range
INSTRUCTIONS Current is the measure of the rate of electron ow in a circuit. It is measured in the unit of the Ampere, simply called Amp, (A). The most common way to measure current in a circuit is to break the circuit open and insert an ammeter in series (in-line) with the circuit so that all electrons owing through the circuit also have to go through the meter. Because measuring current in this manner requires the meter be made part of the circuit, it is a more difcult type of measurement to make than either voltage or resistance. Some digital meters, like the unit shown in the illustration, have a separate jack to insert the red test lead plug when measuring current. Other meters, like most inexpensive analog meters, use the same jacks for measuring voltage, resistance, and current. Consult your owners manual on the particular model of meter you own for details on measuring current. When an ammeter is placed in series with a circuit, it ideally drops no voltage as current goes through it. In other words, it acts very much like a piece of wire, with very little resistance from one test probe to the other. Consequently, an ammeter will act as a short circuit if placed in parallel (across the terminals of) a substantial source of voltage. If this is done, a surge in current will result, potentially damaging the meter:
Ammeters are generally protected from excessive current by means of a small fuse located inside the meter housing. If the ammeter is accidently connected across a substantial voltage source, the resultant surge in current will blow the fuse and render the meter incapable of measuring current until the fuse is replaced. Be very careful to avoid this scenario!
You may test the condition of a multimeters fuse by switching it to the resistance mode and measuring continuity through the test leads (and through the fuse). On a meter where the same test lead jacks are used for both resistance and current measurement, simply leave the test lead plugs where they are and touch the two probes together. On a meter where different jacks are used, this is how you insert the test lead plugs to check the fuse:
Low resistance indication = good fuse High resistance indication = "blown" fuse V VOFF
BreadboardStudents often get confused when connecting an ammeter to a breadboard circuit. How can the meter be connected so as to intercept all the circuits current and not create a short circuit? One easy method that guarantees success is this:
Identify what wire or component terminal you wish to measure current through.
Pull that wire or terminal out of the breadboard hole. Leave it hanging in mid-air.
Insert a spare piece of wire into the hole you just pulled the other wire or terminal out of. Leave the other end of this wire hanging in mid-air.
Connect the ammeter between the two unconnected wire ends (the two that were hanging in mid-air). You are now assured of measuring current through the wire or terminal initially identied.
spare wire
Again, measure current through different wires in this circuit, following the same connection procedure outlined above. What do you notice about these current measurements? The results in the breadboard circuit should be the same as the results in the free-form (no breadboard) circuit.
Building the same circuit on a terminal strip should also yield similar results:
The current gure of 24.70 milliamps (24.70 mA) shown in the illustrations is an arbitrary quantity, reasonable for a small incandescent lamp. If the current for your circuit is a different value, that is okay, so long as the lamp is functioning when the meter is connected. If the lamp refuses to light when the meter is connected to the circuit, and the meter registers a much greater reading, you probably have a short-circuit condition through the meter. If your lamp refuses to light when the meter is connected in the circuit, and the meter registers zero current, youve probably blown the fuse inside the meter. Check the condition of your meters fuse as described previously in this section and replace the fuse if necessary.
Ohms Law
PARTS AND MATERIALS Calculator (or pencil and paper for doing arithmetic) 6-volt battery Assortment of resistors between 1 K and 100 k in value Im purposely restricting the resistance values between 1 k and 100 k for the sake of obtaining accurate voltage and current readings with your meter. With very low resistance values, the internal resistance of the ammeter has a signicant impact on measurement accuracy. Very high resistance values can cause problems for voltage measurement, the internal resistance of the voltmeter substantially changing circuit resistance when it is connected in parallel with a high-value resistor. At the recommended resistance values, there will still be a small amount of measurement error due to the impact of the meter, but not enough to cause serious disagreement with calculated values. CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 1, chapter 2: Ohms Law LEARNING OBJECTIVES Voltmeter use Ammeter use Ohmmeter use Use of Ohms Law
Ammeter V + VOFF
INSTRUCTIONS Select a resistor from the assortment, and measure its resistance with your multimeter set to the appropriate resistance range. Be sure not to hold the resistor terminals when measuring resistance, or else your hand-to-hand body resistance will inuence the measurement! Record this resistance value for future use. Build a one-battery, one-resistor circuit. A terminal strip is shown in the illustration, but any form of circuit construction is okay. Set your multimeter to the appropriate voltage range and measure voltage across the resistor as it is being powered by the battery. Record this voltage value along with the resistance value previously measured. Set your multimeter to the highest current range available. Break the circuit and connect the ammeter within that break, so it becomes a part of the circuit, in series with the battery and resistor. Select the best current range: whichever one gives the strongest meter indication
without over-ranging the meter. If your multimeter is autoranging, of course, you need not bother with setting ranges. Record this current value along with the resistance and voltage values previously recorded. Taking the measured gures for voltage and resistance, use the Ohms Law equation to calculate circuit current. Compare this calculated gure with the measured gure for circuit current:
Ohms Law (solving for current) I= Where, E = Voltage in volts I = Current in amps R = Resistance in ohmsTaking the measured gures for voltage and current, use the Ohms Law equation to calculate circuit resistance. Compare this calculated gure with the measured gure for circuit resistance:
Finally, taking the measured gures for resistance and current, use the Ohms Law equation to calculate circuit voltage. Compare this calculated gure with the measured gure for circuit voltage:
Nonlinear resistance
PARTS AND MATERIALS Calculator (or pencil and paper for doing arithmetic) 6-volt battery Low-voltage incandescent lamp (Radio Shack catalog # 272-1130 or equivalent)
CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 1, chapter 2: Ohms Law LEARNING OBJECTIVES Voltmeter use Ammeter use Ohmmeter use Use of Ohms Law Realization that some resistances are unstable! Scientic method
A Voltmeter A
INSTRUCTIONS Measure the resistance of the lamp with your multimeter. This resistance gure is due to the thin metal lament inside the lamp. It has substantially more resistance than a jumper wire, but less than any of the resistors from the last experiment. Record this resistance value for future use. Build a one-battery, one-lamp circuit. Set your multimeter to the appropriate voltage range and measure voltage across the lamp as it is energized (lit). Record this voltage value along with the resistance value previously measured. Set your multimeter to the highest current range available. Break the circuit and connect the ammeter within that break, so it becomes a part of the circuit, in series with the battery and lamp. Select the best current range: whichever one gives the strongest meter indication without over-ranging the meter. If your multimeter is autoranging, of course, you need not
bother with setting ranges. Record this current value along with the resistance and voltage values previously recorded. Taking the measured gures for voltage and resistance, use the Ohms Law equation to calculate circuit current. Compare this calculated gure with the measured gure for circuit current:
Ohms Law (solving for current) I= Where, E = Voltage in volts I = Current in amps R = Resistance in ohmsWhat you should nd is a marked difference between measured current and calculated current: the calculated gure is much greater. Why is this? To make things more interesting, try measuring the lamps resistance again, this time using a different model of meter. You will need to disconnect the lamp from the battery circuit in order to obtain a resistance reading, because voltages outside of the meter interfere with resistance measurement. This is a general rule that should be remembered: measure resistance only on an unpowered component! Using a different ohmmeter, the lamp will probably register as a different value of resistance. Usually, analog meters give higher lamp resistance readings than digital meters. This behavior is very different from that of the resistors in the last experiment. Why? What factor(s) might inuence the resistance of the lamp lament, and how might those factors be different between conditions of lit and unlit, or between resistance measurements taken with different types of meters? This problem is a good test case for the application of scientic method. Once youve thought of a possible reason for the lamps resistance changing between lit and unlit conditions, try to duplicate that cause by some other means. For example, if you think the lamp resistance might change as it is exposed to light (its own light, when lit), and that this accounts for the difference between the measured and calculated circuit currents, try exposing the lamp to an external source of light while measuring its resistance. If you measure substantial resistance change as a result of light exposure, then your hypothesis has some evidential support. If not, then your hypothesis has been falsied, and another cause must be responsible for the change in circuit current.
Power dissipation
PARTS AND MATERIALS Calculator (or pencil and paper for doing arithmetic) 6 volt battery Two 1/4 watt resistors: 10 and 330 . Small thermometer The resistor values need not be exact, but within ve percent of the gures specied (+/- 0.5 for the 10 resistor; +/- 16.5 for the 330 resistor). Color codes for 5% tolerance 10 and 330 resistors are as follows: Brown, Black, Black, Gold (10, +/- 5%), and Orange, Orange, Brown, Gold (330, +/- 5%). Do not use any battery size other than 6 volts for this experiment. The thermometer should be as small as possible, to facilitate rapid detection of heat produced by the resistor. I recommend a medical thermometer, the type used to take body temperature. CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 1, chapter 2: Ohms Law LEARNING OBJECTIVES Voltmeter use Ammeter use Ohmmeter use Use of Joules Law Importance of component power ratings Signicance of electrically common points
Thermometer -
INSTRUCTIONS Measure each resistors resistance with your ohmmeter, noting the exact values on a piece of paper for later reference. Connect the 330 resistor to the 6 volt battery using a pair of jumper wires as shown in the illustration. Connect the jumper wires to the resistor terminals before connecting the other ends to the battery. This will ensure your ngers are not touching the resistor when battery power is applied. You might be wondering why I advise no bodily contact with the powered resistor. This is because it will become hot when powered by the battery. You will use the thermometer to measure the temperature of each resistor when powered. With the 330 resistor connected to the battery, measure voltage with a voltmeter. In measuring voltage, there is more than one way to obtain a proper reading. Voltage may be measured directly across the battery, or directly across the resistor. Battery voltage is the same as resistor voltage in this circuit, since those two components share the same set of electrically common points: one side of the resistor is directly connected to one side of the battery, and the other side of the resistor is directly connected to the other side of the battery.
lly co mm on
All points of contact along the upper wire in the illustration (colored red) are electrically common to each other. All points of contact along the lower wire (colored black) are likewise electrically common to each other. Voltage measured between any point on the upper wire and any point on the lower wire should be the same. Voltage measured between any two common points, however, should be zero.
Using an ammeter, measure current through the circuit. Again, there is no one correct way to measure current, so long as the ammeter is placed within the ow-path of electrons through the resistor and not across a source of voltage. To do this, make a break in the circuit, and place the ammeter within that break: connect the two test probes to the two wire or terminal ends left open from the break. One viable option is shown in the following illustration:
Now that youve measured and recorded resistor resistance, circuit voltage, and circuit current, you are ready to calculate power dissipation. Whereas voltage is the measure of electrical push motivating electrons to move through a circuit, and current is the measure of electron ow rate, power is the measure of work-rate: how fast work is being done in the circuit. It takes a certain amount of work to push electrons through a resistance, and power is a description of how rapidly that work is taking place. In mathematical equations, power is symbolized by the letter P and measured in the unit of the Watt (W). Power may be calculated by any one of three equations collectively referred to as Joules Law given any two out of three quantities of voltage, current, and resistance:
Try calculating power in this circuit, using the three measured values of voltage, current, and resistance. Any way you calculate it, the power dissipation gure should be roughly the same. Assuming a battery with 6.000 volts and a resistor of exactly 330 , the power dissi-
pation will be 0.1090909 watts, or 109.0909 milli-watts (mW), to use a metric prex. Since the resistor has a power rating of 1/4 watt (0.25 watts, or 250 mW), it is more than capable of sustaining this level of power dissipation. Because the actual power level is almost half the rated power, the resistor should become noticeably warm but it should not overheat. Touch the thermometer end to the middle of the resistor and see how warm it gets. The power rating of any electrical component does not tell us how much power it will dissipate, but simply how much power it may dissipate without sustaining damage. If the actual amount of dissipated power exceeds a components power rating, that component will increase temperature to the point of damage. To illustrate, disconnect the 330 resistor and replace it with the 10 resistor. Again, avoid touching the resistor once the circuit is complete, as it will heat up rapidly. The safest way to do this is to disconnect one jumper wire from a battery terminal, then disconnect the 330 resistor from the two alligator clips, then connect the 10 resistor between the two clips, and nally reconnect the jumper wire back to the battery terminal. Caution: keep the 10 resistor away from any ammable materials when it is powered by the battery! You may not have enough time to take voltage and current measurements before the resistor begins to smoke. At the rst sign of distress, disconnect one of the jumper wires from a battery terminal to interrupt circuit current, and give the resistor a few moments to cool down. With power still disconnected, measure the resistors resistance with an ohmmeter and note any substantial deviation from its original value. If the resistor still measures within +/- 5% of its advertised value (between 9.5 and 10.5 ), re-connect the jumper wire and let it smoke a bit more. What trend do you notice with the resistors value as it is damaged more and more by overpowering? It is typical of resistors to fail with a greater-than-normal resistance when overheated. This is often a self-protective mode of failure, as an increased resistance results in less current and (generally) less power dissipation, cooling it down again. However, the resistors normal resistance value will not return if sufciently damaged. Performing some Joules Law calculations for resistor power again, we nd that a 10 resistor connected to a 6 volt battery dissipates about 3.6 watts of power, about 14.4 times its rated power dissipation. Little wonder it smokes so quickly after connection to the battery!
PARTS AND MATERIALS 6-volt battery Low-voltage incandescent lamp (Radio Shack catalog # 272-1130 or equivalent) Long lengths of wire, 22-gauge or larger Household light switch (these are readily available at any hardware store) Household light switches are a bargain for students of basic electricity. They are readily available, very inexpensive, and almost impossible to damage with battery power. Do not get dimmer switches, just the simple on-off toggle variety used for ordinary household wallmounted light controls.
INSTRUCTIONS Build a one-battery, one-switch, one-lamp circuit as shown in the schematic diagram and in the illustration. This circuit is most impressive when the wires are long, as it shows how the switch is able to control circuit current no matter how physically large the circuit may be. Measure voltage across the battery, across the switch (measure from one screw terminal to another with the voltmeter), and across the lamp with the switch in both positions. When the switch is turned off, it is said to be open, and the lamp will go out just the same as if a wire were pulled loose from a terminal. As before, any break in the circuit at any location causes the lamp to immediately de-energize (darken).
PARTS AND MATERIALS 6-volt battery Magnetic compass Small permanent magnet Spool of 28-gauge magnet wire Large bolt, nail, or steel rod Electrical tape Magnet wire is a term for thin-gauge copper wire with enamel insulation instead of rubber or plastic insulation. Its small size and very thin insulation allow for many turns to be wound in a compact coil. You will need enough magnet wire to wrap hundreds of turns around the bolt, nail, or other rod-shaped steel form. Be sure to select a bolt, nail, or rod that is magnetic. Stainless steel, for example, is nonmagnetic and will not function for the purpose of an electromagnet coil! The ideal material for this experiment is soft iron, but any commonly available steel will sufce. CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 1, chapter 14: Magnetism and Electromagnetism LEARNING OBJECTIVES Application of the left-hand rule Electromagnet construction
Compass N W E S
INSTRUCTIONS Wrap a single layer of electrical tape around the steel bar (or bolt, or mail) to protect the wire from abrasion. Proceed to wrap several hundred turns of wire around the steel bar, making the coil as even as possible. It is okay to overlap wire, and it is okay to wrap in the same style that a shing reel wraps line around the spool. The only rule you must follow is that all turns must be wrapped around the bar in the same direction (no reversing from clockwise to counter-clockwise!). I nd that a drill press works as a great tool for coil winding: clamp the rod in the drills chuck as if it were a drill bit, then turn the drill motor on at a slow speed and let it do the wrapping! This allows you to feed wire onto the rod in a very steady, even manner. After youve wrapped several hundred turns of wire around the rod, wrap a layer or two of electrical tape over the wire coil to secure the wire in place. Scrape the enamel insulation off the ends of the coil wires for connection to jumper leads, then connect the coil to a battery. When electric current goes through the coil, it will produce a strong magnetic eld: one pole at each end of the rod. This phenomenon is known as electromagnetism. The magnetic compass is used to identify the North and South poles of the electromagnet. With the electromagnet energized (connected to the battery), place a permanent magnet near one pole and note whether there is an attractive or repulsive force. Reverse the orientation of the permanent magnet and note the difference in force. Electromagnetism has many applications, including relays, electric motors, solenoids, doorbells, buzzers, computer printer mechanisms, and magnetic media write heads (tape recorders, disk drives). You might notice a signicant spark whenever the battery is disconnected from the electromagnet coil: much greater than the spark produced if the battery is simply short-circuited. This spark is the result of a high-voltage surge created whenever current is suddenly interrupted through the coil. The effect is known as inductive kickback and is capable of delivering a small but harmless electric shock! To avoid receiving this shock, do not place your body across the break in the circuit when de-energizing! Use one hand at a time when un-powering the coil and youll be perfectly safe. This phenomenon will be explored in greater detail in the next chapter (DC Circuits).
Electromagnetic induction
PARTS AND MATERIALS Electromagnet from previous experiment Permanent magnet See previous experiment for instructions on electromagnet construction. CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 1, chapter 14: Magnetism and Electromagnetism LEARNING OBJECTIVES Relationship between magnetic eld strength and induced voltage SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM
+ Voltmeter V ILLUSTRATION
Electromagnetic induction is the complementary phenomenon to electromagnetism. Instead of producing a magnetic eld from electricity, we produce electricity from a magnetic eld. There is one important difference, though: whereas electromagnetism produces a steady magnetic eld from a steady electric current, electromagnetic induction requires motion between the magnet and the coil to produce a voltage. Connect the multimeter to the coil, and set it to the most sensitive DC voltage range available. Move the magnet slowly to and from one end of the electromagnet, noting the polarity and magnitude of the induced voltage. Experiment with moving the magnet, and discover for yourself what factor(s) determine the amount of voltage induced. Try the other end of the coil and compare results. Try the other end of the permanent magnet and compare. If using an analog multimeter, be sure to use long jumper wires and locate the meter far away from the coil, as the magnetic eld from the permanent magnet may affect the meters operation and produce false readings. Digital meters are unaffected by magnetic elds.
Chapter 3
DC CIRCUITSContents3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17 3.18 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Series batteries . . . . . . . . . . . . . Parallel batteries . . . . . . . . . . . . Voltage divider . . . . . . . . . . . . . Current divider . . . . . . . . . . . . . Potentiometer as a voltage divider . Potentiometer as a rheostat . . . . . Precision potentiometer . . . . . . . Rheostat range limiting . . . . . . . . Thermoelectricity . . . . . . . . . . . Make your own multimeter . . . . . Sensitive voltage detector . . . . . . Potentiometric voltmeter . . . . . . . 4-wire resistance measurement . . . A very simple computer . . . . . . . . Potato battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Capacitor charging and discharging Rate-of-change indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 60 63 67 78 87 93 99 102 109 112 117 122 127 131 136 138 142
DC stands for Direct Current, which can refer to either voltage or current in a constant polarity or direction, respectively. These experiments are designed to introduce you to several important concepts of electricity related to DC circuits.
Series batteries
Actually, any size batteries will sufce for this experiment, but it is recommended to have at least two different voltages available to make it more interesting.
CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 1, chapter 5: Series and Parallel Circuits Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 1, chapter 11: Batteries and Power Systems
+ + + V Voltmeter -
Connecting components in series means to connect them in-line with each other, so that there is but a single path for electrons to ow through them all. If you connect batteries so that the positive of one connects to the negative of the other, you will nd that their respective voltages add. Measure the voltage across each battery individually as they are connected, then measure the total voltage across them both, like this:
Try connecting batteries of different sizes in series with each other, for instance a 6-volt battery with a 9-volt battery. What is the total voltage in this case? Try reversing the terminal connections of just one of these batteries, so that they are opposing each other like this:
+ Seriesopposing +How does the total voltage compare in this situation to the previous one with both batteries aiding? Note the polarity of the total voltage as indicated by the voltmeter indication and test probe orientation. Remember, if the meters digital indication is a positive number, the red probe is positive (+) and the black probe negative (-); if the indication is a negative number, the polarity is backward (red=negative, black=positive). Analog meters simply will not read properly if reverse-connected, because the needle tries to move the wrong direction (left instead of right). Can you predict what the overall voltage polarity will be, knowing the polarities of the individual batteries and their respective strengths?
+ V Voltmeter -
Parallel batteries
PARTS AND MATERIALS Four 6-volt batteries 12-volt light bulb, 25 or 50 watt Lamp socket High-wattage 12-volt lamps may be purchased from recreational vehicle (RV) and boating supply stores. Common sizes are 25 watt and 50 watt. This lamp will be used as a heavy load for your batteries (heavy load = one that draws substantial current). A regular household (120 volt) lamp socket will work just ne for these low-voltage RV lamps. CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 1, chapter 5: Series and Parallel Circuits Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 1, chapter 11: Batteries and Power Systems LEARNING OBJECTIVES Voltage source regulation Boosting current capacity through parallel connections
+ -
Begin this experiment by connecting one 6-volt battery to the lamp. The lamp, designed to operate on 12 volts, should glow dimly when powered by the 6-volt battery. Use your voltmeter to read voltage across the lamp like this:
The voltmeter should register a voltage lower than the usual voltage of the battery. If you use your voltmeter to read the voltage directly at the battery terminals, you will measure a low voltage there as well. Why is this? The large current drawn by the high-power lamp causes the voltage at the battery terminals to sag or droop, due to voltage dropped across resistance internal to the battery.
We may overcome this problem by connecting batteries in parallel with each other, so that each battery only has to supply a fraction of the total current demanded by the lamp. Parallel connections involve making all the positive (+) battery terminals electrically common to each other by connection through jumper wires, and all negative (-) terminals common to each other as well. Add one battery at a time in parallel, noting the lamp voltage with the addition of each new, parallel-connected battery:
. . . additional batteries . . . + + + + -
There should also be a noticeable difference in light intensity as the voltage sag is improved. Try measuring the current of one battery and comparing it to the total current (light bulb current). Shown here is the easiest way to measure single-battery current:
By breaking the circuit for just one battery, and inserting our ammeter within that break, we intercept the current of that one battery and are therefore able to measure it. Measuring total current involves a similar procedure: make a break somewhere in the path that total current must take, then insert the ammeter within than break:
Note the difference in current between the single-battery and total measurements. To obtain maximum brightness from the light bulb, a series-parallel connection is required. Two 6-volt batteries connected series-aiding will provide 12 volts. Connecting two of these series-connected battery pairs in parallel improves their current-sourcing ability for minimum voltage sag:
Voltage divider
PARTS AND MATERIALS Calculator (or pencil and paper for doing arithmetic) 6-volt battery Assortment of resistors between 1 K and 100 k in value Im purposely restricting the resistance values between 1 k and 100 k for the sake of obtaining accurate voltage and current readings with your meter. With very low resistance values, the internal resistance of the ammeter has a signicant impact on measurement accuracy. Very high resistance values may cause problems for voltage measurement, the internal resistance of the voltmeter substantially changing circuit resistance when it is connected in parallel with a high-value resistor. CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 1, chapter 6: Divider Circuits and Kirchhoff s Laws LEARNING OBJECTIVES Voltmeter use Ammeter use Ohmmeter use Use of Ohms Law Use of Kirchhoff s Voltage Law (KVL) Voltage divider design SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM
R1 + V Voltmeter -
"Free-form" construction
INSTRUCTIONS Shown here are three different methods of circuit construction: on a breadboard, on a terminal strip, and free-form. Try building the same circuit each way to familiarize yourself with the different construction techniques and their respective merits. The free-form method where all components are connected together with alligator- style jumper wires is the least professional, but appropriate for a simple experiment such as this. Breadboard construction is versatile and allows for high component density (many parts in a small space), but is quite temporary. Terminal strips offer a much more permanent form of construction at the cost of low component density. Select three resistors from your resistor assortment and measure the resistance of each one with an ohmmeter. Note these resistance values with pen and paper, for reference in your circuit calculations. Connect the three resistors in series, and to the 6-volt battery, as shown in the illustrations. Measure battery voltage with a voltmeter after the resistors have been connected to it, noting this voltage gure on paper as well. It is advisable to measure battery voltage while its powering the resistor circuit because this voltage may differ slightly from a no-load condition. We saw this effect exaggerated in the parallel battery experiment while powering a high-wattage lamp: battery voltage tends to sag or droop under load. Although this three-resistor circuit should not present a heavy enough load (not enough current drawn) to cause signicant voltage sag, measuring battery voltage under load is a good scientic practice because it provides more realistic data. Use Ohms Law (I=E/R) to calculate circuit current, then verify this calculated value by measuring current with an ammeter like this (terminal strip version of the circuit shown as an arbitrary choice in construction method):
If your resistor values are indeed between 1 k and 100 k, and the battery voltage approximately 6 volts, the current should be a very small value, in the milliamp (mA) or microamp (A) range. When you measure current with a digital meter, the meter may show the appropriate metric prex symbol (m or ) in some corner of the display. These metric prex telltales are easy to overlook when reading the display of a digital meter, so pay close attention! The measured value of current should agree closely with your Ohms Law calculation. Now, take that calculated value for current and multiply it by the respective resistances of each resistor to predict their voltage drops (E=IR). Switch you multimeter to the voltage mode and measure the voltage dropped across each resistor, verifying the accuracy of your predictions. Again, there should be close agreement between the calculated and measured voltage gures. Each resistor voltage drop will be some fraction or percentage of the total voltage, hence the name voltage divider given to this circuit. This fractional value is determined by the resistance of the particular resistor and the total resistance. If a resistor drops 50% of the total battery voltage in a voltage divider circuit, that proportion of 50% will remain the same as long as the resistor values are not altered. So, if the total voltage is 6 volts, the voltage across that resistor will be 50% of 6, or 3 volts. If the total voltage is 20 volts, that resistor will drop 10 volts, or 50% of 20 volts. The next part of this experiment is a validation of Kirchhoff s Voltage Law. For this, you need to identify each unique point in the circuit with a number. Points that are electrically common (directly connected to each other with insignicant resistance between) must bear the same number. An example using the numbers 0 through 3 is shown here in both illustrative
and schematic form. In the illustration, I show how points in the circuit may be labeled with small pieces of tape, numbers written on the tape:
0 3 + 3 R2 2 1 0 Terminal strip 3 R1 2 1 R3 0
Using a digital voltmeter (this is important!), measure voltage drops around the loop formed by the points 0-1-2-3-0. Write on paper each of these voltages, along with its respective sign as indicated by the meter. In other words, if the voltmeter registers a negative voltage such as -1.325 volts, you should write that gure as a negative number. Do not reverse the meter probe connections with the circuit to make the number read correctly. Mathematical sign is very signicant in this phase of the experiment! Here is a sequence of illustrations showing how to step around the circuit loop, starting and ending at point 0:
Using the voltmeter to step around the circuit in this manner yields three positive voltage gures and one negative:
0-3 (-)
These gures, algebraically added (algebraically = respecting the signs of the numbers), should equal zero. This is the fundamental principle of Kirchhoff s Voltage Law: that the algebraic sum of all voltage drops in a loop add to zero.
It is important to realize that the loop stepped around does not have to be the same path that current takes in the circuit, or even a legitimate current path at all. The loop in which we tally voltage drops can be any collection of points, so long as it begins and ends with the same point. For example, we may measure and add the voltages in the loop 1-2-3-1, and they will form a sum of zero as well:
3 3 -2 (+) 2 -1 (+)
Try stepping between any set of points, in any order, around your circuit and see for yourself that the algebraic sum always equals zero. This Law holds true no matter what the conguration of the circuit: series, parallel, series-parallel, or even an irreducible network. Kirchhoff s Voltage Law is a powerful concept, allowing us to predict the magnitude and polarity of voltages in a circuit by developing mathematical equations for analysis based on the truth of all voltages in a loop adding up to zero. This experiment is intended to give empirical evidence for and a deep understanding of Kirchhoff s Voltage Law as a general principle. COMPUTER SIMULATION Netlist (make a text le containing the following text, verbatim): Voltage divider v1 3 0 r1 3 2 5k r2 2 1 3k r3 1 0 2k .dc v1 6 6 1 * Voltages around 0-1-2-3-0 loop algebraically add to zero: .print dc v(1,0) v(2,1) v(3,2) v(0,3) * Voltages around 1-2-3-1 loop algebraically add to zero: .print dc v(2,1) v(3,2) v(1,3) .end This computer simulation is based on the point numbers shown in the previous diagrams for illustrating Kirchhoff s Voltage Law (points 0 through 3). Resistor values were chosen to provide 50%, 30%, and 20% proportions of total voltage across R1 , R2 , and R3 , respectively. Feel free to modify the voltage source value (in the .dc line, shown here as 6 volts), and/or the resistor values. When run, SPICE will print a line of text containing four voltage gures, then another line of text containing three voltage gures, along with lots of other text lines describing the
Current divider
PARTS AND MATERIALS Calculator (or pencil and paper for doing arithmetic) 6-volt battery Assortment of resistors between 1 K and 100 k in value
CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 1, chapter 6: Divider Circuits and Kirchhoff s Laws LEARNING OBJECTIVES Voltmeter use Ammeter use Ohmmeter use Use of Ohms Law Use of Kirchhoff s Current Law (KCL) Current divider design
R3 + A Ammeter -
Normally, it is considered improper to secure more than two wires under a single terminal strip screw. In this illustration, I show three wires joining at the top screw of the rightmost lug used on this strip. This is done for the ease of proving a concept (of current summing at a circuit node), and does not represent professional assembly technique.
The non-professional nature of the free-form construction method merits no further comment.
INSTRUCTIONS Once again, I show different methods of constructing the same circuit: breadboard, terminal strip, and free-form. Experiment with all these construction formats and become familiar with their respective advantages and disadvantages. Select three resistors from your resistor assortment and measure the resistance of each one with an ohmmeter. Note these resistance values with pen and paper, for reference in your circuit calculations. Connect the three resistors in parallel to and each other, and with the 6-volt battery, as shown in the illustrations. Measure battery voltage with a voltmeter after the resistors have been connected to it, noting this voltage gure on paper as well. It is advisable to measure battery voltage while its powering the resistor circuit because this voltage may differ slightly from a no-load condition. Measure voltage across each of the three resistors. What do you notice? In a series circuit, current is equal through all components at any given time. In a parallel circuit, voltage is the common variable between all components. Use Ohms Law (I=E/R) to calculate current through each resistor, then verify this calculated value by measuring current with a digital ammeter. Place the red probe of the ammeter at the point where the positive (+) ends of the resistors connect to each other and lift one resistor wire at a time, connecting the meters black probe to the lifted wire. In this manner, measure each resistor current, noting both the magnitude of the current and the polarity. In these illustrations, I show an ammeter used to measure the current through R1 :
Measure current for each of the three resistors, comparing with the current gures calculated previously. With the digital ammeter connected as shown, all three indications should be positive, not negative.
Now, measure total circuit current, keeping the ammeters red probe on the same point of the circuit, but disconnecting the wire leading to the positive (+) side of the battery and touching the black probe to it:
Note both the magnitude and the sign of the current as indicated by the ammeter. Add this gure (algebraically) to the three resistor currents. What do you notice about the result that is similar to the Kirchhoff s Voltage Law experiment? Kirchhoff s Current Law is to currents summing at a point (node) in a circuit, just as Kirchhoff s Voltage Law is to voltages adding in a series loop: in both cases, the algebraic sum is equal to zero. This Law is also very useful in the mathematical analysis of circuits. Along with Kirchhoff s Voltage Law, it allows us to generate equations describing several variables in a circuit, which may then be solved using a variety of mathematical techniques. Now consider the four current measurements as all positive numbers: the rst three representing the current through each resistor, and the fourth representing total circuit current as a positive sum of the three branch currents. Each resistor (branch) current is a fraction, or percentage, of the total current. This is why a parallel resistor circuit is often called a current divider. Disconnect the battery from the rest of the circuit, and measure resistance across the parallel resistors. You may read total resistance across any of the individual resistors terminals and obtain the same indication: it will be a value less than any of the individual resistor values. This is often surprising to new students of electricity, that you read the exact same (total) resistance gure when connecting an ohmmeter across any one of a set of parallel-connected resistors. It makes sense, though, if you consider the points in a parallel circuit in terms of electrical commonality. All parallel components are connected between two sets of electrically
common points. Since the meter cannot distinguish between points common to each other by way of direct connection, to read resistance across one resistor is to read the resistance of them all. The same is true for voltage, which is why battery voltage could be read across any one of the resistors as easily as it could be read across the battery terminals directly. If you divide the battery voltage (previously measured) by this total resistance gure, you should obtain a gure for total current (I=E/R) closely matching the measured gure. The ratio of resistor current to total current is the same as the ratio of total resistance to individual resistance. For example, if a 10 k resistor is part of a current divider circuit with a total resistance of 1 k, that resistor will conduct 1/10 of the total current, whatever value that current total happens to be. COMPUTER SIMULATION Schematic with SPICE node numbers:
2 Vitotal 1 V1 R1 Vir1
2 Vir3
Vir2 3 R2 4
Ammeters in SPICE simulations are actually zero-voltage sources inserted in the paths of electron ow. You will notice the voltage sources Vir1 , Vir2 , and Vir3 are set to 0 volts in the netlist. When electrons enter the negative side of one of these dummy batteries and out the positive, the batterys current indication will be a positive number. In other words, these 0-volt sources are to be regarded as ammeters with the red probe on the long-line side of the battery symbol and the black probe on the short-line side. Netlist (make a text le containing the following text, verbatim): Current divider v1 1 0 r1 3 0 2k r2 4 0 3k r3 5 0 5k vitotal 2 1 dc 0 vir1 2 3 dc 0 vir2 2 4 dc 0 vir3 2 5 dc 0 .dc v1 6 6 1 .print dc i(vitotal) i(vir1) i(vir2) i(vir3) .end
When run, SPICE will print a line of text containing four current gures, the rst current representing the total as a negative quantity, and the other three representing currents for resistors R1 , R2 , and R3 . When algebraically added, the one negative gure and the three positive gures will form a sum of zero, as described by Kirchhoff s Current Law.
PARTS AND MATERIALS Two 6-volt batteries Carbon pencil lead for a mechanical-style pencil Potentiometer, single turn, 5 k to 50 k, linear taper (Radio Shack catalog # 271-1714 through 271-1716) Potentiometer, multi turn, 1 k to 20 k, (Radio Shack catalog # 271-342, 271-343, 9008583, or 900-8587 through 900-8590) Potentiometers are variable voltage dividers with a shaft or slide control for setting the division ratio. They are manufactured in panel-mount as well as breadboard (printed-circuit board) mount versions. Any style of potentiometer will sufce for this experiment. If you salvage a potentiometer from an old radio or other audio device, you will likely be getting what is called an audio taper potentiometer. These potentiometers exhibit a logarithmic relationship between division ratio and shaft position. By contrast, a linear potentiometer exhibits a direct correlation between shaft position and voltage division ratio. I highly recommend a linear potentiometer for this experiment, and for most experiments in general. CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 1, chapter 6: Divider Circuits and Kirchhoff s Laws LEARNING OBJECTIVES Voltmeter use Ohmmeter use Voltage divider design and function How voltages add in series
Potentiometer + V ILLUSTRATION
Begin this experiment with the pencil lead circuit. Pencils use a rod made of a graphiteclay mixture, not lead (the metal), to make black marks on paper. Graphite, being a mediocre electrical conductor, acts as a resistor connected across the battery by the two alligator-clip jumper wires. Connect the voltmeter as shown and touch the red test probe to the graphite rod. Move the red probe along the length of the rod and notice the voltmeters indication change. What probe position gives the greatest voltage indication?
Essentially, the rod acts as a pair of resistors, the ratio between the two resistances established by the position of the red test probe along the rods length:
Pencil "lead"
equivalent to
Now, change the voltmeter connection to the circuit so as to measure voltage across the upper resistor of the pencil lead, like this:
Move the black test probe position along the length of the rod, noting the voltmeter indication. Which position gives the greatest voltage drop for the meter to measure? Does this differ from the previous arrangement? Why? Manufactured potentiometers enclose a resistive strip inside a metal or plastic housing, and provide some kind of mechanism for moving a wiper across the length of that resistive strip. Here is an illustration of a rotary potentiometers construction:
TerminalsIt should be noted that not all linear potentiometers have the same pin assignments. On some, the middle pin is the wiper. Set up a circuit using a manufactured potentiometer, not the home-made one made from a pencil lead. You may use any form of construction that is convenient. Measure battery voltage while powering the potentiometer, and make note of this voltage gure on paper. Measure voltage between the wiper and the potentiometer end connected to the negative (-) side of the battery. Adjust the potentiometer mechanism until the voltmeter
registers exactly 1/3 of total voltage. For a 6-volt battery, this will be approximately 2 volts. Now, connect two batteries in a series-aiding conguration, to provide approximately 12 volts across the potentiometer. Measure the total battery voltage, and then measure the voltage between the same two points on the potentiometer (wiper and negative side). Divide the potentiometers measured output voltage by the measured total voltage. The quotient should be 1/3, the same voltage division ratio as was set previously:
Potentiometer as a rheostat
PARTS AND MATERIALS 6 volt battery Potentiometer, single turn, 5 k, linear taper (Radio Shack catalog # 271-1714) Small hobby motor, permanent-magnet type (Radio Shack catalog # 273-223 or equivalent) For this experiment, you will need a relatively low-value potentiometer, certainly not more than 5 k. CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 1, chapter 2: Ohms Law LEARNING OBJECTIVES Rheostat use Wiring a potentiometer as a rheostat Simple motor speed control Use of voltmeter over ammeter to verify a continuous circuit
Motor Potentiometer
INSTRUCTIONS Potentiometers nd their most sophisticated application as voltage dividers, where shaft position determines a specic voltage division ratio. However, there are applications where we dont necessarily need a variable voltage divider, but merely a variable resistor: a two-terminal device. Technically, a variable resistor is known as a rheostat, but potentiometers can be made to function as rheostats quite easily. In its simplest conguration, a potentiometer may be used as a rheostat by simply using the wiper terminal and one of the other terminals, the third terminal left unconnected and unused:
Moving the potentiometer control in the direction that brings the wiper closest to the other used terminal results in a lower resistance. The direction of motion required to increase or decrease resistance may be changed by using a different set of terminals:
Be careful, though, that you dont use the two outer terminals, as this will result in no change in resistance as the potentiometer shaft is turned. In other words, it will no longer function as a variable resistance:
Build the circuit as shown in the schematic and illustration, using just two terminals on the potentiometer, and see how motor speed may be controlled by adjusting shaft position. Experiment with different terminal connections on the potentiometer, noting the changes in motor speed control. If your potentiometer has a high resistance (as measured between the two outer terminals), the motor might not move at all until the wiper is brought very close to the connected outer terminal. As you can see, motor speed may be made variable using a series-connected rheostat to change total circuit resistance and limit total current. This simple method of motor speed control, however, is inefcient, as it results in substantial amounts of power being dissipated (wasted) by the rheostat. A much more efcient means of motor control relies on fast pulsing of power to the motor, using a high-speed switching device such as a transistor. A similar method of power control is used in household light dimmer switches. Unfortunately, these techniques are much too sophisticated to explore at this point in the experiments. When a potentiometer is used as a rheostat, the unused terminal is often connected to the wiper terminal, like this:
At rst, this seems rather pointless, as it has no impact on resistance control. You may verify this fact for yourself by inserting another wire in your circuit and comparing motor behavior before and after the change:
add wire
If the potentiometer is in good working order, this additional wire makes no difference whatsoever. However, if the wiper ever loses contact with the resistive strip inside the potentiometer, this connection ensures the circuit does not completely open: that there will still be a resistive path for current through the motor. In some applications, this may be an important. Old potentiometers tend to suffer from intermittent losses of contact between the wiper and the resistive strip, and if a circuit cannot tolerate the complete loss of continuity (innite resistance) created by this condition, that extra wire provides a measure of protection by maintaining circuit continuity.
You may simulate such a wiper contact failure by disconnecting the potentiometers middle terminal from the terminal strip, measuring voltage across the motor to ensure there is still power getting to it, however small:
break connection
It would have been valid to measure circuit current instead of motor voltage to verify a completed circuit, but this is a safer method because it does not involve breaking the circuit to insert an ammeter in series. Whenever an ammeter is used, there is risk of causing a short circuit by connecting it across a substantial voltage source, possibly resulting in instrument damage or personal injury. Voltmeters lack this inherent safety risk, and so whenever a voltage measurement may be made instead of a current measurement to verify the same thing, it is the wiser choice.
Precision potentiometer
PARTS AND MATERIALS Two single-turn, linear-taper potentiometers, 5 k each (Radio Shack catalog # 271-1714) One single-turn, linear-taper potentiometer, 50 k (Radio Shack catalog # 271-1716) Plastic or metal mounting box Three banana jack style binding posts, or other terminal hardware, for connection to potentiometer circuit (Radio Shack catalog # 274-662 or equivalent) This is a project useful to those who want a precision potentiometer without spending a lot of money. Ordinarily, multi-turn potentiometers are used to obtain precise voltage division ratios, but a cheaper alternative exists using multiple, single-turn (sometimes called 3/4-turn) potentiometers connected together in a compound divider network. Because this is a useful project, I recommend building it in permanent form using some form of project enclosure. Suppliers such as Radio Shack offer nice project boxes, but boxes purchased at a general hardware store are much less expensive, if a bit ugly. The ultimate in low cost for a new box are the plastic boxes sold as light switch and receptacle boxes for household electrical wiring. Banana jacks allow for the temporary connection of test leads and jumper wires equipped with matching banana plug ends. Most multimeter test leads have this style of plug for insertion into the meter jacks. Banana plugs are so named because of their oblong appearance formed by spring steel strips, which maintain rm contact with the jack walls when inserted. Some banana jacks are called binding posts because they also allow plain wires to be rmly attached. Binding posts have screw-on sleeves that t over a metal post. The sleeve is used as a nut to secure a wire wrapped around the post, or inserted through a perpendicular hole drilled through the post. A brief inspection of any binding post will clarify this verbal description. CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 1, chapter 6: Divider Circuits and Kirchhoff s Laws LEARNING OBJECTIVES Soldering practice Potentiometer function and operation
R1 5 k R3 R2 5 k 50 k V -
R1 5 k 5 k R2
50 k
INSTRUCTIONS It is essential that the connecting wires be soldered to the potentiometer terminals, not twisted or taped. Since potentiometer action is dependent on resistance, the resistance of all wiring connections must be carefully controlled to a bare minimum. Soldering ensures a condition of low resistance between joined conductors, and also provides very good mechanical strength for the connections. When the circuit is assembled, connect a 6-volt battery to the outer two binding posts. Connect a voltmeter between the wiper post and the batterys negative (-) terminal. This voltmeter will measure the output of the circuit. The circuit works on the principle of compressed range: the voltage output range of this circuit available by adjusting potentiometer R3 is restricted between the limits set by potentiometers R1 and R2 . In other words, if R1 and R2 were set to output 5 volts and 3 volts,
respectively, from a 6-volt battery, the range of output voltages obtainable by adjusting R3 would be restricted from 3 to 5 volts for the full rotation of that potentiometer. If only a single potentiometer were used instead of this three-potentiometer circuit, full rotation would produce an output voltage from 0 volts to full battery voltage. The range compression afforded by this circuit allows for more precise voltage adjustment than would be normally obtainable using a single potentiometer. Operating this potentiometer network is more complex than using a single potentiometer. To begin, turn the R3 potentiometer fully clockwise, so that its wiper is in the full up position as referenced to the schematic diagram (electrically closest to R1 s wiper terminal). Adjust potentiometer R1 until the upper voltage limit is reached, as indicated by the voltmeter. Turn the R3 potentiometer fully counter-clockwise, so that its wiper is in the full down position as referenced to the schematic diagram (electrically closest to R2 s wiper terminal). Adjust potentiometer R2 until the lower voltage limit is reached, as indicated by the voltmeter. When either the R1 or the R2 potentiometer is adjusted, it interferes with the prior setting of the other. In other words, if R1 is initially adjusted to provide an upper voltage limit of 5.000 volts from a 6 volt battery, and then R2 is adjusted to provide some lower limit voltage different from what it was before, R1 will no longer be set to 5.000 volts. To obtain precise upper and lower voltage limits, turn R3 fully clockwise to read and adjust the voltage of R1 , then turn R3 fully counter-clockwise to read and adjust the voltage of R2 , repeating as necessary. Technically, this phenomenon of one adjustment affecting the other is known as interaction, and it is usually undesirable due to the extra effort required to set and re-set the adjustments. The reason that R1 and R2 were specied as 10 times less resistance than R3 is to minimize this effect. If all three potentiometers were of equal resistance value, the interaction between R1 and R2 would be more severe, though manageable with patience. Bear in mind that the upper and lower voltage limits need not be set precisely in order for this circuit to achieve its goal of increased precision. So long as R3 s adjustment range is compressed to some lesser value than full battery voltage, we will enjoy greater precision than a single potentiometer could provide. Once the upper and lower voltage limits have been set, potentiometer R3 may be adjusted to produce an output voltage anywhere between those limits.
PARTS AND MATERIALS Several 10 k resistors One 10 k potentiometer, linear taper (Radio Shack catalog # 271-1715)
CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 1, chapter 5: Series and Parallel Circuits Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 1, chapter 7: Series-Parallel Combination Circuits Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 1, chapter 8: DC Metering Circuits
This experiment explores the different resistance ranges obtainable from combining xedvalue resistors with a potentiometer connected as a rheostat. To begin, connect a 10 k potentiometer as a rheostat with no other resistors connected. Adjusting the potentiometer through its full range of travel should result in a resistance that varies smoothly from 0 to 10,000 :
Suppose we wanted to elevate the lower end of this resistance range so that we had an adjustable range from 10 k to 20 k with a full sweep of the potentiometers adjustment. This could be easily accomplished by adding a 10 k resistor in series with the potentiometer. Add one to the circuit as shown and re-measure total resistance while adjusting the potentiometer:
A shift in the low end of an adjustment range is called a zero calibration, in metrological terms. With the addition of a series 10 k resistor, the zero point was shifted upward by 10,000 . The difference between high and low ends of a range called the span of the circuit has not changed, though: a range of 10 k to 20 k has the same 10,000 span as a range of 0 to 10 k. If we wish to shift the span of this rheostat circuit as well, we must change the range of the potentiometer itself. We could replace the potentiometer with one of another value, or we could simulate a lower-value potentiometer by placing a resistor in parallel with it, diminishing its maximum obtainable resistance. This will decrease the span of the circuit from 10 k to something less.
Add a 10 k resistor in parallel with the potentiometer, to reduce the span to one-half of its former value: from 10 K to 5 k. Now the calibrated resistance range of this circuit will be 10 k to 15 k:
There is nothing we can do to increase the span of this rheostat circuit, short of replacing the potentiometer with another of greater total resistance. Adding resistors in parallel can only decrease the span. However, there is no such restriction with calibrating the zero point of this circuit, as it began at 0 and may be made as great as we wish by adding resistance in series.
A multitude of resistance ranges may be obtained using only 10 K xed-value resistors, if we are creative with series-parallel combinations of them. For instance, we can create a range of 7.5 k to 10 k by building the following circuit:
All resistors = 10 k
Creating a custom resistance range from xed-value resistors and a potentiometer is a very useful technique for producing precise resistances required for certain circuits, especially meter circuits. In many electrical instruments multimeters especially resistance is the determining factor for the instruments range of measurement. If an instruments internal resistance values are not precise, neither will its indications be. Finding a xed-value resistor
of just the right resistance for placement in an instrument circuit design is unlikely, so custom resistance networks may need to be built to provide the desired resistance. Having a potentiometer as part of the resistor network provides a means of correction if the networks resistance should drift from its original value. Designing the network for minimum span ensures that the potentiometers effect will be small, so that precise adjustment is possible and so that accidental movement of its mechanism will not result in severe calibration errors. Experiment with different resistor networks and note the effects on total resistance range.
Ice cubes
Iron wire may be obtained from a hardware store. If some cannot be found, aluminum wire also works.
+ V Voltmeter
INSTRUCTIONS Twist one end of the iron wire together with one end of the copper wire. Connect the free ends of these wires to respective terminals on a terminal strip. Set your voltmeter to its most sensitive range and connect it to the terminals where the wires attach. The meter should indicate nearly zero voltage. What you have just constructed is a thermocouple: a device which generates a small voltage proportional to the temperature difference between the tip and the meter connection points. When the tip is at a temperature equal to the terminal strip, there will be no voltage produced, and thus no indication seen on the voltmeter. Light a candle and insert the twisted-wire tip into the ame. You should notice an indication on your voltmeter. Remove the thermocouple tip from the ame and let cool until the voltmeter indication is nearly zero again. Now, touch the thermocouple tip to an ice cube and note the voltage indicated by the meter. Is it a greater or lesser magnitude than the indication obtained with the ame? How does the polarity of this voltage compare with that generated by the ame? After touching the thermocouple tip to the ice cube, warm it by holding it between your ngers. It may take a short while to reach body temperature, so be patient while observing the voltmeters indication.
A thermocouple is an application of the Seebeck effect: the production of a small voltage proportional to a temperature gradient along the length of a wire. This voltage is dependent upon the magnitude of the temperature difference and the type of wire. Directly measuring the Seebeck voltage produced along a length of continuous wire from a temperature gradient is quite difcult, and so will not be attempted in this experiment. Thermocouples, being made of two dissimilar metals joined at one end, produce a voltage proportional to the temperature of the junction. The temperature gradient along both wires resulting from a constant temperature at the junction produces different Seebeck voltages along those wires lengths, because the wires are made of different metals. The resultant voltage between the two free wire ends is the difference between the two Seebeck voltages:
iron wire voltage HOT COOL copper wire voltage Resultant voltage
Thermocouples are widely used as temperature-sensing devices because the mathematical relationship between temperature difference and resultant voltage is both repeatable and fairly linear. By measuring voltage, it is possible to infer temperature. Different ranges of temperature measurement are possible by selecting different metal pairs to be joined together.
PARTS AND MATERIALS Sensitive meter movement (Radio Shack catalog # 22-410) Selector switch, single-pole, multi-throw, break-before-make (Radio Shack catalog # 2751386 is a 2-pole, 6-position unit that works well) Multi-turn potentiometers, PCB mount (Radio Shack catalog # 271-342 and 271-343 are 15-turn, 1 k and 10 k trimmer units, respectively) Assorted resistors, preferably high-precision metal lm or wire-wound types (Radio Shack catalog # 271-309 is an assortment of metal-lm resistors, +/- 1% tolerance) Plastic or metal mounting box Three banana jack style binding posts, or other terminal hardware, for connection to potentiometer circuit (Radio Shack catalog # 274-662 or equivalent) The most important and expensive component in a meter is the movement: the actual needle-and-scale mechanism whose task it is to translate an electrical current into mechanical displacement where it may be visually interpreted. The ideal meter movement is physically large (for ease of viewing) and as sensitive as possible (requires minimal current to produce full-scale deection of the needle). High-quality meter movements are expensive, but Radio Shack carries some of acceptable quality that are reasonably priced. The model recommended in the parts list is sold as a voltmeter with a 0-15 volt range, but is actually a milliammeter with a range (multiplier) resistor included separately. It may be cheaper to purchase an inexpensive analog meter and disassemble it for the meter movement alone. Although the thought of destroying a working multimeter in order to have parts to make your own may sound counter-productive, the goal here is learning, not meter function. I cannot specify resistor values for this experiment, as these depend on the particular meter movement and measurement ranges chosen. Be sure to use high-precision xed-value resistors rather than carbon-composition resistors. Even if you happen to nd carbon-composition resistors of just the right value(s), those values will change or drift over time due to aging and temperature uctuations. Of course, if you dont care about the long-term stability of this meter but are building it just for the learning experience, resistor precision matters little. CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 1, chapter 8: DC Metering Circuits LEARNING OBJECTIVES Voltmeter design and use Ammeter design and use Rheostat range limiting
Soldering practice
Movement +
Meter movement
Common Rshunt
First, you need to determine the characteristics of your meter movement. Most important is to know the full scale deection in milliamps or microamps. To determine this, connect the meter movement, a potentiometer, battery, and digital ammeter in series. Adjust the potentiometer until the meter movement is deected exactly to full-scale. Read the ammeters display to nd the full-scale current value:
+ Potentiometer
Be very careful not to apply too much current to the meter movement, as movements are very sensitive devices and easily damaged by overcurrent. Most meter movements have fullscale deection current ratings of 1 mA or less, so choose a potentiometer value high enough to limit current appropriately, and begin testing with the potentiometer turned to maximum resistance. The lower the full-scale current rating of a movement, the more sensitive it is. After determining the full-scale current rating of your meter movement, you must accurately measure its internal resistance. To do this, disconnect all components from the previous testing circuit and connect your digital ohmmeter across the meter movement terminals. Record this resistance gure along with the full-scale current gure obtained in the last procedure. Perhaps the most challenging portion of this project is determining the proper range resistance values and implementing those values in the form of rheostat networks. The calculations are outlined in chapter 8 of volume 1 (Metering Circuits), but an example is given here. Suppose your meter movement had a full-scale rating of 1 mA and an internal resistance of 400 . If we wanted to determine the necessary range resistance (Rmultiplier ) to give this movement a range of 0 to 15 volts, we would have to divide 15 volts (total applied voltage) by 1 mA (full-scale current) to obtain the total probe-to-probe resistance of the voltmeter (R=E/I). For this example, that total resistance is 15 k. From this total resistance gure, we subtract the movements internal resistance, leaving 14.6 k for the range resistor value. A simple rheostat network to produce 14.6 k (adjustable) would be a 10 k potentiometer in parallel with a 10 k xed resistor, all in series with another 10 k xed resistor:
15 k, adjustable
10 k
10 k 10 k
One position of the selector switch directly connects the meter movement between the black Common binding post and the red V/mA binding post. In this position, the meter is a sensitive ammeter with a range equal to the full-scale current rating of the meter movement. The far clockwise position of the switch disconnects the positive (+) terminal of the movement from either red binding post and shorts it directly to the negative (-) terminal. This protects the meter from electrical damage by isolating it from the red test probe, and it dampens the needle mechanism to further guard against mechanical shock. The shunt resistor (Rshunt ) necessary for a high-current ammeter function needs to be a low-resistance unit with a high power dissipation. You will denitely not be using any 1/4 watt resistors for this, unless you form a resistance network with several smaller resistors in parallel combination. If you plan on having an ammeter range in excess of 1 amp, I recommend using a thick piece of wire or even a skinny piece of sheet metal as the resistor, suitably led or notched to provide just the right amount of resistance. To calibrate a home-made shunt resistor, you will need to connect the your multimeter assembly to a calibrated source of high current, or a high-current source in series with a digital ammeter for reference. Use a small metal le to shave off shunt wire thickness or to notch the sheet metal strip in small, careful amounts. The resistance of your shunt will increase with every stroke of the le, causing the meter movement to deect more strongly. Remember that you can always approach the exact value in slower and slower steps (le strokes), but you cannot go backward and decrease the shunt resistance! Build the multimeter circuit on a breadboard rst while determining proper range resistance values, and perform all calibration adjustments there. For nal construction, solder the components on to a printed-circuit board. Radio Shack sells printed circuit boards that have the same layout as a breadboard, for convenience (catalog # 276-170). Feel free to alter the component layout from what is shown. I strongly recommend that you mount the circuit board and all components in a sturdy box, so that the meter is durably nished. Despite the limitations of this multimeter (no resistance function, inability to measure alternating current, and lower precision than most purchased analog multimeters), it is an excellent project to assist learning fundamental instrument principles and circuit function. A far more accurate and versatile multimeter may be constructed using many of the same parts if an amplier circuit is added to it, so save the parts and pieces for a later experiment!
PARTS AND MATERIALS High-quality closed-cup audio headphones Headphone jack: female receptacle for headphone plug (Radio Shack catalog # 274-312) Small step-down power transformer (Radio Shack catalog # 273-1365 or equivalent, using the 6-volt secondary winding tap) Two 1N4001 rectifying diodes (Radio Shack catalog # 276-1101) 1 k resistor 100 k potentiometer (Radio Shack catalog # 271-092) Two banana jack style binding posts, or other terminal hardware, for connection to potentiometer circuit (Radio Shack catalog # 274-662 or equivalent) Plastic or metal mounting box Regarding the headphones, the higher the sensitivity rating in decibels (dB), the better, but listening is believing: if youre serious about building a detector with maximum sensitivity for small electrical signals, you should try a few different headphone models at a high-quality audio store and listen for which ones produce an audible sound for the lowest volume setting on a radio or CD player. Beware, as you could spend hundreds of dollars on a pair of headphones to get the absolute best sensitivity! Take heart, though: Ive used an old pair of Radio Shack Realistic brand headphones with perfectly adequate results, so you dont need to buy the best. A transformer is a device normally used with alternating current (AC) circuits, used to convert high-voltage AC power into low-voltage AC power, and for many other purposes. It is not important that you understand its intended function in this experiment, other than it makes the headphones become more sensitive to low-current electrical signals. Normally, the transformer used in this type of application (audio speaker impedance matching) is called an audio transformer, with its primary and secondary windings represented by impedance values (1000 : 8 ) instead of voltages. An audio transformer will work, but Ive found small step-down power transformers of 120/6 volt ratio to be perfectly adequate for the task, cheaper (especially when taken from an old thrift-store alarm clock radio), and far more rugged. The tolerance (precision) rating for the 1 k resistor is irrelevant. The 100 k potentiometer is a recommended option for incorporation into this project, as it gives the user control over the loudness for any given signal. Even though an audio-taper potentiometer would be appropriate for this application, it is not necessary. A linear-taper potentiometer works quite well. CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 1, chapter 8: DC Metering Circuits
Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 1, chapter 10: DC Network Analysis (in regard to the Maximum Power Transfer Theorem) Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 2, chapter 9: Transformers Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 2, chapter 12: AC Metering Circuits LEARNING OBJECTIVES Soldering practice Detection of extremely small electrical signals Using a potentiometer as a voltage divider/signal attenuator Using diodes to clip voltage at some maximum level
SCHEMATIC DIAGRAMheadphones test lead 1 k diodes transformer jack plug
test lead
INSTRUCTIONS The headphones, most likely being stereo units (separate left and right speakers) will have a three-contact plug. You will be connecting to only two of those three contact points. If you only have a mono headphone set with a two-contact plug, just connect to those two contact points. You may either connect the two stereo speakers in series or in parallel. Ive found the series connection to work best, that is, to produce the most sound from a small signal:
To transformer
Solder all wire connections well. This detector system is extremely sensitive, and any loose wire connections in the circuit will add unwanted noise to the sounds produced by the measured voltage signal. The two diodes (arrow-like component symbols) connected in parallel with the transformers primary winding, along with the series-connected 1 k resistor, work together to prevent any more than about 0.7 volts from being dropped across the primary coil of the transformer. This does one thing and one thing only: limit the amount of sound the headphones can produce. The system will work without the diodes and resistor in place, but there will be no limit to sound volume in the circuit, and the resulting sound caused by accidently connecting the test leads across a substantial voltage source (like a battery) can be deafening! Binding posts provide points of connection for a pair of test probes with banana-style plugs, once the detector components are mounted inside a box. You may use ordinary multimeter probes, or make your own probes with alligator clips at the ends for secure connection to a circuit. Detectors are intended to be used for balancing bridge measurement circuits, potentiometric (null-balance) voltmeter circuits, and detect extremely low-amplitude AC (alternating current) signals in the audio frequency range. It is a valuable piece of test equipment, especially for the low-budget experimenter without an oscilloscope. It is also valuable in that it allows you to use a different bodily sense in interpreting the behavior of a circuit. For connection across any non-trivial source of voltage (1 volt and greater), the detectors extremely high sensitivity should be attenuated. This may be accomplished by connecting a voltage divider to the front of the circuit: SCHEMATIC DIAGRAMtest lead 1 k 100 k
Adjust the 100 k voltage divider potentiometer to about mid-range when initially sensing a voltage signal of unknown magnitude. If the sound is too loud, turn the potentiometer down and try again. If too soft, turn it up and try again. The detector produces a click sound whenever the test leads make or break contact with the voltage source under test. With my cheap headphones, Ive been able to detect currents of less than 1/10 of a microamp ( 0.1 A). A good demonstration of the detectors sensitivity is to touch both test leads to the end of your tongue, with the sensitivity adjustment set to maximum. The voltage produced by metal-to-electrolyte contact (called galvanic voltage) is very small, but enough to produce soft clicking sounds every time the leads make and break contact on the wet skin of your tongue. Try unplugged the headphone plug from the jack (receptacle) and similarly touching it to the end of your tongue. You should still hear soft clicking sounds, but they will be much smaller in amplitude. Headphone speakers are low impedance devices: they require low voltage and high current to deliver substantial sound power. Impedance is a measure of opposition to any and all forms of electric current, including alternating current (AC). Resistance, by comparison, is a strictly measure of opposition to direct current (DC). Like resistance, impedance is measured in the unit of the Ohm (), but it is symbolized in equations by the capital letter Z rather than the capital letter R. We use the term impedance to describe the headphones opposition to current because it is primarily AC signals that headphones are normally subjected to, not DC. Most small signal sources have high internal impedances, some much higher than the nominal 8 of the headphone speakers. This is a technical way of saying that they are incapable of supplying substantial amounts of current. As the Maximum Power Transfer Theorem predicts, maximum sound power will be delivered by the headphone speakers when their impedance is matched to the impedance of the voltage source. The transformer does this. The transformer also helps aid the detection of small DC signals by producing inductive kickback every time the test lead circuit is broken, thus amplifying the signal by magnetically storing up electrical energy and suddenly releasing it to the headphone speakers. I recommend building this detector in a permanent fashion (mounting all components inside of a box, and providing nice test lead wires) so it may be easily used in the future. Constructed as such, it might look something like this:
Test leadsSensitivity
Potentiometric voltmeter
PARTS AND MATERIALS Two 6 volt batteries One potentiometer, single turn, 10 k, linear taper (Radio Shack catalog # 271-1715) Two high-value resistors (at least 1 M each) Sensitive voltage detector (from previous experiment) Analog voltmeter (from previous experiment) The potentiometer value is not critical: anything from 1 k to 100 k is acceptable. If you have built the precision potentiometer described earlier in this chapter, it is recommended that you use it in this experiment. Likewise, the actual values of the resistors are not critical. In this particular experiment, the greater the value, the better the results. They need not be precisely equal value, either. If you have not yet built the sensitive voltage detector, it is recommended that you build one before proceeding with this experiment! It is a very useful, yet simple, piece of test equipment that you should not be without. You can use a digital multimeter set to the DC millivolt (DC mV) range in lieu of a voltage detector, but the headphone-based voltage detector is more appropriate because it demonstrates how you can make precise voltage measurements without using expensive or advanced meter equipment. I recommend using your home-made multimeter for the same reason, although any voltmeter will sufce for this experiment. CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 1, chapter 8: DC Metering Circuits LEARNING OBJECTIVES Voltmeter loading: its causes and its solution Using a potentiometer as a source of variable voltage Potentiometric method of voltage measurement SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM1 M 6V 1 Mmeasure voltage between these two test points
INSTRUCTIONS Build the two-resistor voltage divider circuit shown on the left of the schematic diagram and of the illustration. If the two high-value resistors are of equal value, the batterys voltage should be split in half, with approximately 3 volts dropped across each resistor. Measure the battery voltage directly with a voltmeter, then measure each resistors voltage drop. Do you notice anything unusual about the voltmeters readings? Normally, series voltage drops add to equal the total applied voltage, but in this case you will notice a serious discrepancy. Is Kirchhoff s Voltage Law untrue? Is this an exception to one of the most fundamental laws of electric circuits? No! What is happening is this: when you connect a voltmeter across either resistor, the voltmeter itself alters the circuit so that the voltage is not the same as with no meter connected. I like to use the analogy of an air pressure gauge used to check the pressure of a pneumatic tire. When a gauge is connected to the tires ll valve, it releases some air out of the tire. This affects the pressure in the tire, and so the gauge reads a slightly lower pressure than what was in the tire before the gauge was connected. In other words, the act of measuring tire pressure alters the tires pressure. Hopefully, though, there is so little air released from the tire during the act of measurement that the reduction in pressure is negligible. Voltmeters similarly impact the voltage they measure, by bypassing some current around the component whose voltage drop is being measured. This affects the voltage drop, but the effect is so slight that you usually dont notice it. In this circuit, though, the effect is very pronounced. Why is this? Try replacing the two high-value resistors with two of 100 k value each and repeat the experiment. Replace those resistors with two 10 K units and repeat. What do you notice about the voltage readings with
lower-value resistors? What does this tell you about voltmeter impact on a circuit in relation to that circuits resistance? Replace any low-value resistors with the original, high-value (>= 1 M) resistors before proceeding. Try measuring voltage across the two high-value resistors one at a time with a digital voltmeter instead of an analog voltmeter. What do you notice about the digital meters readings versus the analog meters? Digital voltmeters typically have greater internal (probe-to-probe) resistance, meaning they draw less current than a comparable analog voltmeter when measuring the same voltage source. An ideal voltmeter would draw zero current from the circuit under test, and thus suffer no voltage impact problems. If you happen to have two voltmeters, try this: connect one voltmeter across one resistor, and the other voltmeter across the other resistor. The voltage readings you get will add up to the total voltage this time, no matter what the resistor values are, even though theyre different from the readings obtained from a single meter used twice. Unfortunately, though, it is unlikely that the voltage readings obtained this way are equal to the true voltage drops with no meters connected, and so it is not a practical solution to the problem. Is there any way to make a perfect voltmeter: one that has innite resistance and draws no current from the circuit under test? Modern laboratory voltmeters approach this goal by using semiconductor amplier circuits, but this method is too technologically advanced for the student or hobbyist to duplicate. A much simpler and much older technique is called the potentiometric or null-balance method. This involves using an adjustable voltage source to balance the measured voltage. When the two voltages are equal, as indicated by a very sensitive null detector, the adjustable voltage source is measured with an ordinary voltmeter. Because the two voltage sources are equal to each other, measuring the adjustable source is the same as measuring across the test circuit, except that there is no impact error because the adjustable source provides any current needed by the voltmeter. Consequently, the circuit under test remains unaffected, allowing measurement of its true voltage drop. Examine the following schematic to see how the potentiometric voltmeter method is implemented:
null +
The circle symbol with the word null written inside represents the null detector. This can be any arbitrarily sensitive meter movement or voltage indicator. Its sole purpose in this circuit is to indicate when there is zero voltage: when the adjustable voltage source (potentiometer) is precisely equal to the voltage drop in the circuit under test. The more sensitive this null detector is, the more precisely the adjustable source may be adjusted to equal the voltage
Build this circuit as shown in the illustration and test its operation measuring the voltage drop across one of the high-value resistors in the test circuit. It may be easier to use a regular multimeter as a null detector at rst, until you become familiar with the process of adjusting the potentiometer for a null indication, then reading the voltmeter connected across the potentiometer. If you are using the headphone-based voltage detector as your null meter, you will need to intermittently make and break contact with the circuit under test and listen for clicking sounds. Do this by rmly securing one of the test probes to the test circuit and momentarily touching the other test probe to the other point in the test circuit again and again, listening for sounds in the headphones indicating a difference of voltage between the test circuit and the potentiometer. Adjust the potentiometer until no clicking sounds can be heard from the headphones. This indicates a null or balanced condition, and you may read the voltmeter indication to see how much voltage is dropped across the test circuit resistor. Unfortunately, the headphone-based null detector provides no indication of whether the potentiometer voltage is greater than, or less than the test circuit voltage, so you will have to listen for decreasing click intensity while turning the potentiometer to determine if you need to adjust the voltage higher or lower. You may nd that a single-turn (3/4 turn) potentiometer is too coarse of an adjustment device to accurately null the measurement circuit. A multi-turn potentiometer may be used instead of the single-turn unit for greater adjustment precision, or the precision potentiometer circuit described in an earlier experiment may be used. Prior to the advent of amplied voltmeter technology, the potentiometric method was the only method for making highly accurate voltage measurements. Even now, electrical standards laboratories make use of this technique along with the latest meter technology to minimize meter impact errors and maximize measurement accuracy. Although the potentiometric method requires more skill to use than simply connecting a modern digital voltmeter across a component, and is considered obsolete for all but the most precise measurement applications, it is still a valuable learning process for the new student of electronics, and a useful technique for the hobbyist who may lack expensive instrumentation in their home laboratory.
Netlist (make a text le containing the following text, verbatim): Potentiometric voltmeter v1 1 0 dc 6 v2 3 0 r1 1 2 1meg r2 2 0 1meg rnull 2 3 10k rmeter 3 0 50k .dc v2 0 6 0.5 .print dc v(2,0) v(2,3) v(3,0) .end This SPICE simulation shows the actual voltage across R2 of the test circuit, the null detectors voltage, and the voltage across the adjustable voltage source, as that source is adjusted from 0 volts to 6 volts in 0.5 volt steps. In the output of this simulation, you will notice that the voltage across R2 is impacted signicantly when the measurement circuit is unbalanced, returning to its true voltage only when there is practically zero voltage across the null detector. At that point, of course, the adjustable voltage source is at a value of 3.000 volts: precisely equal to the (unaffected) test circuit voltage drop. What is the lesson to be learned from this simulation? That a potentiometric voltmeter avoids impacting the test circuit only when it is in a condition of perfect balance (null) with the test circuit!
PARTS AND MATERIALS 6-volt battery Electromagnet made from experiment in previous chapter, or a large spool of wire It would be ideal in this experiment to have two meters: one voltmeter and one ammeter. For experimenters on a budget, this may not be possible. Whatever ammeter is used should be capable measuring at least a few amps of current. A 6-volt lantern battery essentially shortcircuited by a long piece of wire may produce currents of this magnitude, and your ammeter needs to be capable of measuring it without blowing a fuse or sustaining other damage. Make sure the highest current range on the meter is at least 5 amps!
LEARNING OBJECTIVES Operating principle of Kelvin (4-wire) resistance measurement How to measure low resistances with common test equipment
+ A + V Runknown
INSTRUCTIONS Although this experiment is best performed with two meters, and indeed is shown as such in the schematic diagram and illustration, one multimeter is sufcient. Most ohmmeters operate on the principle of applying a small voltage across an unknown resistance (Runknown ) and inferring resistance from the amount of current drawn by it. Except in special cases such as the megger, both the voltage and current quantities employed by the meter are quite small. This presents a problem for measurement of low resistances, as a low resistance specimen may be of much smaller resistance value than the meter circuitry itself. Imagine trying to measure the diameter of a cotton thread with a yardstick, or measuring the weight of a coin with a scale built for weighing freight trucks, and you will appreciate the problem at hand. One of the many sources of error in measuring small resistances with an ordinary ohmmeter is the resistance of the ohmmeters own test leads. Being part of the measurement circuit, the test leads may contain more resistance than the resistance of the test specimen, incurring signicant measurement error by their presence:
1.5 One solution is called the Kelvin, or 4-wire, resistance measurement method. It involves the use of an ammeter and voltmeter, determining specimen resistance by Ohms Law calculation. A current is passed through the unknown resistance and measured. The voltage dropped across the resistance is measured by the voltmeter, and resistance calculated using Ohms Law (R=E/I). Very small resistances may be measured easily by using large current, providing a more easily measured voltage drop from which to infer resistance than if a small current were used. Because only the voltage dropped by the unknown resistance is factored into the calculation not the voltage dropped across the ammeters test leads or any other connecting wires carrying the main current errors otherwise caused by these stray resistances are completely eliminated. First, select a suitably low resistance specimen to use in this experiment. I suggest the electromagnet coil specied in the last chapter, or a spool of wire where both ends may be accessed. Connect a 6-volt battery to this specimen, with an ammeter connected in series. WARNING: the ammeter used should be capable of measuring at least 5 amps of current, so that it will not be damaged by the (possibly) high current generated in this near-short circuit condition. If you have a second meter, use it to measure voltage across the specimens connection points, as shown in the illustration, and record both meters indications. If you have only one meter, use it to measure current rst, recording its indication as quickly as possible, then immediately opening (breaking) the circuit. Switch the meter to its voltage mode, connect it across the specimens connection points, and re-connect the battery, quickly noting the voltage indication. You dont want to leave the battery connected to the specimen
for any longer than necessary for obtaining meter measurements, as it will begin to rapidly discharge due to the high circuit current, thus compromising measurement accuracy when the meter is re-congured and the circuit closed once more for the next measurement. When two meters are used, this is not as signicant an issue, because the current and voltage indications may be recorded simultaneously. Take the voltage measurement and divide it by the current measurement. The quotient will be equal to the specimens resistance in ohms.
PARTS AND MATERIALS Three batteries, each one with a different voltage Three equal-value resistors, between 10 k and 47 k each When selecting resistors, measure each one with an ohmmeter and choose three that are the closest in value to each other. Precision is very important for this experiment!
LEARNING OBJECTIVES How a resistor network can function as a voltage signal averager Application of Millmans Theorem
INSTRUCTIONS This deceptively crude circuit performs the function of mathematically averaging three voltage signals together, and so fullls a specialized computational role. In other words, it is a computer that can only do one mathematical operation: averaging three quantities together. Build this circuit as shown and measure all battery voltages with a voltmeter. Write these voltage gures on paper and average them together (E1 + E2 + E3 , divided by three). When you measure each battery voltage, keep the black test probe connected to the ground point (the side of the battery directly joined to the other batteries by jumper wires), and touch the red probe to the other battery terminal. Polarity is important here! You will notice one battery in the schematic diagram connected backward to the other two, negative side up. This batterys voltage should read as a negative quantity when measured by a properly connected digital meter, the other batteries measuring positive. When the voltmeter is connected to the circuit at the point shown in the schematic and illustrations, it should register the algebraic average of the three batteries voltages. If the
resistor values are chosen to match each other very closely, the output voltage of this circuit should match the calculated average very closely as well. If one battery is disconnected, the output voltage will equal the average voltage of the remaining batteries. If the jumper wires formerly connecting the removed battery to the averager circuit are connected to each other, the circuit will average the two remaining voltages together with 0 volts, producing a smaller output signal:
The sheer simplicity of this circuit deters most people from calling it a computer, but it undeniably performs the mathematical function of averaging. Not only does it perform this function, but it performs it much faster than any modern digital computer can! Digital computers, such as personal computers (PCs) and pushbutton calculators, perform mathematical operations in a series of discrete steps. Analog computers perform calculations in continuous fashion, exploiting Ohms and Kirchhoff s Laws for an arithmetic purpose, the answer computed as fast as voltage propagates through the circuit (ideally, at the speed of light!). With the addition of circuits called ampliers, voltage signals in analog computer networks may be boosted and re-used in other networks to perform a wide variety of mathematical functions. Such analog computers excel at performing the calculus operations of numerical differentiation and integration, and as such may be used to simulate the behavior of complex mechanical, electrical, and even chemical systems. At one time, analog computers were the
ultimate tool for engineering research, but since then have been largely supplanted by digital computer technology. Digital computers enjoy the advantage of performing mathematical operations with much better precision than analog computers, albeit at much slower theoretical speeds. COMPUTER SIMULATION Schematic with SPICE node numbers:
Netlist (make a text le containing the following text, verbatim): Voltage averager v1 1 0 v2 0 2 dc 9 v3 3 0 dc 1.5 r1 1 4 10k r2 2 4 10k r3 3 4 10k .dc v1 6 6 1 .print dc v(4,0) .end With this SPICE netlist, we can force a digital computer to simulate and analog computer, which averages three numbers together. Obviously, we arent doing this for the practical task of averaging numbers, but rather to learn more about circuits and more about computer simulation of circuits!
Potato battery
PARTS AND MATERIALS One large potato One lemon (optional) Strip of zinc, or galvanized metal Piece of thick copper wire The basic experiment is based on the use of a potato, but many fruits and vegetables work as potential batteries! For the zinc electrode, a large galvanized nail works well. Nails with a thick, rough zinc texture are preferable to galvanized nails that are smooth. CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 1, chapter 11: Batteries and Power Systems LEARNING OBJECTIVES The importance of chemical activity in battery operation How electrode surface area affects battery operation ILLUSTRATION
Copper wire
Push both the nail and the wire deep into the potato. Measure voltage output by the potato battery with a voltmeter. Now, wasnt that easy? Seriously, though, experiment with different metals, electrode depths, and electrode spacings to obtain the greatest voltage possible from the potato. Try other vegetables or fruits and compare voltage output with the same electrode metals. It can be difcult to power a load with a single potato battery, so dont expect to light up an incandescent lamp or power a hobby motor or do anything like that. Even if the voltage output is adequate, a potato battery has a fairly high internal resistance which causes its voltage to sag badly under even a light load. With multiple potato batteries connected in series, parallel, or series-parallel arrangement, though, it is possible to obtain enough voltage and current capacity to power a small load.
PARTS AND MATERIALS 6 volt battery Two large electrolytic capacitors, 1000 F minimum (Radio Shack catalog # 272-1019, 272-1032, or equivalent) Two 1 k resistors One toggle switch, SPST (Single-Pole, Single-Throw) Large-value capacitors are required for this experiment to produce time constants slow enough to track with a voltmeter and stopwatch. Be warned that most large capacitors are of the electrolytic type, and they are polarity sensitive! One terminal of each capacitor should be marked with a denite polarity sign. Usually capacitors of the size specied have a negative (-) marking or series of negative markings pointing toward the negative terminal. Very large capacitors are often polarity-labeled by a positive (+) marking next to one terminal. Failure to heed proper polarity will almost surely result in capacitor failure, even with a source voltage as low as 6 volts. When electrolytic capacitors fail, they typically explode, spewing caustic chemicals and emitting foul odors. Please, try to avoid this! I recommend a household light switch for the SPST toggle switch specied in the parts list. CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 1, chapter 13: Capacitors Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 1, chapter 16: RC and L/R Time Constants LEARNING OBJECTIVES Capacitor charging action Capacitor discharging action Time constant calculation Series and parallel capacitance
Charging circuit
Discharging circuit
+ Charging circuit
+ Discharging circuit
INSTRUCTIONS Build the charging circuit and measure voltage across the capacitor when the switch is closed. Notice how it increases slowly over time, rather than suddenly as would be the case with a resistor. You can reset the capacitor back to a voltage of zero by shorting across its terminals with a piece of wire. The time constant ( ) of a resistor capacitor circuit is calculated by taking the circuit resistance and multiplying it by the circuit capacitance. For a 1 k resistor and a 1000 F capacitor, the time constant should be 1 second. This is the amount of time it takes for the capacitor voltage to increase approximately 63.2% from its present value to its nal value: the voltage of the battery. It is educational to plot the voltage of a charging capacitor over time on a sheet of graph paper, to see how the inverse exponential curve develops. In order to plot the action of this circuit, though, we must nd a way of slowing it down. A one-second time constant doesnt provide much time to take voltmeter readings! We can increase this circuits time constant two different ways: changing the total circuit resistance, and/or changing the total circuit capacitance. Given a pair of identical resistors and a pair of identical capacitors, experiment with various series and parallel combinations to obtain the slowest charging action. You should already know by now how multiple resistors need to be connected to form a greater total resistance, but what about capacitors? This circuit will demonstrate to you how capacitance changes with series and parallel capacitor connections. Just be sure that you insert the capacitor(s) in the proper direction: with the ends labeled negative (-) electrically closest to the batterys negative terminal! The discharging circuit provides the same kind of changing capacitor voltage, except this time the voltage jumps to full battery voltage when the switch closes and slowly falls when the switch is opened. Experiment once again with different combinations of resistors and capacitors, making sure as always that the capacitors polarity is correct. COMPUTER SIMULATION Schematic with SPICE node numbers:
Netlist (make a text le containing the following text, verbatim): Capacitor charging circuit v1 1 0 dc 6 r1 1 2 1k c1 2 0 1000u ic=0 .tran 0.1 5 uic .plot tran v(2,0) .end
Rate-of-change indicator
PARTS AND MATERIALS Two 6 volt batteries Capacitor, 0.1 F (Radio Shack catalog # 272-135) 1 M resistor Potentiometer, single turn, 5 k, linear taper (Radio Shack catalog # 271-1714) The potentiometer value is not especially critical, although lower-resistance units will, in theory, work better for this experiment than high-resistance units. Ive used a 10 k potentiometer for this circuit with excellent results. CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 1, chapter 13: Capacitors LEARNING OBJECTIVES How to build a differentiator circuit Obtain an empirical understanding of the derivative calculus function
6V 5 k
INSTRUCTIONS Measure voltage between the potentiometers wiper terminal and the ground point shown in the schematic diagram (the negative terminal of the lower 6-volt battery). This is the input voltage for the circuit, and you can see how it smoothly varies between zero and 12 volts as the potentiometer control is turned full-range. Since the potentiometer is used here as a voltage divider, this behavior should be unsurprising to you. Now, measure voltage across the 1 M resistor while moving the potentiometer control. A digital voltmeter is highly recommended, and I advise setting it to a very sensitive (millivolt) range to obtain the strongest indications. What does the voltmeter indicate while the potentiometer is not being moved? Turn the potentiometer slowly clockwise and note the voltmeters indication. Turn the potentiometer slowly counter-clockwise and note the voltmeters indication. What difference do you see between the two different directions of potentiometer control motion? Try moving the potentiometer in such a way that the voltmeter gives a steady, small indication. What kind of potentiometer motion provides the steadiest voltage across the 1 M resistor? In calculus, a function representing the rate of change of one variable as compared to another is called the derivative. This simple circuit illustrates the concept of the derivative by producing an output voltage proportional to the input voltages rate of change over time. Be-
cause this circuit performs the calculus function of differentiation with respect to time (outputting the time-derivative of an incoming signal), it is called a differentiator circuit. Like the averager circuit shown earlier in this chapter, the differentiator circuit is a kind of analog computer. Differentiation is a far more complex mathematical function than averaging, especially when implemented in a digital computer, so this circuit is an excellent demonstration of the elegance of analog circuitry in performing mathematical computations. More accurate differentiator circuits may be built by combining resistor-capacitor networks with electronic amplier circuits. For more detail on computational circuitry, go to the Analog Integrated Circuits chapter in this Experiments volume.
Chapter 4
AC CIRCUITSContents4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.15 4.16 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Transformer power supply . . . . . . . Build a transformer . . . . . . . . . . . . Variable inductor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sensitive audio detector . . . . . . . . . Sensing AC magnetic elds . . . . . . . . Sensing AC electric elds . . . . . . . . . Automotive alternator . . . . . . . . . . . Induction motor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Phase shift . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sound cancellation . . . . . . . . . . . . . Musical keyboard as a signal generator PC Oscilloscope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Waveform analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . Inductor-capacitor tank circuit . . . . Signal coupling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 147 151 153 155 160 162 164 170 174 177 180 183 186 188 191
AC stands for Alternating Current, which can refer to either voltage or current that alternates in polarity or direction, respectively. These experiments are designed to introduce you to several important concepts specic to AC. A convenient source of AC voltage is household wall-socket power, which presents signicant shock hazard. In order to minimize this hazard while taking advantage of the convenience of this source of AC, a small power supply will be the rst project, consisting of a transformer 145
that steps the hazardous voltage (110 to 120 volts AC, RMS) down to 12 volts or less. The title of power supply is somewhat misleading. This device does not really act as a source or supply of power, but rather as a power converter, to reduce the hazardous voltage of wall-socket power to a much safer level.
PARTS AND MATERIALS Power transformer, 120VAC step-down to 12VAC, with center-tapped secondary winding (Radio Shack catalog # 273-1365, 273-1352, or 273-1511). Terminal strip with at least three terminals. Household wall-socket power plug and cord. Line cord switch. Box (optional). Fuse and fuse holder (optional). Power transformers may be obtained from old radios, which can usually be obtained from a thrift store for a few dollars (or less!). The radio would also provide the power cord and plug necessary for this project. Line cord switches may be obtained from a hardware store. If you want to be absolutely sure what kind of transformer youre getting, though, you should purchase one from an electronics supply store. If you decide to equip your power supply with a fuse, be sure to get a slow-acting, or slowblow fuse. Transformers may draw high surge currents when initially connected to an AC source, and these transient currents will blow a fast-acting fuse. Determine the proper current rating of the fuse by dividing the transformers VA rating by 120 volts: in other words, calculate the full allowable primary winding current and size the fuse accordingly. CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 2, chapter 1: Basic AC Theory Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 2, chapter 9: Transformers LEARNING OBJECTIVES Transformer voltage step-down behavior. Purpose of tapped windings. Safe wiring techniques for power cords.
Terminal strip wires soldered and taped with electrical tape 12 / 6 volts CTTransformer plug
line switch
INSTRUCTIONS Warning! This project involves the use of dangerous voltages. You must make sure all highvoltage (120 volt household power) conductors are safely insulated from accidental contact. No bare wires should be seen anywhere on the primary side of the transformer circuit. Be sure to solder all wire connections so that theyre secure, and use real electrical tape (not duct tape, scotch tape, packing tape, or any other kind!) to insulate your soldered connections. If you wish to enclose the transformer inside of a box, you may use an electrical junction box, obtained from a hardware store or electrical supply house. If the enclosure used is metal rather than plastic, a three-prong plug should be used, with the ground prong (the longest one on the plug) connected directly to the metal case for maximum safety. Before plugging the plug into a wall socket, do a safety check with an ohmmeter. With the line switch in the on position, measure resistance between either plug prong and the transformer case. There should be innite (maximum) resistance. If the meter registers continuity (some resistance value less than innity), then you have a short between one of the power conductors and the case, which is dangerous!
Next, check the transformer windings themselves for continuity. With the line switch in the on position, there should be a small amount of resistance between the two plug prongs. When the switch is turned off, the resistance indication should increase to innity (open circuit no continuity). Measure resistance between pairs of wires on the secondary side. These secondary windings should register much lower resistances than the primary. Why is this? Plug the cord into a wall socket and turn the switch on. You should be able to measure AC voltage at the secondary side of the transformer, between pairs of terminals. Between two of these terminals, you should measure about 12 volts. Between either of these two terminals and the third terminal, you should measure half that. This third wire is the center-tap wire of the secondary winding. It would be advisable to keep this project assembled for use in powering other experiments shown in this book. From here on, I will designate this low-voltage AC power supply using this illustration:
Rbogus1 1 m
2 L2 5 4 3 Rload1 Rload2
L1 L3 0 0 1 T Rbogus2
Netlist (make a text le containing the following text, verbatim): transformer with center-tap secondary v1 1 0 ac 120 sin rbogus1 1 2 1e-3 l1 2 0 10 l2 5 4 0.025 l3 4 3 0.025 k1 l1 l2 0.999 k2 l2 l3 0.999
k3 l1 l3 0.999 rbogus2 3 0 1e12 rload1 5 4 1k rload2 4 3 1k * Sets up AC analysis at 60 Hz: .ac lin 1 60 60 * Prints primary voltage between nodes 2 and 0: .print ac v(2,0) * Prints (top) secondary voltage between nodes 5 and 4: .print ac v(5,4) * Prints (bottom) secondary voltage between nodes 4 and 3: .print ac v(4,3) * Prints (total) secondary voltage between nodes 5 and 3: .print ac v(5,3) .end
Build a transformer
PARTS AND MATERIALS Steel atbar, 4 pieces Miscellaneous bolts, nuts, washers 28 gauge magnet wire Low-voltage AC power supply Magnet wire is small-gauge wire insulated with a thin enamel coating. It is intended to be used to make electromagnets, because many turns of wire may be wrapped in a relatively small-diameter coil. Any gauge of wire will work, but 28 gauge is recommended so as to make a coil with as many turns as possible in a small diameter. CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 2, chapter 9: Transformers LEARNING OBJECTIVES Effects of electromagnetism. Effects of electromagnetic induction. Effects of magnetic coupling on voltage regulation. Effects of winding turns on step ratio.
wire coil
steel "flatbar"INSTRUCTIONS Wrap two, equal-length bars of steel with a thin layer of electrically-insulating tape. Wrap several hundred turns of magnet wire around these two bars. You may make these windings with an equal or unequal number of turns, depending on whether or not you want the transformer to be able to step voltage up or down. I recommend equal turns to begin with, then experiment later with coils of unequal turn count. Join those bars together in a rectangle with two other, shorter, bars of steel. Use bolts to secure the bars together (it is recommended that you drill bolt holes through the bars before you wrap wire around them). Check for shorted windings (ohmmeter reading between wire ends and steel bar) after youre nished wrapping the windings. There should be no continuity (innite resistance) between the winding and the steel bar. Check for continuity between winding ends to ensure that the wire isnt broken open somewhere within the coil. If either resistance measurements indicate a problem, the winding must be re-made. Power your transformer with the low-voltage output of the power supply described at the beginning of this chapter. Do not power your transformer directly from wall-socket voltage (120 volts), as your home-made windings really arent rated for any signicant voltage! Measure the output voltage (secondary winding) of your transformer with an AC voltmeter. Connect a load of some kind (light bulbs are good!) to the secondary winding and re-measure voltage. Note the degree of voltage sag at the secondary winding as load current is increased. Loosen or remove the connecting bolts from one of the short bar pieces, thus increasing the reluctance (analogous to resistance) of the magnetic circuit coupling the two windings together. Note the effect on output voltage and voltage sag under load. If youve made your transformer with unequal-turn windings. try it in step-up versus stepdown mode, powering different AC loads.
Variable inductor
PARTS AND MATERIALS Paper tube, from a toilet-paper roll Bar of iron or steel, large enough to almost ll diameter of paper tube 28 gauge magnet wire Low-voltage AC power supply Incandescent lamp, rated for power supply voltage
CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 1, chapter 14: Magnetism and Electromagnetism Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 1, chapter 15: Inductors Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 2, chapter 3: Reactance and Impedance Inductive LEARNING OBJECTIVES Effects of magnetic permeability on inductance. How inductive reactance can control current in an AC circuit.
CHAPTER 4. AC CIRCUITSwire coil
Steel bar
Paper tube
INSTRUCTIONS Wrap hundreds of turns of magnet wire around the paper tube. Connect this home-made inductor in series with an AC power supply and lamp to form a circuit. When the tube is empty, the lamp should glow brightly. When the steel bar is inserted in the tube, the lamp dims from increased inductance (L) and consequently increased inductive reactance (XL ). Try using bars of different materials, such as copper and stainless steel, if available. Not all metals have the same effect, due to differences in magnetic permeability.
PARTS AND MATERIALS High-quality closed-cup audio headphones Headphone jack: female receptacle for headphone plug (Radio Shack catalog # 274-312) Small step-down power transformer (Radio Shack catalog # 273-1365 or equivalent, using the 6-volt secondary winding tap) Two 1N4001 rectifying diodes (Radio Shack catalog # 276-1101) 1 k resistor 100 k potentiometer (Radio Shack catalog # 271-092) Two banana jack style binding posts, or other terminal hardware, for connection to potentiometer circuit (Radio Shack catalog # 274-662 or equivalent) Plastic or metal mounting box Regarding the headphones, the higher the sensitivity rating in decibels (dB), the better, but listening is believing: if youre serious about building a detector with maximum sensitivity for small electrical signals, you should try a few different headphone models at a high-quality audio store and listen for which ones produce an audible sound for the lowest volume setting on a radio or CD player. Beware, as you could spend hundreds of dollars on a pair of headphones to get the absolute best sensitivity! Take heart, though: Ive used an old pair of Radio Shack Realistic brand headphones with perfectly adequate results, so you dont need to buy the best. Normally, the transformer used in this type of application (audio speaker impedance matching) is called an audio transformer, with its primary and secondary windings represented by impedance values (1000 : 8 ) instead of voltages. An audio transformer will work, but Ive found small step-down power transformers of 120/6 volt ratio to be perfectly adequate for the task, cheaper (especially when taken from an old thrift-store alarm clock radio), and far more rugged. The tolerance (precision) rating for the 1 k resistor is irrelevant. The 100 k potentiometer is a recommended option for incorporation into this project, as it gives the user control over the loudness for any given signal. Even though an audio-taper potentiometer would be appropriate for this application, it is not necessary. A linear-taper potentiometer works quite well. CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 1, chapter 8: DC Metering Circuits Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 2, chapter 9: Transformers Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 2, chapter 12: AC Metering Circuits LEARNING OBJECTIVES
156 Soldering practice Use of a transformer for impedance matching Detection of extremely small electrical signals Using diodes to clip voltage at some maximum level
INSTRUCTIONS This experiment is identical in construction to the Sensitive Voltage Detector described in the DC experiments chapter. If youve already built this detector, you may skip this experiment. The headphones, most likely being stereo units (separate left and right speakers) will have a three-contact plug. You will be connecting to only two of those three contact points. If you only have a mono headphone set with a two-contact plug, just connect to those two contact points. You may either connect the two stereo speakers in series or in parallel. Ive found the series connection to work best, that is, to produce the most sound from a small signal:
Solder all wire connections well. This detector system is extremely sensitive, and any loose wire connections in the circuit will add unwanted noise to the sounds produced by the measured voltage signal. The two diodes connected in parallel with the transformers primary winding, along with the series-connected 1 k resistor, work together to clip the input voltage to a maximum of about 0.7 volts. This does one thing and one thing only: limit the amount of sound the headphones can produce. The system will work without the diodes and resistor in place, but there will be no limit to sound volume in the circuit, and the resulting sound caused by accidentally connecting the test leads across a substantial voltage source (like a battery) can be deafening! Binding posts provide points of connection for a pair of test probes with banana-style plugs, once the detector components are mounted inside a box. You may use ordinary multimeter probes, or make your own probes with alligator clips at the ends for secure connection to a circuit. Detectors are intended to be used for balancing bridge measurement circuits, potentiometric (null-balance) voltmeter circuits, and detect extremely low-amplitude AC (alternating current) signals in the audio frequency range. It is a valuable piece of test equipment, especially for the low-budget experimenter without an oscilloscope. It is also valuable in that it allows you to use a different bodily sense in interpreting the behavior of a circuit. For connection across any non-trivial source of voltage (1 volt and greater), the detectors extremely high sensitivity should be attenuated. This may be accomplished by connecting a voltage divider to the front of the circuit: SCHEMATIC DIAGRAMtest lead 1 k 100 k
Adjust the 100 k voltage divider potentiometer to about mid-range when initially sensing a voltage signal of unknown magnitude. If the sound is too loud, turn the potentiometer down and try again. If too soft, turn it up and try again. This detector even senses DC and radiofrequency signals (frequencies below and above the audio range, respectively), a click being heard whenever the test leads make or break contact with the source under test. With my cheap headphones, Ive been able to detect currents of less than 1/10 of a microamp ( 0.1 A) DC, and similarly low-magnitude RF signals up to 2 MHz. A good demonstration of the detectors sensitivity is to touch both test leads to the end of your tongue, with the sensitivity adjustment set to maximum. The voltage produced by metal-to-electrolyte contact (called galvanic voltage) is very small, but enough to produce soft clicking sounds every time the leads make and break contact on the wet skin of your tongue. Try unplugging the headphone plug from the jack (receptacle) and similarly touching it to the end of your tongue. You should still hear soft clicking sounds, but they will be much smaller in amplitude. Headphone speakers are low impedance devices: they require low voltage and high current to deliver substantial sound power. Impedance is a measure of opposition to any and all forms of electric current, including alternating current (AC). Resistance, by comparison, is a strictly measure of opposition to direct current (DC). Like resistance, impedance is measured in the unit of the Ohm (), but it is symbolized in equations by the capital letter Z rather than the capital letter R. We use the term impedance to describe the headphones opposition to current because it is primarily AC signals that headphones are normally subjected to, not DC. Most small signal sources have high internal impedances, some much higher than the nominal 8 of the headphone speakers. This is a technical way of saying that they are incapable of supplying substantial amounts of current. As the Maximum Power Transfer Theorem predicts, maximum sound power will be delivered by the headphone speakers when their impedance is matched to the impedance of the voltage source. The transformer does this. The transformer also helps aid the detection of small DC signals by producing inductive kickback every time the test lead circuit is broken, thus amplifying the signal by magnetically storing up electrical energy and suddenly releasing it to the headphone speakers. As with the low-voltage AC power supply experiment, I recommend building this detector in a permanent fashion (mounting all components inside of a box, and providing nice test lead wires) so it can be easily used in the future. Constructed as such, it might look something like this:
PARTS AND MATERIALS Audio detector with headphones Electromagnet coil from relay or solenoid What is needed for an electromagnet coil is a coil with many turns of wire, so as to produce the most voltage possible from induction with stray magnetic elds. The coil taken from an old relay or solenoid works well for this purpose. CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 2, chapter 7: Mixed-Frequency AC Signals LEARNING OBJECTIVES Effects of electromagnetic induction. Electromagnetic shielding techniques. SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM
sensing coil
1 k 100 k
INSTRUCTIONS Using the audio detector circuit explained earlier to detect AC voltage in the audio frequencies, a coil of wire may serve as sensor of AC magnetic elds. The voltages produced by the coil will be quite small, so it is advisable to adjust the detectors sensitivity control to maximum. There are many sources of AC magnetic elds to be found in the average home. Try, for instance, holding the coil close to a television screen or circuit-breaker box. The coils orientation is every bit as important as its proximity to the source, as you will soon discover on your own! If you want to listen to more interesting tones, try holding the coil close to the motherboard of an operating computer (be careful not to short any connections together on the computers circuit board with any exposed metal parts on the sensing coil!), or to its hard drive while a read/write operation is taking place. One very strong source of AC magnetic elds is the home-made transformer project described earlier. Try experimenting with various degrees of coupling between the coils (the steel bars tightly fastened together, versus loosely fastened, versus dismantled). Another source is the variable inductor and lamp circuit described in another section of this chapter. Note that physical contact with a magnetic eld source is unnecessary: magnetic elds extend through space quite easily. You may also want to try shielding the coil from a strong source using various materials. Try aluminum foil, paper, sheet steel, plastic, or whatever other materials you can think of. What materials work best? Why? What angles (orientations) of coil position minimize magnetic coupling (result in a minimum of detected signal)? What does this tell us regarding inductor positioning if inter-circuit interference from other inductors is a bad thing? Whether or not stray magnetic elds like these pose any health hazard to the human body is a hotly debated subject. One thing is clear: in todays modern society, low-level magnetic elds of all frequencies are easy to nd!
PARTS AND MATERIALS Audio detector with headphones CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 2, chapter 7: Mixed-Frequency AC Signals LEARNING OBJECTIVES Effects of electrostatic (capacitive) coupling. Electrostatic shielding techniques. SCHEMATIC DIAGRAMsensing wire
sensing wire
INSTRUCTIONS Ground one lead of the detector to a metal object in contact with the earth (dirt). Most any water pipe or faucet in a house will sufce. Take the other lead and hold it close to an electrical appliance or lamp xture. Do not try to make contact with the appliance or with any conductors within! Any AC electric elds produced by the appliance will be heard in the headphones as a buzzing tone. Try holding the wire in different positions next to a good, strong source of electric elds. Try using a piece of aluminum foil clipped to the wires end to maximize capacitance (and therefore its ability to intercept an electric eld). Try using different types of material to shield the wire from an electric eld source. What material(s) work best? How does this compare with the AC magnetic eld experiment? As with magnetic elds, there is controversy whether or not stray electric elds like these pose any health hazard to the human body.
Automotive alternator
PARTS AND MATERIALS Automotive alternator (one required, but two recommended) Old alternators may be obtained for low prices at automobile wrecking yards. Many yards have alternators already removed from the automobile, for your convenience. I do not recommend paying full price for a new alternator, as used units cost far less money and function just as well for the purposes of this experiment. I highly recommend using a Delco-Remy brand of alternator. This is the type used on General Motors (GMC, Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, Oldsmobile) vehicles. One particular model has been produced by Delco-Remy since the early 1960s with little design change. It is a very common unit to locate in a wrecking yard, and very easy to work with. If you obtain two alternators, you may use one as a generator and the other as a motor. The steps needed to prepare an alternator as a three-phase generator and as a three-phase motor are the same. CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 1, chapter 14: Magnetism and Electromagnetism Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 2, chapter 10: Polyphase AC Circuits LEARNING OBJECTIVES Effects of electromagnetism Effects of electromagnetic induction Construction of real electromagnetic machines Construction and application of three-phase windings SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM
Typical alternator
"field" terminals
"battery" terminal
shaftAn automotive alternator is a three-phase generator with a built-in rectier circuit consisting of six diodes. As the sheave (most people call it a pulley) is rotated by a belt connected
to the automobile engines crankshaft, a magnet is spun past a stationary set of three-phase windings (called the stator), usually connected in a Y conguration. The spinning magnet is actually an electromagnet, not a permanent magnet. Alternators are designed this way so that the magnetic eld strength can be controlled, in order that output voltage may be controlled independently of rotor speed. This rotor magnet coil (called the eld coil, or simply eld) is energized by battery power, so that it takes a small amount of electrical power input to the alternator to get it to generate a lot of output power. Electrical power is conducted to the rotating eld coil through a pair of copper slip rings mounted concentrically on the shaft, contacted by stationary carbon brushes. The brushes are held in rm contact with the slip rings by spring pressure. Many modern alternators are equipped with built-in regulator circuits that automatically switch battery power on and off to the rotor coil to regulate output voltage. This circuit, if present in the alternator you choose for the experiment, is unnecessary and will only impede your study if left in place. Feel free to surgically remove it, just make sure you leave access to the brush terminals so that you can power the eld coil with the alternator fully assembled. ILLUSTRATION
INSTRUCTIONS First, consult an automotive repair manual on the specic details of your alternator. The documentation provided in the book youre reading now is as general as possible to accommodate different brands of alternators. You may need more specic information, and a service manual is the best place to obtain it. For this experiment, youll be connecting wires to the coils inside the alternator and extending them outside the alternator case, for easy connection to test equipment and circuits. Unfortunately, the connection terminals provided by the manufacturer wont suit our needs here, so you need to make your own connections. Disassemble the unit and locate terminals for connecting to the two carbon brushes. Solder a pair of wires to these terminals (at least 20 gauge in size) and extend these wires through vent holes in the alternator case, making sure they wont get snagged on the spinning rotor when the alternator is re-assembled and used. Locate the three-phase line connections coming from the stator windings and connect wires to them as well, extending these wires outside the alternator case through some vent holes. Use the largest gauge wire that is convenient to work with for these wires, as they may be carrying substantial current. As with the eld wires, route them in such a way that the rotor will turn freely with the alternator reassembled. The stator winding line terminals are easy
to locate: the three of them connect to three terminals on the diode assembly, usually with ring-lug terminals soldered to the ends of the wires.
Interior view of alternator, rotor removed stator add these wires diodes brush
I recommend that you solder ring-lug terminals to your wires, and attach them underneath the terminal nuts along with the stator wire ends, so that each diode block terminal is securing two ring lugs. Re-assemble the alternator, taking care to secure the carbon brushes in a retracted position so that the rotor doesnt damage them upon re-insertion. On Delco-Remy alternators, a small hole is provided on the back case half, and also at the front of the brush holder assembly, through which a paper clip or thin-gauge wire may be inserted to hold the brushes back against their spring pressure. Consult the service manual for more details on alternator assembly. When the alternator has been assembled, try spinning the shaft and listen for any sounds indicative of colliding parts or snagged wires. If there is any such trouble, take it apart again and correct whatever is wrong. If and when it spins freely as it should, connect the two eld wires to a 6-volt battery. Connect an voltmeter to any two of the three-phase line connections:
With the multimeter set to the DC volts function, slowly rotate the alternator shaft. The voltmeter reading should alternate between positive and negative as the shaft it turned: a demonstration of very slow alternating voltage (AC voltage) being generated. If this test is successful, switch the multimeter to the AC volts setting and try again. Try spinning the shaft slow and fast, comparing voltmeter readings between the two conditions. Short-circuit any two of the three-phase line wires and try spinning the alternator. What you should notice is that the alternator shaft becomes more difcult to spin. The heavy electrical load youve created via the short circuit causes a heavy mechanical load on the alternator, as mechanical energy is converted into electrical energy. Now, try connecting 12 volts DC to the eld wires. Repeat the DC voltmeter, AC voltmeter, and short-circuit tests described above. What difference(s) do you notice? Find some sort of polarity-insensitive 6 or 12 volts loads, such as small incandescent lamps, and connect them to the three-phase line wires. Wrap a thin rope or heavy string around the groove of the sheave (pulley) and spin the alternator rapidly, and the loads should function. If you have a second alternator, modify it as you modied the rst one, connecting ve of your own wires to the eld brushes and stator line terminals, respectively. You can then use it as a three-phase motor, powered by the rst alternator. Connect each of the three-phase line wires of the rst alternator to the respective wires of the second alternator. Connect the eld wires of one alternator to a 6 volt battery. This alternator will be the generator. Wrap rope around the sheave in preparation to spin it. Take the two eld wires of the second alternator and short them together. This alternator will be the motor:
Spin the generator shaft while watching the motor shafts rotation. Try reversing any two of the three-phase line connections between the two units and spin the generator again. What is different this time? Connect the eld wires of the motor unit to the a 6 volt battery (you may parallel-connect this eld with the eld of the generator unit, across the same battery terminals, if the battery
is strong enough to deliver the several amps of current both coils will draw together). This will magnetize the rotor of the motor. Try spinning the generator again and note any differences in operation. In the rst motor setup, where the eld wires were simple shorted together, the motor was functioning as an induction motor. In the second setup, where the motors rotor was magnetized, it functioned as a synchronous motor. If you are feeling particularly ambitious and are skilled in metal fabrication techniques, you may make your own high-power generator platform by connecting the modied alternator to a bicycle. Ive built an arrangement that looks like this:
The rear wheel drives the generator sheave with a long v-belt. This belt also supports the rear of the bicycle, maintaining a constant tension when a rider is pedaling the bicycle. The generator hangs from a steel support structure (I used welded 2-inch square tubing, but a frame could be made out of lumber). Not only is this machine practical, but it is reliable enough to be used as an exercise machine, and it is inexpensive to make:
You can see a bank of three 12-volt RV light bulbs behind the bicycle unit (in the lowerleft corner of the photograph), which I use for a load when riding the bicycle as an exercise machine. A set of three switches is mounted at the front of the bicycle, where I can turn loads on and off while riding. By rectifying the three-phase AC power produced, it is possible to have the alternator power its own eld coil with DC voltage, eliminating the need for a battery. However, some indepen-
dent source of DC voltage will still be necessary for start-up, as the eld coil must be energized before any AC power can be produced.
Induction motor
PARTS AND MATERIALS AC power source: 120VAC Capacitor, 3.3 F (or 2.2 F) 120VAC or 350VDC, non-polarized 15 to 25 watt incandescent lamp or 820 25 watt resistors #32 AWG magnet wire wooden board approx. 5 in. square. AC line cord with plug 1.75 inch dia. cardboard tubing (toilet paper roll) lamp socket AC power source: 220VAC Capacitor, 1.5 F 240VAC or 680VDC, non-polarized 25 to 40 watt incandescent lamp or 820 25 watt resistors #32 AWG magnet wire wooden board approx. 15 cm. square. AC line cord with plug 4.5 to 5 cm. dia. cardboard tubing. lamp socket CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 2, chapter 13: AC motors, Single Phase induction motors,Permanent split-capacitor motor. LEARNING OBJECTIVES To build an AC permanent split-capacitor induction motor. To illustrate the simplicity of the AC induction motor.
120 Vac 440 turns 440 turns 25 watt lamp 3.3 F (a)ILLUSTRATION
INSTRUCTIONS There are two parts lists to choose from depending upon the availability of 120VAC or 220VAC. Choose the one for your location. This set of instructions is for the 120VAC version. This is a simplied version of a permanent capacitor split-phase induction motor. By simplied, we mean the coils only requires a few hundred turns of wire instead of a few thousand. This is easier to wind. Though, the larger few thousand turns model is impressive. There are two stator coils as shown in the illustration above. Approximately 440 turns of #32 AWG (American wire gauge) enameled magnet wire are wound over a one inch length of a slightly longer section of 1.75 inch diameter toilet paper tube. To avoid counting the turns, close-wind four layers of magnet wire over a one inch width of the tube. See (b) above. Leave a few inches of magnet wire for the leads. Tape the beginning lead near the end of the tube so that the windings will cover and anchor the tape. Do not cut the nal width of the cardboard tube until
the winding is nished. Close wind a single layer. Tape or cement the rst layer to prevent unwinding before proceeding to the second layer. Though it is possible to wind additional layers directly over existing layers, consider applying tape or paper between the layers as shown in schematic (b). After four layers are wound, glue the windings in place. If close winding four layers of magnet wire it too difcult, scramble wind 440 turns of the magnet wire over the end of the cardboard tube. However, the close-wound style coil mounts more easily to the baseboard. Keep the windings within a one inch length. Cut the nished winding from the end of the cardboard tube with a razor knife allowing the form to extend a little beyond the winding. Strip the enamel from an inch off the ends of the pair of lead wires with sandpaper. Splice the bare ends to heavier gauge insulated hook-up wire. Solder the splice. Insulate with tape or heat-shrink tubing. Secure the splice to the coil body. Then proceed with a second identical coil. Refer to both the schematic diagram and the illustration for assembly. Note that the coils are mounted at right angles. They may be cemented to an insulating baseboard like wood. The 25 watt lamp is wired in series with one coil. This limits the current owing through the coil. The lamp is a substitute for an 820 power resistor. The capacitor is wired in series with the other coil. It also limits the current through the coil. In addition, it provides a leading phase shift of the current with respect to voltage. The schematic and illustration show no power switch or fuse. Add these if desired. The rotor must be made of a ferromagnetic material like a steel can lid or bottle cap. The illustration below shows how to make the rotor. Select a circular rotor either smaller than the coil forms or a little larger. Use geometry to locate and mark the center. The center needs to be dimpled. Select an eighth inch diameter (a few mm) nail (a) and le or grind the point round as shown at (b). Place the rotor atop a piece of soft wood (c) and hammer the rounded point into the center (d). Practice on a piece of similar scrap metal. Take care not to pierce the rotor. A dished rotor (f) or a lid (g) balance better than the at rotor (e). The pivot point (e) may be a straight pin driven through a movable wooden pedestal, or through the main board. The tip of a ball-point pen also works. If the rotor does not balance atop the pivot, remove metal from the heavy side.(g) (f)
Double check the wiring. Check that any bare wire has been insulated. The circuit may be powered-up without the rotor. The lamp should light. Both coils will warm within a few minutes. Excessive heating means that a lower wattage (higher resistance) lamp and a lower value capacitor should be substituted in series with the respective coils.
Place the rotor atop the pivot and move it between both coils. It should spin. The closer it is, the faster it should spin. Both coils should be warm, indicating power. Try different size and style rotors. Try a small rotor on the opposite side of the coils compared to the illustration. For lack of #32 AWG magnet wire try 440 turns of slightly a larger diameter (lesser AWG number) wire. This will require more than 4 layers for the required turns. A night-light xture might be less expensive than the full-size lamp socket illustrated. Though night-light bulbs are too low a wattage at 3 or 7 watts, 15 watt bulbs t the socket.
Phase shift
PARTS AND MATERIALS Low-voltage AC power supply Two capacitors, 0.1 F each, non-polarized (Radio Shack catalog # 272-135) Two 27 k resistors I recommend ceramic disk capacitors, because they are insensitive to polarity (non-polarized), inexpensive, and durable. Avoid capacitors with any kind of polarity marking, as these will be destroyed when powered by AC! CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 2, chapter 1: Basic AC Theory Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 2, chapter 4: Reactance and Impedance Capacitive LEARNING OBJECTIVES How out-of-phase AC voltages do not add algebraically, but according to vector (phasor) arithmetic
27 k 27 k 0.1 F 0.1 F
INSTRUCTIONS Build the circuit and measure voltage drops across each component with an AC voltmeter. Measure total (supply) voltage with the same voltmeter. You will discover that the voltage drops do not add up to equal the total voltage. This is due to phase shifts in the circuit: voltage dropped across the capacitors is out-of-phase with voltage dropped across the resistors, and thus the voltage drop gures do not add up as one might expect. Taking phase angle into consideration, they do add up to equal the total, but a voltmeter doesnt provide phase angle measurements, only amplitude. Try measuring voltage dropped across both resistors at once. This voltage drop will equal the sum of the voltage drops measured across each resistor separately. This tells you that both the resistors voltage drop waveforms are in-phase with each other, since they add simply and directly. Measure voltage dropped across both capacitors at once. This voltage drop, like the drop measured across the two resistors, will equal the sum of the voltage drops measured across each capacitor separately. Likewise, this tells you that both the capacitors voltage drop waveforms are in-phase with each other. Given that the power supply frequency is 60 Hz (household power frequency in the United States), calculate impedances for all components and determine all voltage drops using Ohms Law (E=IZ ; I=E/Z ; Z=E/I). The polar magnitudes of the results should closely agree with your voltmeter readings.
1 R1 R2 V1 3 Rbogus1 4 Rbogus2 0 0 C2 C1
1 27 k 2 27 k 3 0.1 F 4 0.1 F 0
The two large-value resistors Rbogus1 and Rbogus1 are connected across the capacitors to provide a DC path to ground in order that SPICE will work. This is a x for one of SPICEs quirks, to avoid it from seeing the capacitors as open circuits in its analysis. These two resistors are entirely unnecessary in the real circuit. Netlist (make a text le containing the following text, verbatim): phase shift v1 1 0 ac 12 sin r1 1 2 27k r2 2 3 27k c1 3 4 0.1u c2 4 0 0.1u rbogus1 3 4 1e9 rbogus2 4 0 1e9 .ac lin 1 60 60 * Voltage across each component: .print ac v(1,2) v(2,3) v(3,4) v(4,0) * Voltage across pairs of similar components .print ac v(1,3) v(3,0) .end
Sound cancellation
PARTS AND MATERIALS Low-voltage AC power supply Two audio speakers Two 220 resistors Large, low-frequency (woofer) speakers are most appropriate for this experiment. For optimum results, the speakers should be identical and mounted in enclosures.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES How phase shift can cause waves to either reinforce or interfere with each other The importance of speaker phasing in stereo systems
INSTRUCTIONS Connect each speaker to the low-voltage AC power supply through a 220 resistor. The resistor limits the amount of power delivered to each speaker by the power supply. A lowpitched, 60-Hertz tone should be heard from the speakers. If the tone sounds too loud, use higher-value resistors. With both speakers connected and producing sound, position them so that they are only a foot or two away, facing toward each other. Listen to the volume of the 60-Hertz tone. Now, reverse the connections (the polarity) of just one of the speakers and note the volume again. Try switching the polarity of one speaker back and forth from original to reversed, comparing volume levels each way. What do you notice? By reversing wire connections to one speaker, you are reversing the phase of that speakers sound wave in reference to the other speaker. In one mode, the sound waves will reinforce one another for a strong volume. In the other mode, the sound waves will destructively interfere, resulting in diminished volume. This phenomenon is common to all wave events: sound waves, electrical signals (voltage waves), waves in water, and even light waves! Multiple speakers in a stereo sound system must be properly phased so that their respective sound waves dont cancel each other, leaving less total sound level for the listener(s) to hear. So, even in an AC system where there really is no such thing as constant polarity, the sequence of wire connections may make a signicant difference in system performance. This principle of volume reduction by destructive interference may be exploited for noise cancellation. Such systems sample the waveform of the ambient noise, then produce an iden-
tical sound signal 180o out of phase with the noise. When the two sound signals meet, they cancel each other out, ideally eliminating all the noise. As one might guess, this is much easier accomplished with noise sources of steady frequency and amplitude. Cancellation of random, broad-spectrum noise is very difcult, as some sort of signal-processing circuit must sample the noise and generate precisely the right amount of cancellation sound at just the right time in order to be effective.
PARTS AND MATERIALS Electronic keyboard (musical) Mono (not stereo) headphone-type plug Impedance matching transformer (1k to 8 ratio; Radio Shack catalog # 273-1380) 10 k resistor In this experiment, youll learn how to use an electronic musical keyboard as a source of variable-frequency AC voltage signals. You need not purchase an expensive keyboard for this but one with at least a few dozen voice selections (piano, ute, harp, etc.) would be good. The mono plug will be plugged into the headphone jack of the musical keyboard, so get a plug thats the correct size for the keyboard. The impedance matching transformer is a small-size transformer easily obtained from an electronics supply store. One may be scavenged from a small, junk radio: it connects between the speaker and the circuit board (amplier), so is easily identiable by location. The primary winding is rated in ohms of impedance (1000 ), and is usually center-tapped. The secondary winding is 8 and not center-tapped. These impedance gures are not the same as DC resistance, so dont expect to read 1000 and 8 with your ohmmeter however, the 1000 winding will read more resistance than the 8 winding, because it has more turns. If such a transformer cannot be obtained for the experiment, a regular 120V/6V step-down power transformer works fairly well, too. CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 2, chapter 1: Basic AC Theory Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 2, chapter 7: Mixed-Frequency AC Signals LEARNING OBJECTIVES Difference between amplitude and frequency Measuring AC voltage, current with a meter Transformer operation, step-up SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM
Keyboard plug 8 1 k 10 k
"Voice" selection
INSTRUCTIONS Normally, a student of electronics in a school would have access to a device called a signal generator, or function generator, used to make variable-frequency voltage waveforms to power AC circuits. An inexpensive electronic keyboard is a cheaper alternative to a regular signal generator, and provides features that most signal generators cannot match, such as producing mixed-frequency waves. To tap in to the AC voltage produced by the keyboard, youll need to insert a plug into the headphone jack (sometimes just labeled phone on the keyboard) complete with two wires for connection to circuits of your own design. When you insert the plug into the jack, the normal speaker built in to the keyboard will be disconnected (assuming the keyboard is equipped with one), and the signal that used to power that speaker will be available at the plug wires. In
this particular experiment, I recommend using the keyboard to power the 8 side of an audio output transformer to step up voltage to a higher level. If using a power transformer instead of an audio output transformer, connect the keyboard to the low-voltage winding so that it operates as a step-up device. Keyboards produce very low voltage signals, so there is no shock hazard in this experiment. Using an inexpensive Yamaha keyboard, I have found that the panute voice setting produces the truest sine-wave waveform. This waveform, or something close to it (ute, for example), is recommended to start experimenting with since it is relatively free of harmonics (many waveforms mixed together, of integer-multiple frequency). Being composed of just one frequency, it is a less complex waveform for your multimeter to measure. Make sure the keyboard is set to a mode where the note will be sustained as any key is held down otherwise, the amplitude (voltage) of the waveform will be constantly changing (high when the key is rst pressed, then decaying rapidly to zero). Using an AC voltmeter, read the voltage direct from the headphone plug. Then, read the voltage as stepped up by the transformer, noting the step ratio. If your multimeter has a frequency function, use it to measure the frequency of the waveform produced by the keyboard. Try different notes on the keyboard and record their frequencies. Do you notice a pattern in frequency as you activate different notes, especially keys that are similar to each other (notice the 12-key black-and-white pattern repeated on the keyboard from left to right)? If you dont mind making marks on your keyboard, write the frequencies in Hertz in black ink on the white keys, near the tops where ngers are less likely to rub the numbers off. Ideally, there should be no change in signal amplitude (voltage) as different frequencies (notes on the keyboard) are tried. If you adjust the volume up and down, you should discover that changes in amplitude should have little or no impact on frequency measurement. Amplitude and frequency are two completely independent aspects of an AC signal. Try connecting the keyboard output to a 10 k load resistance (through the headphone plug), and measure AC current with your multimeter. If your multimeter has a frequency function, you can measure the frequency of this current as well. It should be the same as for the voltage for any given note (keyboard key).
PC Oscilloscope
PARTS AND MATERIALS IBM-compatible personal computer with sound card, running Windows 3.1 or better Winscope software, downloaded free from internet Electronic keyboard (musical) Mono (not stereo) headphone-type plug for keyboard Mono (not stereo) headphone-type plug for computer sound card microphone input 10 k potentiometer The Winscope program Ive used was written by Dr. Constantin Zeldovich, for free personal and academic use. It plots waveforms on the computer screen in response to AC voltage signals interpreted by the sound card microphone input. A similar program, called Oscope, is made for the Linux operating system. If you dont have access to either software, you may use the sound recorder utility that comes stock with most versions of Microsoft Windows to display crude waveshapes. CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 2, chapter 7: Mixed-Frequency AC Signals Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 2, chapter 12: AC Metering Circuits LEARNING OBJECTIVES Computer use Basic oscilloscope function
Computer plugmic. input
INSTRUCTIONS The oscilloscope is an indispensable test instrument for the electronics student and professional. No serious electronics lab should be without one (or two!). Unfortunately, commercial oscilloscopes tend to be expensive, and it is almost impossible to design and build your own without another oscilloscope to troubleshoot it! However, the sound card of a personal computer is capable of digitizing low-voltage AC signals from a range of a few hundred Hertz to several thousand Hertz with respectable resolution, and free software is available for displaying these signals in oscilloscope form on the computer screen. Since most people either have a personal computer or can obtain one for less cost than an oscilloscope, this becomes a viable alternative for the experimenter on a budget. One word of caution: you can cause signicant hardware damage to your computer if signals of excessive voltage are connected to the sound cards microphone input! The AC voltages produced by a musical keyboard are too low to cause damage to your computer through the sound card, but other voltage sources might be hazardous to your computers health. Use this oscilloscope at your own risk! Using the keyboard and plug arrangement described in the previous experiment, connect the keyboard output to the outer terminals of a 10 k potentiometer. Solder two wires to the connection points on the sound card microphone input plug, so that you have a set of test leads for the oscilloscope. Connect these test leads to the potentiometer: between the middle terminal (the wiper) and either of the outer terminals. Start the Winscope program and click on the arrow icon in the upper-left corner (it looks like the play arrow seen on tape player and CD player control buttons). If you press a key on the musical keyboard, you should see some kind of waveform displayed on the screen. Choose the panute or some other ute-like voice on the musical keyboard for the best sine-wave shape. If the computer displays a waveform that looks kind of like a square wave, you need to adjust the potentiometer for a lower-amplitude signal. Almost any waveshape will be clipped to look like a square wave if it exceeds the amplitude limit of the sound card.
Test different instrument voices on the musical keyboard and note the different waveshapes. Note how complex some of the waveshapes are, compared to the panute voice. Experiment with the different controls in the Winscope window, noting how they change the appearance of the waveform. As a test instrument, this oscilloscope is quite poor. It has almost no capability to make precision measurements of voltage, although its frequency precision is surprisingly good. It is very limited in the ranges of voltage and frequency it can display, relegating it to the analysis of low- and mid-range audio tones. I have had very little success getting the oscilloscope to display good square waves, presumably because of its limited frequency response. Also, the coupling capacitor found in sound card microphone input circuits prevents it from measuring DC voltage: it is as though the AC coupling feature of a normal oscilloscope were stuck on. Despite these shortcomings, it is useful as a demonstration tool, and for initial explorations into waveform analysis for the beginning student of electronics. For those who are interested, there are several professional-quality oscilloscope adapter devices manufactured for personal computers whose performance is far beyond that of a sound card, and they are typically sold at less cost than a complete stand-alone oscilloscope (around $400, year 2002). Radio Shack sells one made by Velleman, catalog # 910-3914. Having a computer serve as the display medium brings many advantages, not the least of which is the ability to easily store waveform pictures as digital les.
Waveform analysis
PARTS AND MATERIALS IBM-compatible personal computer with sound card, running Windows 3.1 or better Winscope software, downloaded free from internet Electronic keyboard (musical) Mono (not stereo) headphone-type plug for keyboard Mono (not stereo) headphone-type plug for computer sound card microphone input, with wires for connecting to voltage sources 10 k potentiometer Parts and equipment for this experiment are identical to those required for the PC oscilloscope experiment. CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 2, chapter 7: Mixed-Frequency AC Signals LEARNING OBJECTIVES Understand the difference between time-domain and frequency-domain plots Develop a qualitative sense of Fourier analysis
INSTRUCTIONS The Winscope program comes with another feature other than the typical time-domain oscilloscope display: frequency-domain display, which plots amplitude (vertical) over frequency (horizontal). An oscilloscopes time-domain display plots amplitude (vertical) over time (horizontal), which is ne for displaying waveshape. However, when it is desirable to see the harmonic constituency of a complex wave, a frequency-domain plot is the best tool. If using Winscope, click on the rainbow icon to switch to frequency-domain mode. Generate a sine-wave signal using the musical keyboard (panute or ute voice), and you should see a single spike on the display, corresponding to the amplitude of the single-frequency signal. Moving the mouse cursor beneath the peak should result in the frequency being displayed numerically at the bottom of the screen. If two notes are activated on the musical keyboard, the plot should show two distinct peaks, each one corresponding to a particular note (frequency). Basic chords (three notes) produce three spikes on the frequency-domain plot, and so on. Contrast this with normal oscilloscope (time-domain) plot by clicking once again on the rainbow icon. A musical chord displayed in time-domain format is a very complex waveform, but is quite simple to resolve into constituent notes (frequencies) on a frequency-domain display. Experiment with different instrument voices on the musical keyboard, correlating the time-domain plot with the frequency-domain plot. Waveforms that are symmetrical above and below their centerlines contain only odd-numbered harmonics (odd-integer multiples of the base, or fundamental frequency), while nonsymmetrical waveforms contain even-numbered harmonics as well. Use the cursor to locate the specic frequency of each peak on the plot, and a calculator to determine whether each peak is even- or odd-numbered.
PARTS AND MATERIALS Oscilloscope Assortment of non-polarized capacitors (0.1 F to 10 F) Step-down power transformer (120V / 6 V) 10 k resistors Six-volt battery The power transformer is used simply as an inductor, with only one winding connected. The unused winding should be left open. A simple iron core, single-winding inductor (sometimes known as a choke) may also be used, but such inductors are more difcult to obtain than power transformers. CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 2, chapter 6: Resonance LEARNING OBJECTIVES How to build a resonant circuit Effects of capacitor size on resonant frequency How to produce antiresonance
INSTRUCTIONS If an inductor and a capacitor are connected in parallel with each other, and then briey energized by connection to a DC voltage source, oscillations will ensue as energy is exchanged from the capacitor to inductor and vice versa. These oscillations may be viewed with an oscilloscope connected in parallel with the inductor/capacitor circuit. Parallel inductor/capacitor circuits are commonly known as tank circuits. Important note: I recommend against using a PC/sound card as an oscilloscope for this experiment, because very high voltages can be generated by the inductor when the battery is disconnected (inductive kickback). These high voltages will surely damage the sound cards input, and perhaps other portions of the computer as well. A tank circuits natural frequency, called the resonant frequency, is determined by the size of the inductor and the size of the capacitor, according to the following equation:
fresonant =
Many small power transformers have primary (120 volt) winding inductances of approximately 1 H. Use this gure as a rough estimate of inductance for your circuit to calculate expected oscillation frequency. Ideally, the oscillations produced by a tank circuit continue indenitely. Realistically, oscillations will decay in amplitude over the course of several cycles due to the resistive and magnetic losses of the inductor. Inductors with a high Q rating will, of course, produce longerlasting oscillations than low-Q inductors. Try changing capacitor values and noting the effect on oscillation frequency. You might notice changes in the duration of oscillations as well, due to capacitor size. Since you know how to calculate resonant frequency from inductance and capacitance, can you gure out a way to calculate inductor inductance from known values of circuit capacitance (as measured by a capacitance meter) and resonant frequency (as measured by an oscilloscope)? Resistance may be intentionally added to the circuit either in series or parallel for the express purpose of dampening oscillations. This effect of resistance dampening tank circuit
oscillation is known as antiresonance. It is analogous to the action of a shock absorber in dampening the bouncing of a car after striking a bump in the road. COMPUTER SIMULATION Schematic with SPICE node numbers:
Rstray is placed in the circuit to dampen oscillations and produce a more realistic simulation. A lower Rstray value causes longer-lived oscillations because less energy is dissipated. Eliminating this resistor from the circuit results in endless oscillation. Netlist (make a text le containing the following text, verbatim): tank circuit with loss l1 1 0 1 ic=0 rstray 1 2 1000 c1 2 0 0.1u ic=6 .tran 0.1m 20m uic .plot tran v(1,0) .end
Signal coupling
PARTS AND MATERIALS 6 volt battery One capacitor, 0.22 F (Radio Shack catalog # 272-1070 or equivalent) One capacitor, 0.047 F (Radio Shack catalog # 272-134 or equivalent) Small hobby motor, permanent-magnet type (Radio Shack catalog # 273-223 or equivalent) Audio detector with headphones Length of telephone cable, several feet long (Radio Shack catalog # 278-872) Telephone cable is also available from hardware stores. Any unshielded multiconductor cable will sufce for this experiment. Cables with thin conductors (telephone cable is typically 24-gauge) produce a more pronounced effect. CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 2, chapter 7: Mixed-Frequency AC Signals Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 2, chapter 8: Filters LEARNING OBJECTIVES How to couple AC signals and block DC signals to a measuring instrument How stray coupling happens in cables Techniques to minimize inter-cable coupling
Connect the motor to the battery using two of the telephone cables four conductors. The motor should run, as expected. Now, connect the audio signal detector across the motor terminals, with the 0.047 F capacitor in series, like this:
You should be able to hear a buzz or whine in the headphones, representing the AC noise voltage produced by the motor as the brushes make and break contact with the rotating commutator bars. The purpose of the series capacitor is to act as a high-pass lter, so that the detector only receives the AC voltage across the motors terminals, not any DC voltage. This is precisely how oscilloscopes provide an AC coupling feature for measuring the AC content of a signal without any DC bias voltage: a capacitor is connected in series with one test probe.
Ideally, one would expect nothing but pure DC voltage at the motors terminals, because the motor is connected directly in parallel with the battery. Since the motors terminals are electrically common with the respective terminals of the battery, and the batterys nature is to maintain a constant DC voltage, nothing but DC voltage should appear at the motor terminals, right? Well, because of resistance internal to the battery and along the conductor lengths, current pulses drawn by the motor produce oscillating voltage dips at the motor terminals, causing the AC noise heard by the detector:
RwireUse the audio detector to measure noise voltage directly across the battery. Since the AC noise is produced in this circuit by pulsating voltage drops along stray resistances, the less resistance we measure across, the less noise voltage we should detect:
You may also measure noise voltage dropped along either of the telephone cable conductors supplying power to the motor, by connecting the audio detector between both ends of a single cable conductor. The noise detected here originates from current pulses through the resistance of the wire:
Now that we have established how AC noise is created and distributed in this circuit, lets explore how it is coupled to adjacent wires in the cable. Use the audio detector to measure voltage between one of the motor terminals and one of the unused wires in the telephone cable. The 0.047 F capacitor is not needed in this exercise, because there is no DC voltage between these points for the detector to detect anyway:
The noise voltage detected here is due to stray capacitance between adjacent cable conductors creating an AC current path between the wires. Remember that no current actually goes through a capacitance, but the alternate charging and discharging action of a capacitance, whether it be intentional or unintentional, provides alternating current a pathway of sorts. If we were to try and conduct a voltage signal between one of the unused wires and a point common with the motor, that signal would become tainted with noise voltage from the motor. This could be quite detrimental, depending on how much noise was coupled between the two circuits and how sensitive one circuit was to the others noise. Since the primary coupling phenomenon in this circuit is capacitive in nature, higher-frequency noise voltages are more strongly coupled than lower-frequency noise voltages. If the additional signal was a DC signal, with no AC expected in it, we could mitigate the problem of coupled noise by decoupling the AC noise with a relatively large capacitor connected across the DC signals conductors. Use the 0.22 F capacitor for this purpose, as shown:
The decoupling capacitor acts as a practical short-circuit to any AC noise voltage, while not affecting DC voltage signals between those two points at all. So long as the decoupling capacitor value is signicantly larger than the stray coupling capacitance between the cables conductors, the AC noise voltage will be held to a minimum. Another way of minimizing coupled noise in a cable is to avoid having two circuits share a common conductor. To illustrate, connect the audio detector between the two unused wires and listen for a noise signal:
There should be far less noise detected between any two of the unused conductors than between one unused conductor and one used in the motor circuit. The reason for this drastic reduction in noise is that stray capacitance between cable conductors tends to couple the same noise voltage to both of the unused conductors in approximately equal proportions. Thus, when measuring voltage between those two conductors, the detector only sees the difference between two approximately identical noise signals.
Chapter 5
5.10 Pulsed-light sensor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236 5.11 Voltage follower . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239 5.12 Common-emitter amplier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244 5.13 Multi-stage amplier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249 5.14 Current mirror . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253 5.15 JFET current regulator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259 5.16 Differential amplier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264 5.17 Simple op-amp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267 5.18 Audio oscillator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272 5.19 Vacuum tube audio amplier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275 Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
A semiconductor device is one made of silicon or any number of other specially prepared materials designed to exploit the unique properties of electrons in a crystal lattice, where electrons are not as free to move as in a conductor, but are far more mobile than in an insulator. A discrete device is one contained in its own package, not built on a common semiconductor substrate with other components, as is the case with ICs, or integrated circuits. Thus, discrete semiconductor circuits are circuits built out of individual semiconductor components, connected together on some kind of circuit board or terminal strip. These circuits employ all the components and concepts explored in the previous chapters, so a rm comprehension of DC and AC electricity is essential before embarking on these experiments. Just for fun, one circuit is included in this section using a vacuum tube for amplication instead of a semiconductor transistor. Before the advent of transistors, vacuum tubes were the workhorses of the electronics industry: used to make rectiers, ampliers, oscillators, and many other circuits. Though now considered obsolete for most purposes, there are still some applications for vacuum tubes, and it can be fun building and operating circuits using these devices.
Commutating diode
PARTS AND MATERIALS 6 volt battery Power transformer, 120VAC step-down to 12VAC (Radio Shack catalog # 273-1365, 2731352, or 273-1511). One 1N4001 rectifying diode (Radio Shack catalog # 276-1101) One neon lamp (Radio Shack catalog # 272-1102) Two toggle switches, SPST (Single-Pole, Single-Throw) A power transformer is specied, but any iron-core inductor will sufce, even the homemade inductor or transformer from the AC experiments chapter! The diode need not be an exact model 1N4001. Any of the 1N400X series of rectifying diodes are suitable for the task, and they are quite easy to obtain. I recommend household light switches for their low cost and durability. CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 1, chapter 16: RC and L/R Time Constants Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 3, chapter 3: Diodes and Rectiers LEARNING OBJECTIVES Review inductive kickback Learn how to suppress kickback using a diode
Switch #1
120 V Switch #2
12 VINSTRUCTIONS When assembling the circuit, be very careful of the diodes orientation. The cathode end of the diode (the end marked with a single band) must face the positive (+) side of the battery. The diode should be reverse-biased and nonconducting with switch #1 in the on position. Use the high-voltage (120 V) winding of the transformer for the inductor coil. The primary winding of a step-down transformer has more inductance than the secondary winding, and will give a greater lamp-ashing effect. Set switch #2 to the off position. This disconnects the diode from the circuit so that it has no effect. Quickly close and open (turn on and then off ) switch #1. When that switch is opened, the neon bulb will ash from the effect of inductive kickback. Rapid current decrease caused by the switchs opening causes the inductor to create a large voltage drop as it attempts to keep current at the same magnitude and going in the same direction. Inductive kickback is detrimental to switch contacts, as it causes excessive arcing whenever they are opened. In this circuit, the neon lamp actually diminishes the effect by providing an alternate current path for the inductors current when the switch opens, dissipating the inductors stored energy harmlessly in the form of light and heat. However, there is still a fairly high voltage dropped across the opening contacts of switch #1, causing undue arcing and shortened switch life. If switch #2 is closed (turned on), the diode will now be a part of the circuit. Quickly close and open switch #1 again, noting the difference in circuit behavior. This time, the neon lamp does not ash. Connect a voltmeter across the inductor to verify that the inductor is still receiving full battery voltage with switch #1 closed. If the voltmeter registers only a small voltage with switch #1 on, the diode is probably connected backward, creating a short-circuit.
Half-wave rectier
PARTS AND MATERIALS Low-voltage AC power supply (6 volt output) 6 volt battery One 1N4001 rectifying diode (Radio Shack catalog # 276-1101) Small hobby motor, permanent-magnet type (Radio Shack catalog # 273-223 or equivalent) Audio detector with headphones 0.1 F capacitor (Radio Shack catalog # 272-135 or equivalent) The diode need not be an exact model 1N4001. Any of the 1N400X series of rectifying diodes are suitable for the task, and they are quite easy to obtain. See the AC experiments chapter for detailed instructions on building the audio detector listed here. If you havent built one already, youre missing a simple and valuable tool for experimentation. A 0.1 F capacitor is specied for coupling the audio detector to the circuit, so that only AC reaches the detector circuit. This capacitors value is not critical. Ive used capacitors ranging from 0.27 F to 0.015 F with success. Lower capacitor values attenuate low-frequency signals to a greater degree, resulting in less sound intensity from the headphones, so use a greatervalue capacitor value if you experience difculty hearing the tone(s). CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 3, chapter 3: Diodes and Rectiers LEARNING OBJECTIVES Function of a diode as a rectier Permanent-magnet motor operation on AC versus DC power Measuring ripple voltage with a voltmeter SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM
Mtr (motor)
Connect the motor to the low-voltage AC power supply through the rectifying diode as shown. The diode only allows current to pass through during one half-cycle of a full positiveand-negative cycle of power supply voltage, eliminating one half-cycle from ever reaching the motor. As a result, the motor only sees current in one direction, albeit a pulsating current, allowing it to spin in one direction.
Take a jumper wire and short past the diode momentarily, noting the effect on the motors operation:
Temporary jumper
As you can see, permanent-magnet DC motors do not function well on alternating current. Remove the temporary jumper wire and reverse the diodes orientation in the circuit. Note the effect on the motor.
Most digital multimeters do a good job of discriminating AC from DC voltage, and these two measurements show the DC average and AC ripple voltages, respectively of the power seen by the motor. Ripple voltage is the varying portion of the voltage, interpreted as an AC quantity by measurement equipment although the voltage waveform never actually reverses polarity. Ripple may be envisioned as an AC signal superimposed on a steady DC bias or offset signal. Compare these measurements of DC and AC with voltage measurements taken across the motor while powered by a battery:
Batteries give very pure DC power, and as a result there should be very little AC voltage measured across the motor in this circuit. Whatever AC voltage is measured across the motor is due to the motors pulsating current draw as the brushes make and break contact with the rotating commutator bars. This pulsating current causes pulsating voltages to be dropped across any stray resistances in the circuit, resulting in pulsating voltage dips at the motor terminals. A qualitative assessment of ripple voltage may be obtained by using the sensitive audio detector described in the AC experiments chapter (the same device described as a sensitive voltage detector in the DC experiments chapter). Turn the detectors sensitivity down for low volume, and connect it across the motor terminals through a small (0.1 F) capacitor, like this:
Capacitor 0.1 F
The capacitor acts as a high-pass lter, blocking DC voltage from reaching the detector and allowing easier listening of the remaining AC voltage. This is the exact same technique used in oscilloscope circuitry for AC coupling, where DC signals are blocked from viewing by a series-connected capacitor. With a battery powering the motor, the ripple should sound like a high-pitched buzz or whine. Try replacing the battery with the AC power supply and rectifying diode, listening with the detector to the low-pitched buzz of the half-wave rectied power:
D1 1 V1 0 2 Rload 0
Netlist (make a text le containing the following text, verbatim): Halfwave rectifier v1 1 0 sin(0 8.485 60 0 0) rload 2 0 10k d1 1 2 mod1 .model mod1 d .tran .5m 25m .plot tran v(1,0) v(2,0) .end This simulation plots the input voltage as a sine wave and the output voltage as a series of humps corresponding to the positive half-cycles of the AC source voltage. The dynamics of a DC motor are far too complex to be simulated using SPICE, unfortunately.
AC source voltage is specied as 8.485 instead of 6 volts because SPICE understands AC voltage in terms of peak value only. A 6 volt RMS sine-wave voltage is actually 8.485 volts peak. In simulations where the distinction between RMS and peak value isnt relevant, I will not bother with an RMS-to-peak conversion like this. To be truthful, the distinction is not terribly important in this simulation, but I discuss it here for your edication.
PARTS AND MATERIALS Low-voltage AC power supply (6 volt output) Two 1N4001 rectifying diodes (Radio Shack catalog # 276-1101) Small hobby motor, permanent-magnet type (Radio Shack catalog # 273-223 or equivalent) Audio detector with headphones 0.1 F capacitor One toggle switch, SPST (Single-Pole, Single-Throw) It is essential for this experiment that the low-voltage AC power supply be equipped with a center tap. A transformer with a non-tapped secondary winding simply will not work for this circuit. The diodes need not be exact model 1N4001 units. Any of the 1N400X series of rectifying diodes are suitable for the task, and they are quite easy to obtain. CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 3, chapter 3: Diodes and Rectiers LEARNING OBJECTIVES Design of a center-tap rectier circuit Measuring ripple voltage with a voltmeter
INSTRUCTIONS This rectier circuit is called full-wave because it makes use of the entire waveform, both positive and negative half-cycles, of the AC source voltage in powering the DC load. As a result, there is less ripple voltage seen at the load. The RMS (Root-Mean-Square) value of the rectiers output is also greater for this circuit than for the half-wave rectier. Use a voltmeter to measure both the DC and AC voltage delivered to the motor. You should notice the advantages of the full-wave rectier immediately by the greater DC and lower AC indications as compared to the last experiment. An experimental advantage of this circuit is the ease of which it may be de-converted to a half-wave rectier: simply disconnect the short jumper wire connecting the two diodes cathode ends together on the terminal strip. Better yet, for quick comparison between half and full-wave rectication, you may add a switch in the circuit to open and close this connection at will:
With the ability to quickly switch between half- and full-wave rectication, you may easily perform qualitative comparisons between the two different operating modes. Use the audio signal detector to listen to the ripple voltage present between the motor terminals for halfwave and full-wave rectication modes, noting both the intensity and the quality of the tone. Remember to use a coupling capacitor in series with the detector so that it only receives the AC ripple voltage and not DC voltage:
Test "probes"COMPUTER SIMULATION Schematic with SPICE node numbers:
2 Rload 0
Netlist (make a text le containing the following text, verbatim): Fullwave center-tap rectifier v1 1 0 sin(0 8.485 60 0 0) v2 0 3 sin(0 8.485 60 0 0) rload 2 0 10k d1 1 2 mod1
PARTS AND MATERIALS Low-voltage AC power supply (6 volt output) Four 1N4001 rectifying diodes (Radio Shack catalog # 276-1101) Small hobby motor, permanent-magnet type (Radio Shack catalog # 273-223 or equivalent)
LEARNING OBJECTIVES Design of a bridge rectier circuit Advantages and disadvantages of the bridge rectier circuit, compared to the center-tap circuit
AC power supply
INSTRUCTIONS This circuit provides full-wave rectication without the necessity of a center-tapped transformer. In applications where a center-tapped, or split-phase, source is unavailable, this is the only practical method of full-wave rectication. In addition to requiring more diodes than the center-tap circuit, the full-wave bridge suffers a slight performance disadvantage as well: the additional voltage drop caused by current having to go through two diodes in each half-cycle rather than through only one. With a lowvoltage source such as the one youre using (6 volts RMS), this disadvantage is easily measured. Compare the DC voltage reading across the motor terminals with the reading obtained from the last experiment, given the same AC power supply and the same motor. COMPUTER SIMULATION Schematic with SPICE node numbers:
1 D1 V1 3 D3 0 0 D 4 1 D2 2 2 Rload 3
Netlist (make a text le containing the following text, verbatim): Fullwave bridge rectifier v1 1 0 sin(0 8.485 60 0 0)
218 rload 2 3 10k d1 3 1 mod1 d2 1 2 mod1 d3 3 0 mod1 d4 0 2 mod1 .model mod1 d .tran .5m 25m .plot tran v(1,0) v(2,3) .end
Rectier/lter circuit
PARTS AND MATERIALS Low-voltage AC power supply Bridge rectier pack (Radio Shack catalog # 276-1185 or equivalent) Electrolytic capacitor, 1000 F, at least 25 WVDC (Radio Shack catalog # 272-1047 or equivalent) Four banana jack style binding posts, or other terminal hardware, for connection to potentiometer circuit (Radio Shack catalog # 274-662 or equivalent) Metal box 12-volt light bulb, 25 watt Lamp socket A bridge rectier pack is highly recommended over constructing a bridge rectier circuit from individual diodes, because such packs are made to bolt onto a metal heat sink. A metal box is recommended over a plastic box for its ability to function as a heat sink for the rectier. A larger capacitor value is ne to use in this experiment, so long as its working voltage is high enough. To be safe, choose a capacitor with a working voltage rating at least twice the RMS AC voltage output of the low-voltage AC power supply. High-wattage 12-volt lamps may be purchased from recreational vehicle (RV) and boating supply stores. Common sizes are 25 watt and 50 watt. This lamp will be used as a heavy load for the power supply. CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 2, chapter 8: Filters LEARNING OBJECTIVES Capacitive lter function in an AC/DC power supply Importance of heat sinks for power semiconductors SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM
Rectifier AC in + DC out
Rectifier AC inAC
DC out
INSTRUCTIONS This experiment involves constructing a rectier and lter circuit for attachment to the low-voltage AC power supply constructed earlier. With this device, you will have a source of low-voltage, DC power suitable as a replacement for a battery in battery-powered experiments. If you would like to make this device its own, self-contained 120VAC/DC power supply, you may add all the componentry of the low-voltage AC supply to the AC in side of this circuit: a transformer, power cord, and plug. Even if you dont choose to do this, I recommend using a metal box larger than necessary to provide room for additional voltage regulation circuitry you might choose to add to this project later. The bridge rectier unit should be rated for a current at least as high as the transformers secondary winding is rated for, and for a voltage at least twice as high as the RMS voltage of the transformers output (this allows for peak voltage, plus an additional safety margin). The Radio Shack rectier specied in the parts list is rated for 25 amps and 50 volts, more than enough for the output of the low-voltage AC power supply specied in the AC experiments chapter. Rectier units of this size are often equipped with quick-disconnect terminals. Complementary quick-disconnect lugs are sold that crimp onto the bare ends of wire. This is the preferred method of terminal connection. You may solder wires directly to the lugs of the rectier, but I recommend against direct soldering to any semiconductor component for two reasons: possible heat damage during soldering, and difculty of replacing the component in the event of failure. Semiconductor devices are more prone to failure than most of the components covered in these experiments thus far, and so if you have any intent of making a circuit permanent, you should build it to be maintained. Maintainable construction involves, among other things, making all delicate components replaceable. It also means making test points accessible to meter probes throughout the circuit, so that troubleshooting may be executed with a mini-
mum of inconvenience. Terminal strips inherently provide test points for taking voltage measurements, and they also allow for easy disconnection of wires without sacricing connection durability. Bolt the rectier unit to the inside of the metal box. The boxs surface area will act as a radiator, keeping the rectier unit cool as it passes high currents. Any metal radiator surface designed to lower the operating temperature of an electronic component is called a heat sink. Semiconductor devices in general are prone to damage from overheating, so providing a path for heat transfer from the device(s) to the ambient air is very important when the circuit in question may handle large amounts of power. A capacitor is included in the circuit to act as a lter to reduce ripple voltage. Make sure that you connect the capacitor properly across the DC output terminals of the rectier, so that the polarities match. Being an electrolytic capacitor, it is sensitive to damage by polarity reversal. In this circuit especially, where the internal resistance of the transformer and rectier are low and the short-circuit current consequently is high, the potential for damage is great. Warning: a failed capacitor in this circuit will likely explode with alarming force! After the rectier/lter circuit is built, connect it to the low-voltage AC power supply like this:
Measure the AC voltage output by the low-voltage power supply. Your meter should indicate approximately 6 volts if the circuit is connected as shown. This voltage measurement is the RMS voltage of the AC power supply. Now, switch your multimeter to the DC voltage function and measure the DC voltage output by the rectier/lter circuit. It should read substantially higher than the RMS voltage of the AC input measured before. The ltering action of the capacitor provides a DC output voltage equal to the peak AC voltage, hence the greater voltage indication:
TimeMeasure the AC ripple voltage magnitude with a digital voltmeter set to AC volts (or AC millivolts). You should notice a much smaller ripple voltage in this circuit than what was measured in any of the unltered rectier circuits previously built. Feel free to use your audio detector to listen to the AC ripple voltage output by the rectier/lter unit. As usual, connect a small coupling capacitor in series with the detector so that it does not respond to the DC voltage, but only the AC ripple. Very little sound should be heard. After taking unloaded AC ripple voltage measurements, connect the 25 watt light bulb to the output of the rectier/lter circuit like this:
Re-measure the ripple voltage present between the rectier/lter units DC out terminals. With a heavy load, the lter capacitor becomes discharged between rectied voltage peaks, resulting in greater ripple than before:
TimeIf less ripple is desired under heavy-load conditions, a larger capacitor may be used, or a more complex lter circuit may be built using two capacitors and an inductor:
If you choose to build such a lter circuit, be sure to use an iron-core inductor for maximum inductance, and one with thick enough wire to safely handle the full rated current of power supply. Inductors used for the purpose of ltering are sometimes referred to as chokes, because they choke AC ripple voltage from getting to the load. If a suitable choke cannot be obtained, the secondary winding of a step-down power transformer like the type used to step 120 volts AC down to 12 or 6 volts AC in the low-voltage power supply may be used. Leave the primary (120 volt) winding open:
1 D1 V1 3 D3 0 1 D2 2 0 D C1 4 2 Rload 3
Netlist (make a text le containing the following text, verbatim): Fullwave bridge rectifier v1 1 0 sin(0 8.485 60 0 0) rload 2 3 10k c1 2 3 1000u ic=0 d1 3 1 mod1 d2 1 2 mod1 d3 3 0 mod1 d4 0 2 mod1 .model mod1 d .tran .5m 25m .plot tran v(1,0) v(2,3) .end You may decrease the value of Rload in the simulation from 10 k to some lower value to explore the effects of loading on ripple voltage. As it is with a 10 k load resistor, the ripple is undetectable on the waveform plotted by SPICE.
Voltage regulator
PARTS AND MATERIALS Four 6 volt batteries Zener diode, 12 volt type 1N4742 (Radio Shack catalog # 276-563 or equivalent) One 10 k resistor Any low-voltage zener diode is appropriate for this experiment. The 1N4742 model listed here (zener voltage = 12 volts) is but one suggestion. Whatever diode model you choose, I highly recommend one with a zener voltage rating greater than the voltage of a single battery, for maximum learning experience. It is important that you see how a zener diode functions when exposed to a voltage less than its breakdown rating. CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 3, chapter 3: Diodes and Rectiers LEARNING OBJECTIVES Zener diode function SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM
Zener diode
INSTRUCTIONS Build this simple circuit, being sure to connect the diode in reverse-bias fashion (cathode positive and anode negative), and measure the voltage across the diode with one battery as a power source. Record this voltage drop for future reference. Also, measure and record the voltage drop across the 10 k resistor. Modify the circuit by connecting two 6-volt batteries in series, for 12 volts total power source voltage. Re-measure the diodes voltage drop, as well as the resistors voltage drop, with a voltmeter:
Connect three, then four 6-volt batteries together in series, forming an 18 volt and 24 volt power source, respectively. Measure and record the diodes and resistors voltage drops for each new power supply voltage. What do you notice about the diodes voltage drop for these four different source voltages? Do you see how the diode voltage never exceeds a level of 12 volts? What do you notice about the resistors voltage drop for these four different source voltage levels? Zener diodes are frequently used as voltage regulating devices, because they act to clamp the voltage drop across themselves at a predetermined level. Whatever excess voltage is supplied by the power source becomes dropped across the series resistor. However, it is important to note that a zener diode cannot make up for a deciency in source voltage. For instance, this 12-volt zener diode does not drop 12 volts when the power source is only 6 volts strong. It is helpful to think of a zener diode as a voltage limiter: establishing a maximum voltage drop,
2 Zener diode
Netlist (make a text le containing the following text, verbatim): Zener diode v1 1 0 r1 1 2 10k d1 0 2 mod1 .model mod1 d bv=12 .dc v1 18 18 1 .print dc v(2,0) .end A zener diode may be simulated in SPICE with a normal diode, the reverse breakdown parameter (bv=12) set to the desired zener breakdown voltage.
Transistor as a switch
PARTS AND MATERIALS Two 6-volt batteries One NPN transistor models 2N2222 or 2N3403 recommended (Radio Shack catalog # 276-1617 is a package of fteen NPN transistors ideal for this and other experiments) One 100 k resistor One 560 resistor One light-emitting diode (Radio Shack catalog # 276-026 or equivalent) Resistor values are not critical for this experiment. Neither is the particular light emitting diode (LED) selected. CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 3, chapter 4: Bipolar Junction Transistors LEARNING OBJECTIVES Current amplication of a bipolar junction transistor
100 k Q1
The red wire shown in the diagram (the one terminating in an arrowhead, connected to one end of the 100 k resistor) is intended to remain loose, so that you may touch it momentarily to other points in the circuit.
If you touch the end of the loose wire to any point in the circuit more positive than it, such as the positive side of the DC power source, the LED should light up. It takes 20 mA to fully illuminate a standard LED, so this behavior should strike you as interesting, because the 100 k resistor to which the loose wire is attached restricts current through it to a far lesser value than 20 mA. At most, a total voltage of 12 volts across a 100 k resistance yields a current of only 0.12 mA, or 120 A! The connection made by your touching the wire to a positive point in the circuit conducts far less current than 1 mA, yet through the amplifying action of the transistor, is able to control a much greater current through the LED.
Try using an ammeter to connect the loose wire to the positive side of the power source, like this:
You may have to select the most sensitive current range on the meter to measure this small ow. After measuring this controlling current, try measuring the LEDs current (the controlled current) and compare magnitudes. Dont be surprised if you nd a ratio in excess of 200 (the controlled current 200 times as great as the controlling current)!
As you can see, the transistor is acting as a kind of electrically-controlled switch, switching current on and off to the LED at the command of a much smaller current signal conducted through its base terminal.
To further illustrate just how miniscule the controlling current is, remove the loose wire from the circuit and try bridging the unconnected end of the 100 k resistor to the power sources positive pole with two ngers of one hand. You may need to wet the ends of those ngers to maximize conductivity:
Bridge the two points identified by arrows with two fingers of one hand, to conduct a small current to the transistors base.Try varying the contact pressure of your ngers with these two points in the circuit to vary the amount of resistance in the controlling currents path. Can you vary the brightness of the LED by doing so? What does this indicate about the transistors ability to act as more than just a switch; i.e. as a variable COMPUTER SIMULATION Schematic with SPICE node numbers:
1 560
1 R2 3 D1 100 k 4 2 Q1 0
1 0
Netlist (make a text le containing the following text, verbatim): Transistor as a switch v1 1 0 r1 1 2 100k r2 1 3 560 d1 3 4 mod2
In this simulation, the voltage drop across the 560 resistor v(1,3) turns out to be 10.26 volts, indicating a LED current of 18.32 mA by Ohms Law (I=E/R). R1 s voltage drop (voltage between nodes 1 and 2) ends up being 11.15 volts, which across 100 k gives a current of only 111.5 A. Obviously, a very small current is exerting control over a much larger current in this circuit. In case you were wondering, the is=1e-28 parameter in the diodes .model line is there to make the diode act more like an LED with a higher forward voltage drop.
PARTS AND MATERIALS One N-channel junction eld-effect transistor, models 2N3819 or J309 recommended (Radio Shack catalog # 276-2035 is the model 2N3819) One 6 volt battery One 100 k resistor One light-emitting diode (Radio Shack catalog # 276-026 or equivalent) Plastic comb The particular junction eld-effect transistor, or JFET, model used in this experiment is not critical. P-channel JFETs are also okay to use, but are not as popular as N-channel transistors. Beware that not all transistors share the same terminal designations, or pinouts, even if they share the same physical appearance. This will dictate how you connect the transistors together and to other components, so be sure to check the manufacturers specications (component datasheet), easily obtained from the manufacturers website. Beware that it is possible for the transistors package and even the manufacturers datasheet to show incorrect terminal identication diagrams! Double-checking pin identities with your multimeters diode check function is highly recommended. For details on how to identify junction eld-effect transistor terminals using a multimeter, consult chapter 5 of the Semiconductor volume (volume III) of this book series. CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 3, chapter 5: Junction Field-Effect Transistors LEARNING OBJECTIVES How the JFET is used as an on/off switch How JFET current gain differs from a bipolar transistor SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM
INSTRUCTIONS This experiment is very similar to the previous experiment using a bipolar junction transistor (BJT) as a switching device to control current through an LED. In this experiment, a junction eld-effect transistor is used instead, giving dramatically improved sensitivity. Build this circuit and touch the loose wire end (the wire shown in red on the schematic diagram and in the illustration, connected to the 100 k resistor) with your hand. Simply touching this wire will likely have an effect on the LEDs status. This circuit makes a ne sensor of static electricity! Try scufng your feet on a carpet and then touching the wire end if no effect on the light is seen yet. For a more controlled test, touch the wire with one hand and alternately touch the positive (+) and negative (-) terminals of the battery with one nger of your other hand. Your body acts as a conductor (albeit a poor one), connecting the gate terminal of the JFET to either terminal of the battery as you touch them. Make note which terminal makes the LED turn on and which makes the LED turn off. Try to relate this behavior with what youve read about JFETs in chapter 5 of the Semiconductor volume. The fact that a JFET is turned on and off so easily (requiring so little control current), as evidenced by full on-and-off control simply by conduction of a control current through your body, demonstrates how great of a current gain it has. With the BJT switch experiment, a much more solid connection between the transistors gate terminal and a source of voltage was needed to turn it on. Not so with the JFET. In fact, the mere presence of static electricity can turn it on and off at a distance. To further experiment with the effects of static electricity on this circuit, brush your hair with the plastic comb and then wave the comb near the transistor, watching the effect on the LED. The action of combing your hair with a plastic object creates a high static voltage between the comb and your body. The strong electric eld produced between these two objects should be detectable by this circuit from a signicant distance! In case youre wondering why there is no 560 dropping resistor to limit current through the LED, many small-signal JFETs tend to self-limit their controlled current to a level acceptable by LEDs. The model 2N3819, for example, has a typical saturated drain current (IDSS ) of
10 mA and a maximum of 20 mA. Since most LEDs are rated at a forward current of 20 mA, there is no need for a dropping resistor to limit circuit current: the JFET does it intrinsically.
Pulsed-light sensor
PARTS AND MATERIALS Two 6-volt batteries One NPN transistor models 2N2222 or 2N3403 recommended (Radio Shack catalog # 276-1617 is a package of fteen NPN transistors ideal for this and other experiments) One light-emitting diode (Radio Shack catalog # 276-026 or equivalent) Audio detector with headphones If you dont have an audio detector already constructed, you can use a nice set of audio headphones (closed-cup style, that completely covers your ears) and a 120V/6V step-down transformer to build a sensitive audio detector without volume control or overvoltage protection, just for this experiment. Connect these portions of the headphone stereo plug to the transformers secondary (6 volt) winding:
Try both the series and the parallel connection schemes for the loudest sound. If you havent made an audio detector as outlined in both the DC and AC experiments chapters, you really should it is a valuable piece of test equipment for your collection. CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 3, chapter 4: Bipolar Junction Transistors LEARNING OBJECTIVES How to use a transistor as a crude common-emitter amplier How to use an LED as a light sensor
INSTRUCTIONS This circuit detects pulses of light striking the LED and converts them into relatively strong audio signals to be heard through the headphones. Forrest Mims teaches that LEDs have the
ability to produce current when exposed to light, in a manner not unlike a semiconductor solar cell. [1] By itself, the LED does not produce enough electrical power to drive the audio detector circuit, so a transistor is used to amplify the LEDs signals. If the LED is exposed to a pulsing source of light, a tone will be heard in the headphones. Sources of light suitable for this experiment include uorescent and neon lamps, which blink rapidly with the 60 Hz AC power energizing them. You may also try using bright sunlight for a steady light source, then waving your ngers in front of the LED. The rapidly passing shadows will cause the LED to generate pulses of voltage, creating a brief buzzing sound in the headphones. LEDs serving as photo-detectors are narrow-band devices, responding to a narrow band of wavelengths close, but not identical, to that normally emitted. Infrared remote controls are a good illumination source for near-infrared LEDs employed as photo-sensors, producing a receiver sound. [3] With a little imagination, it is not difcult to grasp the concept of transmitting audio information such as music or speech over a beam of pulsing light. Given a suitable transmitter circuit to pulse an LED on and off with the positive and negative crests of an audio waveform from a microphone, the receiver circuit shown here would convert those light pulses back into audio signals. [2]
Voltage follower
PARTS AND MATERIALS One NPN transistor models 2N2222 or 2N3403 recommended (Radio Shack catalog # 276-1617 is a package of fteen NPN transistors ideal for this and other experiments) Two 6-volt batteries Two 1 k resistors One 10 k potentiometer, single-turn, linear taper (Radio Shack catalog # 271-1715) Beware that not all transistors share the same terminal designations, or pinouts, even if they share the same physical appearance. This will dictate how you connect the transistors together and to other components, so be sure to check the manufacturers specications (component datasheet), easily obtained from the manufacturers website. Beware that it is possible for the transistors package and even the manufacturers datasheet to show incorrect terminal identication diagrams! Double-checking pin identities with your multimeters diode check function is highly recommended. For details on how to identify bipolar transistor terminals using a multimeter, consult chapter 4 of the Semiconductor volume (volume III) of this book series. CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 3, chapter 4: Bipolar Junction Transistors LEARNING OBJECTIVES Purpose of circuit ground when there is no actual connection to earth ground Using a shunt resistor to measure current with a voltmeter Measure amplier voltage gain Measure amplier current gain Amplier impedance transformation SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM
6V 10 k 6V
Rbase Q1 1 k Rload 1 k
INSTRUCTIONS Again, beware that the transistor you select for this experiment may not have the same terminal designations shown here, and so the breadboard layout shown in the illustration may not be correct for you. In my illustrations, I show all TO-92 package transistors with terminals labeled CBE: Collector, Base, and Emitter, from left to right. This is correct for the model 2N2222 transistor and some others, but not for all; not even for all NPN-type transistors! As usual, check with the manufacturer for details on the particular component(s) you choose for a project. With bipolar junction transistors, it is easy enough to verify terminal assignments with a multimeter. The voltage follower is the safest and easiest transistor amplier circuit to build. Its purpose is to provide approximately the same voltage to a load as what is input to the amplier, but at a much greater current. In other words, it has no voltage gain, but it does have current gain. Note that the negative (-) side of the power supply is shown in the schematic diagram to be connected to ground, as indicated by the symbol in the lower-left corner of the diagram. This does not necessarily represent a connection to the actual earth. What it means is that this point in the circuit and all points electrically common to it constitute the default reference point for all voltage measurements in the circuit. Since voltage is by necessity a quantity relative between two points, a common point of reference designated in a circuit gives us the ability to speak meaningfully of voltage at particular, single points in that circuit.
Rbase Q1 1 k Rload + 1 k
Build this circuit, and measure output voltage versus input voltage for several different potentiometer settings. Input voltage is the voltage at the potentiometers wiper (voltage between the wiper and circuit ground), while output voltage is the load resistor voltage (voltage across the load resistor, or emitter voltage: between emitter and circuit ground). You should see a close correlation between these two voltages: one is just a little bit greater than the other (about 0.6 volts or so?), but a change in the input voltage gives almost equal change in the output voltage. Because the relationship between input change and output change is almost 1:1, we say that the AC voltage gain of this amplier is nearly 1. Not very impressive, is it? Now measure current through the base of the transistor (input current) versus current through the load resistor (output current). Before you break the circuit and insert your ammeter to take these measurements, consider an alternative method: measure voltage across the base and load resistors, whose resistance values are known. Using Ohms Law, current through each resistor may be easily calculated: divide the measured volt-
age by the known resistance (I=E/R). This calculation is particularly easy with resistors of 1 k value: there will be 1 milliamp of current for every volt of drop across them. For best precision, you may measure the resistance of each resistor rather than assume an exact value of 1 k, but it really doesnt matter much for the purposes of this experiment. When resistors are used to take current measurements by translating a current into a corresponding voltage, they are often referred to as shunt resistors. You should expect to nd huge differences between input and output currents for this amplier circuit. In fact, it is not uncommon to experience current gains well in excess of 200 for a small-signal transistor operating at low current levels. This is the primary purpose of a voltage follower circuit: to boost the current capacity of a weak signal without altering its voltage. Another way of thinking of this circuits function is in terms of impedance. The input side of this amplier accepts a voltage signal without drawing much current. The output side of this amplier delivers the same voltage, but at a current limited only by load resistance and the current-handling ability of the transistor. Cast in terms of impedance, we could say that this amplier has a high input impedance (voltage dropped with very little current drawn) and a low output impedance (voltage dropped with almost unlimited current-sourcing capacity). COMPUTER SIMULATION Schematic with SPICE node numbers:
1 Rpot1 V1 2 Rpot2 0
1 5 k Rbase 3 1 k 5 k 0 Rload
Q1 4 1 k 0
Netlist (make a text le containing the following text, verbatim): Voltage follower v1 1 0 rpot1 1 2 5k rpot2 2 0 5k rbase 2 3 1k rload 4 0 1k q1 1 3 4 mod1 .model mod1 npn bf=200 .dc v1 12 12 1 .print dc v(2,0) v(4,0) v(2,3) .end
When this simulation is run through the SPICE program, it shows an input voltage of 5.937 volts and an output voltage of 5.095 volts, with an input current of 25.35 A (2.535E-02 volts dropped across the 1 k Rbase resistor). Output current is, of course, 5.095 mA, inferred from the output voltage of 5.095 volts dropped across a load resistance of exactly 1 k. You may change the potentiometer setting in this circuit by adjusting the values of Rpot1 and Rpot2 , always keeping their sum at 10 k.
Common-emitter amplier
PARTS AND MATERIALS One NPN transistor model 2N2222 or 2N3403 recommended (Radio Shack catalog # 276-1617 is a package of fteen NPN transistors ideal for this and other experiments) Two 6-volt batteries One 10 k potentiometer, single-turn, linear taper (Radio Shack catalog # 271-1715) One 1 M resistor One 100 k resistor One 10 k resistor One 1.5 k resistor CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 3, chapter 4: Bipolar Junction Transistors LEARNING OBJECTIVES Design of a simple common-emitter amplier circuit How to measure amplier voltage gain The difference between an inverting and a noninverting amplier Ways to introduce negative feedback in an amplier circuit SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM
INSTRUCTIONS Build this circuit and measure output voltage (voltage measured between the transistors collector terminal and ground) and input voltage (voltage measured between the potentiometers wiper terminal and ground) for several position settings of the potentiometer. I recommend determining the output voltage range as the potentiometer is adjusted through its entire range of motion, then choosing several voltages spanning that output range to take measurements at. For example, if full rotation on the potentiometer drives the amplier circuits output voltage from 0.1 volts (low) to 11.7 volts (high), choose several voltage levels between those limits (1 volt, 3 volts, 5 volts, 7 volts, 9 volts, and 11 volts). Measuring the output voltage with a meter, adjust the potentiometer to obtain each of these predetermined voltages at the output, noting the exact gure for later reference. Then, measure the exact input voltage producing that output voltage, and record that voltage gure as well. In the end, you should have a table of numbers representing several different output voltages along with their corresponding input voltages. Take any two pairs of voltage gures and calculate voltage gain by dividing the difference in output voltages by the difference in input voltages. For example, if an input voltage of 1.5 volts gives me an output voltage of 7.0 volts and an input voltage of 1.66 volts gives me an output voltage of 1.0 volt, the ampliers voltage gain is (7.0 - 1.0)/(1.66 - 1.5), or 6 divided by 0.16: a gain ratio of 37.50. You should immediately notice two characteristics while taking these voltage measurements: rst, that the input-to-output effect is reversed; that is, an increasing input voltage results in a decreasing output voltage. This effect is known as signal inversion, and this kind of amplier as an inverting amplier. Secondly, this amplier exhibits a very strong voltage gain: a small change in input voltage results in a large change in output voltage. This should stand in stark contrast to the voltage follower amplier circuit discussed earlier, which had a voltage gain of about 1. Common-emitter ampliers are widely used due to their high voltage gain, but they are rarely used in as crude a form as this. Although this amplier circuit works to demonstrate the basic concept, it is very susceptible to changes in temperature. Try leaving the potentiometer in one position and heating the transistor by grasping it rmly with your hand or heating it with some other source of heat such as an electric hair dryer (WARNING: be careful not to get it so hot that your plastic breadboard melts!). You may also explore temperature effects by cooling the transistor: touch an ice cube to its surface and note the change in output voltage.
When the transistors temperature changes, its base-emitter diode characteristics change, resulting in different amounts of base current for the same input voltage. This in turn alters the controlled current through the collector terminal, thus affecting output voltage. Such changes may be minimized through the use of signal feedback, whereby a portion of the output voltage is fed back to the ampliers input so as to have a negative, or canceling, effect on voltage gain. Stability is improved at the expense of voltage gain, a compromise solution, but practical nonetheless. Perhaps the simplest way to add negative feedback to a common-emitter amplier is to add some resistance between the emitter terminal and ground, so that the input voltage becomes divided between the base-emitter PN junction and the voltage drop across the new resistance:
1.5 k
Repeat the same voltage measurement and recording exercise with the 1.5 k resistor installed, calculating the new (reduced) voltage gain. Try altering the transistors temperature again and noting the output voltage for a steady input voltage. Does it change more or less than without the 1.5 k resistor? Another method of introducing negative feedback to this amplier circuit is to couple the output to the input through a high-value resistor. Connecting a 1 M resistor between the transistors collector and base terminals works well:
Although this different method of feedback accomplishes the same goal of increased stability by diminishing gain, the two feedback circuits will not behave identically. Note the range of possible output voltages with each feedback scheme (the low and high voltage values obtained with a full sweep of the input voltage potentiometer), and how this differs between the two circuits.
1 10 k Vout Q1
Netlist (make a text le containing the following text, verbatim): Common-emitter amplifier vsupply 1 0 dc 12 vin 3 0 rc 1 2 10k rb 3 4 100k q1 2 4 0 mod1 .model mod1 npn bf=200 .dc vin 0 2 0.05 .plot dc v(2,0) v(3,0) .end This SPICE simulation sets up a circuit with a variable DC voltage source (vin) as the input signal, and measures the corresponding output voltage between nodes 2 and 0. The input voltage is varied, or swept, from 0 to 2 volts in 0.05 volt increments. Results are shown on a plot, with the input voltage appearing as a straight line and the output voltage as a step gure where the voltage begins and ends level, with a steep change in the middle where the transistor is in its active mode of operation.
Multi-stage amplier
PARTS AND MATERIALS Three NPN transistors model 2N2222 or 2N3403 recommended (Radio Shack catalog # 276-1617 is a package of fteen NPN transistors ideal for this and other experiments) Two 6-volt batteries One 10 k potentiometer, single-turn, linear taper (Radio Shack catalog # 271-1715) One 1 M resistor Three 100 k resistors Three 10 k resistors
CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 3, chapter 4: Bipolar Junction Transistors LEARNING OBJECTIVES Design of a multi-stage, direct-coupled common-emitter amplier circuit Effect of negative feedback in an amplier circuit
10 k Vout
6V 100 k
INSTRUCTIONS By connecting three common-emitter amplier circuit together the collector terminal of the previous transistor to the base (resistor) of the next transistor the voltage gains of each stage compound to give a very high overall voltage gain. I recommend building this circuit without the 1 M feedback resistor to begin with, to see for yourself just how high the unrestricted voltage gain is. You may nd it impossible to adjust the potentiometer for a stable output voltage (that isnt saturated at full supply voltage or zero), the gain being so high. Even if you cant adjust the input voltage ne enough to stabilize the output voltage in the active range of the last transistor, you should be able to tell that the output-to-input relationship is inverting; that is, the output tends to drive to a high voltage when the input goes low, and vice versa. Since any one of the common-emitter stages is inverting in itself, an even number of staged common-emitter ampliers gives noninverting response, while an odd number of stages gives inverting. You may experience these relationships by measuring the collector-to-ground voltage at each transistor while adjusting the input voltage potentiometer, noting whether or not the output voltage increases or decreases with an increase in input voltage. Connect the 1 M feedback resistor into the circuit, coupling the collector of the last transistor to the base of the rst. Since the overall response of this three-stage amplier is inverting, the feedback signal provided through the 1 M resistor from the output of the last transistor to the input of the rst should be negative in nature. As such, it will act to stabilize the ampliers response and minimize the voltage gain. You should notice the reduction in gain immediately by the decreased sensitivity of the output signal on input signal changes (changes in potentiometer position). Simply put, the amplier isnt nearly as touchy as it was without the feedback resistor in place. As with the simple common-emitter amplier discussed in an earlier experiment, it is a good idea here to make a table of input versus output voltage gures with which you may calculate voltage gain. Experiment with different values of feedback resistance. What effect do you think a decrease in feedback resistance have on voltage gain? What about an increase in feedback resistance? Try it and nd out!
An advantage of using negative feedback to tame a high-gain amplier circuit is that the resulting voltage gain becomes more dependent upon the resistor values and less dependent upon the characteristics of the constituent transistors. This is good, because it is far easier to manufacture consistent resistors than consistent transistors. Thus, it is easier to design an amplier with predictable gain by building a staged network of transistors with an arbitrarily high voltage gain, then mitigate that gain precisely through negative feedback. It is this same principle that is used to make operational amplier circuits behave so predictably. This amplier circuit is a bit simplied from what you will normally encounter in practical multi-stage circuits. Rarely is a pure common-emitter conguration (i.e. with no emitter-toground resistor) used, and if the ampliers service is for AC signals, the inter-stage coupling is often capacitive with voltage divider networks connected to each transistor base for proper biasing of each stage. Radio-frequency amplier circuits are often transformer-coupled, with capacitors connected in parallel with the transformer windings for resonant tuning. COMPUTER SIMULATION Schematic with SPICE node numbers:3 1 M 6 1 R2 2 R1 3 Vin 0 100 k Q1 4 10 k 10 k 5 R3 7 100 k Rf 1 R4 R6 10 k 6 R5 8 1 1
Vout Vsupply Q3 0
100 k
Netlist (make a text le containing the following text, verbatim): Multi-stage amplifier vsupply 1 0 dc 12 vin 2 0 r1 2 3 100k r2 1 4 10k q1 4 3 0 mod1 r3 4 7 100k r4 1 5 10k q2 5 7 0 mod1 r5 5 8 100k r6 1 6 10k q3 6 8 0 mod1 rf 3 6 1meg .model mod1 npn bf=200 .dc vin 0 2.5 0.1
This simulation plots output voltage against input voltage, and allows comparison between those variables in numerical form: a list of voltage gures printed to the left of the plot. You may calculate voltage gain by taking any two analysis points and dividing the difference in output voltages by the difference in input voltages, just like you do for the real circuit. Experiment with different feedback resistance values (rf) and see the impact on overall voltage gain. Do you notice a pattern? Heres a hint: the overall voltage gain may be closely approximated by using the resistance gures of r1 and rf, without reference to any other circuit component!
Current mirror
PARTS AND MATERIALS Two NPN transistors models 2N2222 or 2N3403 recommended (Radio Shack catalog # 276-1617 is a package of fteen NPN transistors ideal for this and other experiments) Two 6-volt batteries One 10 k potentiometer, single-turn, linear taper (Radio Shack catalog # 271-1715) Two 10 k resistors Four 1.5 k resistors Small signal transistors are recommended so as to be able to experience thermal runaway in the latter portion of the experiment. Larger power transistors may not exhibit the same behavior at these low current levels. However, any pair of identical NPN transistors may be used to build a current mirror. Beware that not all transistors share the same terminal designations, or pinouts, even if they share the same physical appearance. This will dictate how you connect the transistors together and to other components, so be sure to check the manufacturers specications (component datasheet), easily obtained from the manufacturers website. Beware that it is possible for the transistors package and even the manufacturers datasheet to show incorrect terminal identication diagrams! Double-checking pin identities with your multimeters diode check function is highly recommended. For details on how to identify bipolar transistor terminals using a multimeter, consult chapter 4 of the Semiconductor volume (volume III) of this book series. CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 3, chapter 4: Bipolar Junction Transistors LEARNING OBJECTIVES How to build a current mirror circuit Current limitations of a current mirror circuit Temperature dependence of BJTs Experience a controlled thermal runaway situation
6V Radjust 6V Rlimit
Rload1 through Rload3 are 1.5 k each Rload4, Rlimit, and Radjust are 10 k each
INSTRUCTIONS A current mirror may be thought of as an adjustable current regulator, the current limit being easily set by a single resistance. It is a rather crude current regulator circuit, but one that nds wide use due to its simplicity. In this experiment, you will get the opportunity to build one of these circuits, explore its current-regulating properties, and also experience some of its practical limitations rsthand. Build the circuit as shown in the schematic and illustration. You will have one extra 1.5 k xed-value resistor from the parts specied in the parts list. You will be using it in the last part of this experiment. The potentiometer sets the amount of current through transistor Q1 . This transistor is connected to act as a simple diode: just a PN junction. Why use a transistor instead of a regular diode? Because it is important to match the junction characteristics of these two transistors when using them in a current mirror circuit. Voltage dropped across the base-emitter junction of Q1 is impressed across the base-emitter junction of the other transistor, Q2 , causing it to turn on and likewise conduct current. Since voltage across the two transistors base-emitter junctions is the same the two junction pairs being connected in parallel with each other so should the current be through their base terminals, assuming identical junction characteristics and identical junction temperatures. Matched transistors should have the same ratios, as well, so equal base currents means equal collector currents. The practical result of all this is Q2 s collector current mimicking whatever current magnitude has been established through the collector of Q1 by the potentiometer. In other words, current through Q2 mirrors the current through Q1 . Changes in load resistance (resistance connecting the collector of Q2 to the positive side of the battery) have no effect on Q1 s current, and consequently have no effect upon the baseemitter voltage or base current of Q2 . With a constant base current and a nearly constant ratio, Q2 will drop as much or as little collector-emitter voltage as necessary to hold its collector (load) current constant. Thus, the current mirror circuit acts to regulate current at a value set by the potentiometer, without regard to load resistance. Well, that is how it is supposed to work, anyway. Reality isnt quite so simple, as you are about to see. In the circuit diagram shown, the load circuit of Q2 is completed to the positive side of the battery through an ammeter, for easy current measurement. Rather than solidly connect the ammeters black probe to a denite point in the circuit, Ive marked ve test points, TP1 through TP5, for you to touch the black test probe to while measuring current. This allows you to quickly and effortlessly change load resistance: touching the probe to TP1 results in practically no load resistance, while touching it to TP5 results in approximately 14.5 k of load resistance. To begin the experiment, touch the test probe to TP4 and adjust the potentiometer through its range of travel. You should see a small, changing current indicated by your ammeter as you move the potentiometer mechanism: no more than a few milliamps. Leave the potentiometer set to a position giving a round number of milliamps and move the meters black test probe to TP3. The current indication should be very nearly the same as before. Move the probe to TP2, then TP1. Again, you should see a nearly unchanged amount of current. Try adjusting the potentiometer to another position, giving a different current indication, and touch the meters black probe to test points TP1 through TP4, noting the stability of the current indications as you change load resistance. This demonstrates the current regulating behavior of this circuit.
You should note that the current regulation isnt perfect. Despite regulating the current at nearly the value for load resistances between 0 and 4.5 k, there is some variation over this range. The regulation may be much worse if load resistance is allowed to rise too high. Try adjusting the potentiometer so that maximum current is obtained, as indicated with the ammeter test probe connected to TP1. Leaving the potentiometer at that position, move the meter probe to TP2, then TP3, then TP4, and nally TP5, noting the meters indication at each connection point. The current should be regulated at a nearly constant value until the meter probe is moved to the last test point, TP5. There, the current indication will be substantially lower than at the other test points. Why is this? Because too much load resistance has been inserted into Q2 s circuit. Simply put, Q2 cannot turn on any more than it already has, to maintain the same amount of current with this great a load resistance as with lesser load resistances. This phenomenon is common to all current-regulator circuits: there is a limited amount of resistance a current regulator can handle before it saturates. This stands to reason, as any current regulator circuit capable of supplying a constant amount of current through any load resistance imaginable would require an unlimited source of voltage to do it! Ohms Law (E=IR) dictates the amount of voltage needed to push a given amount of current through a given amount of resistance, and with only 12 volts of power supply voltage at our disposal, a nite limit of load current and load resistance denitely exists for this circuit. For this reason, it may be helpful to think of current regulator circuits as being current limiter circuits, for all they can really do is limit current to some maximum value. An important caveat for current mirror circuits in general is that of equal temperature between the two transistors. The current mirroring taking place between the two transistors collector circuits depends on the base-emitter junctions of those two transistors having the exact same properties. As the diode equation describes, the voltage/current relationship for a PN junction strongly depends on junction temperature. The hotter a PN junction is, the more current it will pass for a given amount of voltage drop. If one transistor should become hotter than the other, it will pass more collector current than the other, and the circuit will no longer mirror current as expected. When building a real current mirror circuit using discrete transistors, the two transistors should be epoxy-glued together (back-to-back) so that they remain at approximately the same temperature. To illustrate this dependence on equal temperature, try grasping one transistor between your ngers to heat it up. What happens to the current through the load resistors as the transistors temperature increases? Now, let go of the transistor and blow on it to cool it down to ambient temperature. Grasp the other transistor between your ngers to heat it up. What does the load current do now? In this next phase of the experiment, we will intentionally allow one of the transistors to overheat and note the effects. To avoid damaging a transistor, this procedure should be conducted no longer than is necessary to observe load current begin to run away. To begin, adjust the potentiometer for minimum current. Next, replace the 10 k Rlimit resistor with a 1.5 k resistor. This will allow a higher current to pass through Q1 , and consequently through Q2 as well. Place the ammeters black probe on TP1 and observe the current indication. Move the potentiometer in the direction of increasing current until you read about 10 mA through the ammeter. At that point, stop moving the potentiometer and just observe the current. You will notice current begin to increase all on its own, without further potentiometer motion! Break
the circuit by removing the meter probe from TP1 when the current exceeds 30 mA, to avoid damaging transistor Q2 . If you carefully touch both transistors with a nger, you should notice Q2 is warm, while Q1 is cool. Warning: if Q2 s current has been allowed to run away too far or for too long a time, it may become very hot! You can receive a bad burn on your ngertip by touching an overheated semiconductor component, so be careful here! What just happened to make Q2 overheat and lose current control? By connecting the ammeter to TP1, all load resistance was removed, so Q2 had to drop full battery voltage between collector and emitter as it regulated current. Transistor Q1 at least had the 1.5 k resistance of Rlimit in place to drop most of the battery voltage, so its power dissipation was far less than that of Q2 . This gross imbalance of power dissipation caused Q2 to heat more than Q1 . As the temperature increased, Q2 began to pass more current for the same amount of base-emitter voltage drop. This caused it to heat up even faster, as it was passing more collector current while still dropping the full 12 volts between collector and emitter. The effect is known as thermal runaway, and it is possible in many bipolar junction transistor circuits, not just current mirrors. COMPUTER SIMULATION Schematic with SPICE node numbers:
Vammeter 3 0V
Rlimit V1 12 V 2 2 Q1 0 0
Rload 4
Netlist (make a text le containing the following text, verbatim): Current mirror v1 1 0 vammeter 1 3 dc 0 rlimit 1 2 10k rload 3 4 3k q1 2 2 0 mod1 q2 4 2 0 mod1 .model mod1 npn bf=100 .dc v1 12 12 1
Vammeter is nothing more than a zero-volt DC battery strategically placed to intercept load current. This is nothing more than a trick to measure current in a SPICE simulation, as no dedicated ammeter component exists in the SPICE language. It is important to remember that SPICE only recognizes the rst eight characters of a components name. The name vammeter is okay, but if we were to incorporate more than one current-measuring voltage source in the circuit and name them vammeter1 and vammeter2, respectively, SPICE would see them as being two instances of the same component vammeter (seeing only the rst eight characters) and halt with an error. Something to bear in mind when altering the netlist or programming your own SPICE simulation! You will have to experiment with different resistance values of Rload in this simulation to appreciate the current-regulating nature of the circuit. With Rlimit set to 10 k and a power supply voltage of 12 volts, the regulated current through Rload will be 1.1 mA. SPICE shows the regulation to be perfect (isnt the virtual world of computer simulation so nice?), the load current remaining at 1.1 mA for a wide range of load resistances. However, if the load resistance is increased beyond 10 k, even this simulation shows the load current suffering a decrease as in real life.
PARTS AND MATERIALS One N-channel junction eld-effect transistor, models 2N3819 or J309 recommended (Radio Shack catalog # 276-2035 is the model 2N3819) Two 6-volt batteries One 10 k potentiometer, single-turn, linear taper (Radio Shack catalog # 271-1715) One 1 k resistor One 10 k resistor Three 1.5 k resistors For this experiment you will need an N-channel JFET, not a P-channel! Beware that not all transistors share the same terminal designations, or pinouts, even if they share the same physical appearance. This will dictate how you connect the transistors together and to other components, so be sure to check the manufacturers specications (component datasheet), easily obtained from the manufacturers website. Beware that it is possible for the transistors package and even the manufacturers datasheet to show incorrect terminal identication diagrams! Double-checking pin identities with your multimeters diode check function is highly recommended. For details on how to identify junction eld-effect transistor terminals using a multimeter, consult chapter 5 of the Semiconductor volume (volume III) of this book series. CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 3, chapter 5: Junction Field-Effect Transistors Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 3, chapter 3: Diodes and Rectiers LEARNING OBJECTIVES How to use a JFET as a current regulator How the JFET is relatively immune to changes in temperature
Rload1 through Rload3 are 1.5 k each Rload4 and Radjust are 10 k each Rlimit is 1 k
6V Radjust
INSTRUCTIONS Previously in this chapter, you saw how a pair of bipolar junction transistors (BJTs) could be used to form a current mirror, whereby one transistor would try to maintain the same current through it as through the other, the others current level being established by a variable resistance. This circuit performs the same task of regulating current, but uses a single junction eld-effect transistor (JFET) instead of two BJTs. The two series resistors Radjust and Rlimit set the current regulation point, while the load resistors and the test points between them serve only to demonstrate constant current despite changes in load resistance. To begin the experiment, touch the test probe to TP4 and adjust the potentiometer through its range of travel. You should see a small, changing current indicated by your ammeter as you move the potentiometer mechanism: no more than a few milliamps. Leave the potentiometer set to a position giving a round number of milliamps and move the meters black test probe to TP3. The current indication should be very nearly the same as before. Move the probe to TP2, then TP1. Again, you should see a nearly unchanged amount of current. Try adjusting the potentiometer to another position, giving a different current indication, and touch the meters black probe to test points TP1 through TP4, noting the stability of the current indications as you change load resistance. This demonstrates the current regulating behavior of this circuit. TP5, at the end of a 10 k resistor, is provided for introducing a large change in load resistance. Connecting the black test probe of your ammeter to that test point gives a combined load resistance of 14.5 k, which will be too much resistance for the transistor to maintain maximum regulated current through. To experience what Im describing here, touch the black test probe to TP1 and adjust the potentiometer for maximum current. Now, move the black test probe to TP2, then TP3, then TP4. For all these test point positions, the current will remain approximately constant. However, when you touch the black probe to TP5, the current will fall dramatically. Why? Because at this level of load resistance, there is insufcient voltage drop across the transistor to maintain regulation. In other words, the transistor will be saturated as it attempts to provide more current than the circuit resistance will allow. Move the black test probe back to TP1 and adjust the potentiometer for minimum current. Now, touch the black test probe to TP2, then TP3, then TP4, and nally TP5. What do you notice about the current indication at all these points? When the current regulation point is adjusted to a lesser value, the transistor is able to maintain regulation over a much larger range of load resistance. An important caveat with the BJT current mirror circuit is that both transistors must be at equal temperature for the two currents to be equal. With this circuit, however, transistor temperature is almost irrelevant. Try grasping the transistor between your ngers to heat it up, noting the load current with your ammeter. Try cooling it down afterward by blowing on it. Not only is the requirement of transistor matching eliminated (due to the use of just one transistor), but the thermal effects are all but eliminated as well due to the relative thermal immunity of the eld-effect transistor. This behavior also makes eld-effect transistors immune to thermal runaway; a decided advantage over bipolar junction transistors. An interesting application of this current-regulator circuit is the so-called constant-current diode. Described in the Diodes and Rectiers chapter of volume III, this diode isnt really a PN junction device at all. Instead, it is a JFET with a xed resistance connected between the gate and source terminals:
Constant-current diodeAnode
Actual device
A normal PN-junction diode is included in series with the JFET to protect the transistor against damage from reverse-bias voltage, but otherwise the current-regulating facility of this device is entirely provided by the eld-effect transistor. COMPUTER SIMULATION Schematic with SPICE node numbers:
1 Rload
1 4.5 k 2
J1 3 Rlimit 1 k 0
Netlist (make a text le containing the following text, verbatim): JFET current regulator vsource 1 0 rload 1 2 4.5k j1 2 0 3 mod1 rlimit 3 0 1k .model mod1 njf .dc vsource 6 12 0.1 .plot dc i(vsource)
SPICE does not allow for sweeping resistance values, so to demonstrate the current regulation of this circuit over a wide range of conditions, Ive elected to sweep the source voltage from 6 to 12 volts in 0.1 volt steps. If you wish, you can set rload to different resistance values and verify that the circuit current remains constant. With an rlimit value of 1 k, the regulated current will be 291.8 A. This current gure will most likely not be the same as your actual circuit current, due to differences in JFET parameters. Many manufacturers give SPICE model parameters for their transistors, which may be typed in the .model line of the netlist for a more accurate circuit simulation.
Differential amplier
PARTS AND MATERIALS Two 6-volt batteries Two NPN transistors models 2N2222 or 2N3403 recommended (Radio Shack catalog # 276-1617 is a package of fteen NPN transistors ideal for this and other experiments) Two 10 k potentiometers, single-turn, linear taper (Radio Shack catalog # 271-1715) Two 22 k resistors Two 10 k resistors One 100 k resistor One 1.5 k resistor Resistor values are not especially critical in this experiment, but have been chosen to provide high voltage gain for a comparator-like differential amplier behavior. CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 3, chapter 4: Bipolar Junction Transistors Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 3, chapter 8: Operational Ampliers LEARNING OBJECTIVES Basic design of a differential amplier circuit. Working denitions of differential and common-mode voltages SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM
22 k 6V 10 k (noninv) 6V 10 k
100 k Q1 Q2
22 k 10 k Vout 10 k (inv)
INSTRUCTIONS This circuit forms the heart of most operational amplier circuits: the differential pair. In the form shown here, it is a rather crude differential amplier, quite nonlinear and unsymmetrical with regard to output voltage versus input voltage(s). With a high voltage gain created by a large collector/emitter resistor ratio (100 k/1.5 k), though, it acts primarily as a comparator: the output voltage rapidly changing value as the two input voltage signals approach equality. Measure the output voltage (voltage at the collector of Q2 with respect to ground) as the input voltages are varied. Note how the two potentiometers have different effects on the output voltage: one input tends to drive the output voltage in the same direction (noninverting), while the other tends to drive the output voltage in the opposite direction (inverting). This is the essential nature of a differential amplier: two complementary inputs, with contrary effects on the output signal. Ideally, the output voltage of such an amplier is strictly a function of the difference between the two input signals. This circuit falls considerably short of the ideal, as even a cursory test will reveal. An ideal differential amplier ignores all common-mode voltage, which is whatever level of voltage common to both inputs. For example, if the inverting input is at 3 volts and the noninverting input at 2.5 volts, the differential voltage will be 0.5 volts (3 - 2.5) but the common-mode voltage will be 2.5 volts, since that is the lowest input signal level. Ideally, this condition should produce the same output signal voltage as if the inputs were set at 3.5 and 3 volts, respectively (0.5 volts differential, with a 3 volt common-mode voltage). However, this circuit does not give the same result for the two different input signal scenarios. In other words, its output voltage depends on both the differential voltage and the common-mode voltage. As imperfect as this differential amplier is, its behavior could be worse. Note how the input signal potentiometers have been limited by 22 k resistors to an adjustable range of approximately 0 to 4 volts, given a power supply voltage of 12 volts. If youd like to see how this circuit behaves without any input signal limiting, just bypass the 22 k resistors with jumper wires, allowing full 0 to 12 volt adjustment range from each potentiometer. Do not worry about building up excessive heat while adjusting potentiometers in this circuit! Unlike the current mirror circuit, this circuit is protected from thermal runaway by the
emitter resistor (1.5 k), which doesnt allow enough transistor current to cause any problem.
Simple op-amp
PARTS AND MATERIALS Two 6-volt batteries Four NPN transistors models 2N2222 or 2N3403 recommended (Radio Shack catalog # 276-1617 is a package of fteen NPN transistors ideal for this and other experiments) Two PNP transistors models 2N2907 or 2N3906 recommended (Radio Shack catalog # 276-1604 is a package of fteen PNP transistors ideal for this and other experiments) Two 10 k potentiometers, single-turn, linear taper (Radio Shack catalog # 271-1715) One 270 k resistor Three 100 k resistors One 10 k resistor CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 3, chapter 4: Bipolar Junction Transistors Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 3, chapter 8: Operational Ampliers LEARNING OBJECTIVES Design of a differential amplier circuit using current mirrors. Effects of negative feedback on a high-gain differential amplier. SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM
100 k 6V 10 k (noninv) 6V Q5
Q2 Vout
10 k (inv)
NoninvertingCBE CBE
INSTRUCTIONS This circuit design improves on the differential amplier shown previously. Rather than use resistors to drop voltage in the differential pair circuit, a set of current mirrors is used instead, the result being higher voltage gain and more predictable performance. With a higher voltage gain, this circuit is able to function as a working operational amplier, or op-amp. Opamps form the basis of a great many modern analog semiconductor circuits, so understanding the internal workings of an operational amplier is important. PNP transistors Q1 and Q2 form a current mirror which tries to keep current split equally through the two differential pair transistors Q3 and Q4 . NPN transistors Q5 and Q6 form another current mirror, setting the total differential pair current at a level predetermined by resistor Rprg . Measure the output voltage (voltage at the collector of Q4 with respect to ground) as the input voltages are varied. Note how the two potentiometers have different effects on the output voltage: one input tends to drive the output voltage in the same direction (noninverting), while the other tends to drive the output voltage in the opposite direction (inverting). You will notice that the output voltage is most responsive to changes in the input when the two input signals are nearly equal to each other. Once the circuits differential response has been proven (the output voltage sharply transitioning from one extreme level to another when one input is adjusted above and below the other inputs voltage level), you are ready to use this circuit as a real op-amp. A simple op-amp circuit called a voltage follower is a good conguration to try rst. To make a voltage follower circuit, directly connect the output of the amplier to its inverting input. This means connecting the collector and base terminals of Q4 together, and discarding the inverting potentiometer:
100 k 6V 10 k Vin 6V Q5
Note the triangular symbol of the op-amp shown in the lower schematic diagram. The inverting and noninverting inputs are designated with (-) and (+) symbols, respectively, with the output terminal at the right apex. The feedback wire connecting output to inverting input is shown in red in the above diagrams. As a voltage follower, the output voltage should follow the input voltage very closely, deviating no more than a few hundredths of a volt. This is a much more precise follower circuit than that of a single common-collector transistor, described in an earlier experiment!
A more complex op-amp circuit is called the noninverting amplier, and it uses a pair of resistors in the feedback loop to feed back a fraction of the output voltage to the inverting input, causing the amplier to output a voltage equal to some multiple of the voltage at the noninverting input. If we use two equal-value resistors, the feedback voltage will be 1/2 the output voltage, causing the output voltage to become twice the voltage impressed at the noninverting input. Thus, we have a voltage amplier with a precise gain of 2:
100 k 100 k
As you test this noninverting amplier circuit, you may notice slight discrepancies between the output and input voltages. According to the feedback resistor values, the voltage gain should be exactly 2. However, you may notice deviations in the order of several hundredths of a volt between what the output voltage is and what it should be. These deviations are due to imperfections of the differential amplier circuit, and may be greatly diminished if we add more amplication stages to increase the differential voltage gain. However, one way we can maximize the precision of the existing circuit is to change the resistance of Rprg . This resistor sets the lower current mirrors control point, and in so doing inuences many performance parameters of the op-amp. Try substituting difference resistance values, ranging from 10 k to 1 M. Do not use a resistance less than 10 k, or else the current mirror transistors may begin to overheat and thermally run away. Some operational ampliers available in prepackaged units provide a way for the user to similarly program the differential pairs current mirror, and are called programmable opamps. Most op-amps are not programmable, and have their internal current mirror control points xed by an internal resistance, trimmed to precise value at the factory.
Audio oscillator
PARTS AND MATERIALS Two 6-volt batteries Three NPN transistors models 2N2222 or 2N3403 recommended (Radio Shack catalog # 276-1617 is a package of fteen NPN transistors ideal for this and other experiments) Two 0.1 F capacitors (Radio Shack catalog # 272-135 or equivalent) One 1 M resistor Two 100 k resistors One 1 k resistor Assortment of resistor pairs, less than 100 k (ex: two 10 k, two 5 k, two 1 k) One light-emitting diode (Radio Shack catalog # 276-026 or equivalent) Audio detector with headphones
CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 3, chapter 4: Bipolar Junction Transistors Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 4, chapter 10: Multivibrators LEARNING OBJECTIVES How to build an astable multivibrator circuit using discrete transistors
100 k Probe
6V 1 k
INSTRUCTIONS The proper name for this circuit is astable multivibrator. It is a simple, free-running oscillator circuit timed by the sizes of the resistors, capacitors, and power supply voltage. Unfortunately, its output waveform is very distorted, neither sine wave nor square. For the simple purpose of making an audio tone, however, distortion doesnt matter much. With a 12 volt supply, 100 k resistors, and 0.1 F capacitors, the oscillation frequency will be in the low audio range. You may listen to this signal with the audio detector connected with one test probe to ground and the other to one of the transistors collector terminals. I recommend placing a 1 M resistor in series with the audio detector to minimize both circuit loading effects and headphone loudness:
The multivibrator itself is just two transistors, two resistors, and two cross-connecting capacitors. The third transistor shown in the schematic and illustration is there for driving the LED, to be used as a visual indicator of oscillator action. Use the probe wire connected to the base of this common-emitter amplier to detect voltage at different parts of the circuit with respect to ground. Given the low oscillating frequency of this multivibrator circuit, you should be able to see the LED blink rapidly with the probe wire connected to the collector terminal of either multivibrator transistor. You may notice that the LED fails to blink with its probe wire touching the base of either multivibrator transistor, yet the audio detector tells you there is an oscillating voltage there. Why is this? The LEDs common-collector transistor amplier is a voltage follower, meaning that it doesnt amplify voltage. Thus, if the voltage under test is less than the minimum required by the LED to light up, it will not glow. Since the forward-biased base-emitter junction of an active transistor drops only about 0.7 volts, there is insufcient voltage at either transistor base to energize the LED. The audio detector, being extraordinarily sensitive, though, detects this low voltage signal easily. Feel free to substitute lower-value resistors in place of the two 100 k units shown. What happens to the oscillation frequency when you do so? I recommend using resistors at least 1 k in size to prevent excessive transistor current. One shortcoming of many oscillator circuits is its dependence on a minimum amount of power supply voltage. Too little voltage and the circuit ceases to oscillate. This circuit is no exception. You might want to experiment with lower supply voltages and determine the minimum voltage necessary for oscillation, as well as experience the effect supply voltage change has on oscillation frequency. One shortcoming specic to this circuit is the dependence on mismatched components for successful starting. In order for the circuit to begin oscillating, one transistor must turn on before the other one. Usually, there is enough mismatch in the various component values to enable this to happen, but it is possible for the circuit to freeze and fail to oscillate at powerup. If this happens, try different components (same values, but different units) in the circuit.
PARTS AND MATERIALS One 12AX7 dual triode vacuum tube Two power transformers, 120VAC step-down to 12VAC (Radio Shack catalog # 273-1365, 273-1352, or 273-1511). Bridge rectier module (Radio Shack catalog # 276-1173) Electrolytic capacitor, at least 47 F, with a working voltage of at least 200 volts DC. Automotive ignition coil Audio speaker, 8 impedance Two 100 k resistors One 0.1 F capacitor, 250 WVDC (Radio Shack catalog # 272-1053) Low-voltage AC power supply as shown in AC Experiments chapter One toggle switch, SPST (Single-Pole, Single-Throw) Radio, tape player, musical keyboard, or other source of audio voltage signal Where can you obtain a 12AX7 tube, you ask? These tubes are very popular for use in the preamplier stages of many professional electric guitar ampliers. Go to any good music store and you will nd them available for a modest price ($12 US or less). A Russian manufacturer named Sovtek makes these tubes new, so you need not rely on New-Old-Stock (NOS) components left over from defunct American manufacturers. This model of tube was very popular in its day, and may be found in old tubed electronic test equipment (oscilloscopes, oscillators), if you happen to have access to such equipment. However, I strongly suggest buying a tube new rather than taking chances with tubes salvaged from antique equipment. It is important to select an electrolytic capacitor with sufcient working voltage (WVDC) to withstand the output of this ampliers power supply circuit (about 170 volts). I strongly recommend choosing a capacitor with a voltage rating well in excess of the expected operating voltage, so as to handle unexpected voltage surges or any other event that may tax the capacitor. I purchased the Radio Shack electrolytic capacitor assortment (catalog # 272-802), and it happened to contain two 47 F, 250 WVDC capacitors. If you are not as fortunate, you may build this circuit using ve capacitors, each rated at 50 WVDC, to substitute for one 250 WVDC unit:
22 k 22 k (Each capacitor rated for 50 volts DC) 22 k 22 k 250 WVDC 22 k 110 k equivalent to
Bear in mind that the total capacitance for this ve-capacitor network will be 1/5, or 20%, of each capacitors value. Also, to ensure even charging of capacitors in the network, be sure all capacitor values (in F) and all resistor values are identical. An automotive ignition coil is a special-purpose high-voltage transformer used in car engines to produce tens of thousands of volts to re the spark plugs. In this experiment, it is used (very unconventionally, I might add!) as an impedance-matching transformer between the vacuum tube and an 8 audio speaker. The specic choice of coil is not critical, so long as it is in good operating condition. Here is a photograph of the coil I used for this experiment:
The audio speaker need not be extravagant. Ive used small bookshelf speakers, automotive (6x9) speakers, as well as a large (100 watt) 3-way stereo speaker for this experiment,
and they all work ne. Do not use a set of headphones under any circumstances, as the ignition coil does not provide electrical isolation between the 170 volts DC of the plate power supply and the speaker, thus elevating the speaker connections to that voltage with respect to ground. Since obviously placing wires on your head with high voltage to ground would be very hazardous, please do not use headphones! You will need some source of audio-frequency AC as an input signal to this amplier circuit. I recommend a small battery-powered radio or musical keyboard, with an appropriate cable plugged into the headphone or audio out jack to convey the signal to your amplier.
CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 3, chapter 13: Electron Tubes Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 3, chapter 3: Diodes and Rectiers Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 2, chapter 9: Transformers
B+ (100 to 300 volts DC) Class-A single-ended tube audio amplifier - + Automotive ignition "coil" 8 speaker
Audio input
High-voltage "plate" DC power supply Switch Fuse Plug (optional) 12 volt AC to filaments Low-voltage AC power supply Transformer 120/12 ratio
Plate supply switch DANGER! High voltage!! 170 volts B+ 47 F 250 WVDC
12 volt side
+ Filament power
+ Audio input5 4 6
INSTRUCTIONS Welcome to the world of vacuum tube electronics! While not exactly an application of semiconductor technology (power supply rectier excepted), this circuit is useful as an introduction to vacuum tube technology, and an interesting application for impedance-matching transformers. It should be noted that building and operating this circuit involves work with lethal voltages! You must exhibit the utmost care while working with this circuit, as 170 volts DC is capable of electrocuting you!! It is recommended that beginners seek qualied assistance (experienced electricians, electronics technicians, or engineers) if attempting to build this amplier. WARNING: do not touch any wires or terminals while the amplier circuit is energized! If you must make contact with the circuit at any point, turn off the plate power supply switch and wait for the lter capacitor to discharge below 30 volts before touching any part of the circuit. If testing circuit voltages with the power on, use only one hand if possible to avoid the possibility of an arm-to-arm electric shock.
Building the high-voltage power supply Vacuum tubes require fairly high DC voltage applied between plate and cathode terminals in order to function efciently. Although it is possible to operate the amplier circuit described in this experiment on as low as 24 volts DC, the power output will be miniscule and the sound quality poor. The 12AX7 triode is rated at a maximum plate voltage (voltage applied between plate and cathode terminals) of 330 volts, so our power supply of 170 volts DC specied here is well within that maximum limit. Ive operated this amplier on as high as 235 volts DC, and discovered that both sound quality and intensity improved slightly, but not enough in my estimation to warrant the additional hazard to experimenters. The power supply actually has two different power outputs: the B+ DC output for plate power, and the lament power, which is only 12 volts AC. Tubes require power applied to a small lament (sometimes called a heater) in order to function, as the cathode must be hot enough to thermally emit electrons, and that doesnt happen at room temperature! Using one power transformer to step household 120 volt AC power down to 12 volts AC provides lowvoltage for the laments, and another transformer connected in step-up fashion brings the voltage back up to 120 volts. You might be wondering, why step the voltage back up to 120 volts with another transformer? Why not just tap off the wall socket plug to obtain 120 volt AC power directly, and then rectify that into 170 volts DC? The answer to this is twofold: rst, running power through two transformers inherently limits the amount of current that may be sent into an accidental short-circuit on the plate-side of the amplier circuit. Second, it electrically isolates the plate circuit from the wiring system of your house. If we were to rectify wall-socket power with a diode bridge, it would make both DC terminals (+ and -) elevated in voltage from the safety ground connection of your houses electrical system, thereby increasing the shock hazard. Note the toggle switch connected between the 12-volt windings of the two transformers, labeled Plate supply switch. This switch controls power to the step-up transformer, thereby controlling plate voltage to the amplier circuit. Why not just use the main power switch connected to the 120 volt plug? Why have a second switch to shut off the DC high voltage, when shutting off one main switch would accomplish the same thing? The answer lies in proper vacuum tube operation: like incandescent light bulbs, vacuum tubes wear when their laments are powered up and down repeatedly, so having this additional switch in the circuit allows you to shut off the DC high voltage (for safety when modifying or adjusting the circuit) without having to shut off the lament. Also, it is a good habit to wait for the tube to reach full operating temperature before applying plate voltage, and this second switch allows you to delay the application of plate voltage until the tube has had time to reach operating temperature. During operation, you should have a voltmeter connected to the B+ output of the power supply (between the B+ terminal and ground), continuously providing indication of the power supply voltage. This meter will show you when the lter capacitor has discharged below the shock-hazard limit (30 volts) when you turn off the Plate supply switch to service the amplier circuit. The ground terminal shown on the DC output of the power supply circuit need not connect to earth ground. Rather, it is merely a symbol showing a common connection with a corresponding ground terminal symbol in the amplier circuit. In the circuit you build, there will be a piece of wire connecting these two ground points together. As always, the designation of certain common points in a circuit by means of a shared symbol is standard practice in electronic schematics.
You will note that the schematic diagram shows a 100 k resistor in parallel with the lter capacitor. This resistor is quite necessary, as it provides the capacitor a path for discharge when the AC power is turned off. Without this bleeder resistor in the circuit, the capacitor would likely retain a dangerous charge for a long time after power-down, posing an additional shock hazard to you. In the circuit I built with a 47 F capacitor and a 100 k bleeder resistor the time constant of this RC circuit was a brief 4.7 seconds. If you happen to nd a larger lter capacitor value (good for minimizing unwanted power supply hum in the speaker), you will need to use a correspondingly smaller value of bleeder resistor, or wait longer for the voltage to bleed off each time you turn the Plate supply switch off. Be sure you have the power supply safely constructed and working reliably before attempting to power the amplier circuit with it. This is good circuit-building practice in general: build and troubleshoot the power supply rst, then build the circuit you intend to power with it. If the power supply does not function as it should, then neither will the powered circuit, no matter how well it may be designed and built. Building the amplier One of the problems with building vacuum tube circuits in the 21st century is that sockets for these components can be difcult to nd. Given the limited lifetime of most receiver tubes (a few years), most tubed electronic devices used sockets for mounting the tubes, so that they could be easily removed and replaced. Though tubes may still be obtained (from music supply stores) with relative ease, the sockets they plug into are considerably scarcer your local Radio Shack will not have them in stock! How, then, do we build circuits with tubes, if we might not be able to obtain sockets for them to plug in to? For small tubes, this problem may be circumvented by directly soldering short lengths of 22-gauge solid copper wire to the pins of the tube, thus enabling you to plug the tube into a solderless breadboard. Here is a photograph of my tube amplier, showing the 12AX7 in an inverted position (pin-side-up). Please disregard the 10-segment LED bargraph to the left and the 8-position DIP switch assembly to the right in the photograph, as these are leftover components from a digital circuit experiment assembled previously on my breadboard.
One benet of mounting the tube in this position is ease of pin identication, since most pin connection diagrams for tubes are shown from a bottom view:
Plate 1 Grid 1
Cathode 2
Grid 2
Cathode 1
Plate 2
You will notice on the amplier schematic that both triode elements inside the 12AX7s glass envelope are being used, in parallel: plate connected to plate, grid connected to grid, and cathode connected to cathode. This is done to maximize power output from the tube, but it is not necessary for demonstrating basic operation. You may use just one of the triodes, for simplicity, if you wish.
The 0.1 F capacitor shown on the schematic couples the audio signal source (radio, musical keyboard, etc.) to the tubes grid(s), allowing AC to pass but blocking DC. The 100 k resistor ensures that the average DC voltage between grid and cathode is zero, and cannot oat to some high level. Typically, bias circuits are used to keep the grid slightly negative with respect to ground, but for this purpose a bias circuit would introduce more complexity than its worth.
When I tested my amplier circuit, I used the output of a radio receiver, and later the output of a compact disk (CD) player, as the audio signal source. Using a mono-to-phono connector extension cord plugged into the headphone jack of the receiver/CD player, and alligator clip jumper wires connecting the mono tip of the cord to the input terminals of the tube amplier, I was able to easily send the amplier audio signals of varying amplitude to test its performance over a wide range of conditions:
A transformer is essential at the output of the amplier circuit for matching the impedances of vacuum tube and speaker. Since the vacuum tube is a high-voltage, low-current device, and most speakers are low-voltage, high-current devices, the mismatch between them would result in very audio low power output if they were directly connected. To successfully match the high-voltage, low-current source to the low-voltage, high current load, we must use a step-down transformer. Since the vacuum tube circuits Thevenin resistance ranges in the tens of thousands of ohms, and the speaker only has about 8 ohms impedance, we will need a transformer with an impedance ratio of about 10,000:1. Since the impedance ratio of a transformer is the square of its turns ratio (or voltage ratio), were looking for a transformer with a turns ratio of about 100:1. A typical automotive ignition coil has approximately this turns ratio, and it is also rated for extremely high voltage on the high-voltage winding, making it well suited for this application. The only bad aspect of using an ignition coil is that it provides no electrical isolation between primary and secondary windings, since the device is actually an autotransformer, with each winding sharing a common terminal at one end. This means that the speaker wires will be at a high DC voltage with respect to circuit ground. So long as we know this, and avoid touching those wires during operation, there will be no problem. Ideally, though, the transformer would provide complete isolation as well as impedance matching, and the speaker wires would be perfectly safe to touch during use. Remember, make all connections in the circuit with the power turned off! After checking connections visually and with an ohmmeter to ensure that the circuit is built as per the schematic diagram, apply power to the laments of the tube and wait about 30 seconds for it to reach operating temperature. The both laments should emit a soft, orange glow, visible from both the top and bottom views of the tube.
Turn the volume control of your radio/CD player/musical keyboard signal source to minimum, then turn on the plate supply switch. The voltmeter you have connected between the power supplys B+ output terminal and ground should register full voltage (about 170 volts). Now, increase the volume control on the signal source and listen to the speaker. If all is well, you should hear the correct sounds clearly through the speaker. Troubleshooting this circuit is best done with the sensitive audio detector described in the DC and AC chapters of this Experiments volume. Connect a 0.1 F capacitor in series with each test lead to block DC from the detector, then connect one of the test leads to ground, while using the other test lead to check for audio signal at various points in the circuit. Use capacitors with a high voltage rating, like the one used on the input of the amplier circuit:
Using the sensitive audio detector as a troubleshooting instrument for the amplifier 0.1 F
Using two coupling capacitors instead of just one adds an additional degree of safety, in helping to isolate the unit from any (high) DC voltage. Even without the extra capacitor, though, the detectors internal transformer should provide sufcient electrical isolation for your safety in using it to test for signals in a high-voltage circuit like this, especially if you built your detector using a 120 volt power transformer (rather than an audio output transformer) as suggested. Use it to test for a good signal at the input, then at the grid pin(s) of the tube, then at the plate of the tube, etc. until the problem is found. Being capacitively coupled, the detector is also able to test for excessive power supply hum: touch the free test lead to the supplys B+ terminal and listen for a loud 60 Hz humming noise. The noise should be very soft, not loud. If it is loud, the power supply is not ltered adequately enough, and may need additional lter capacitance. After testing a point in the amplier circuit with large DC voltage to ground, the coupling capacitors on the detector may build up substantial voltage. To discharge this voltage, briey touch the free test lead to the grounded test lead. A pop sound should be heard in the headphones as the coupling capacitors discharge. If you would rather use a voltmeter to test for the presence of audio signal, you may do so, setting it to a sensitive AC voltage range. The indication you get from a voltmeter, though,
doesnt tell you anything about the quality of the signal, just its mere presence. Bear in mind that most AC voltmeters will register a transient voltage when initially connected across a source of DC voltage, so dont be surprised to see a spike (a strong, momentary voltage indication) at the very moment contact is made with the meters probes to the circuit, rapidly decreasing to the true AC signal value. You may be pleasantly surprised at the quality and depth of tone from this little amplier circuit, especially given its low power output: less than 1 watt of audio power. Of course, the circuit is quite crude and sacrices quality for simplicity and parts availability, but it serves to demonstrate the basic principle of vacuum tube amplication. Advanced hobbyists and students may wish to experiment with biasing networks, negative feedback, different output transformers, different power supply voltages, and even different tubes, to obtain more power and/or better sound quality. Here is a photo of a very similar amplier circuit, built by the husband-and-wife team of Terry and Cheryl Goetz, illustrating what can be done when care and craftsmanship are applied to a project like this.
Bibliography[1] Forrest M. Mims III, Sun Photometer with Light-Emitting Diodes as Spectrally Selective Detectors, Applied Optics, 31, 33, 6965-6967, 1992. [2] Forrest M. Mims III,Light Emitting Diodes Howard W. Sams & Co., 1973, pp. 118-119. [3] Forrest M. Mims III, Private communications, February 29, 2008.
Chapter 6
Analog circuits are circuits dealing with signals free to vary from zero to full power supply voltage. This stands in contrast to digital circuits, which almost exclusively employ all or nothing signals: voltages restricted to values of zero and full supply voltage, with no valid state in between those extreme limits. Analog circuits are often referred to as linear circuits to emphasize the valid continuity of signal range forbidden in digital circuits, but this label is unfortunately misleading. Just because a voltage or current signal is allowed to vary smoothly between the extremes of zero and full power supply limits does not necessarily mean that all mathematical relationships between these signals are linear in the straight-line or proportional sense of the word. As you will see in this chapter, many so-called linear circuits are quite nonlinear in their behavior, either by necessity of physics or by design. 287
The circuits in this chapter make use of IC, or integrated circuit, components. Such components are actually networks of interconnected components manufactured on a single wafer of semiconducting material. Integrated circuits providing a multitude of pre-engineered functions are available at very low cost, benetting students, hobbyists and professional circuit designers alike. Most integrated circuits provide the same functionality as discrete semiconductor circuits at higher levels of reliability and at a fraction of the cost. Usually, discretecomponent circuit construction is favored only when power dissipation levels are too high for integrated circuits to handle. Perhaps the most versatile and important analog integrated circuit for the student to master is the operational amplier, or op-amp. Essentially nothing more than a differential amplier with very high voltage gain, op-amps are the workhorse of the analog design world. By cleverly applying feedback from the output of an op-amp to one or more of its inputs, a wide variety of behaviors may be obtained from this single device. Many different models of op-amp are available at low cost, but circuits described in this chapter will incorporate only commonly available op-amp models.
Voltage comparator
PARTS AND MATERIALS Operational amplier, model 1458 or 353 recommended (Radio Shack catalog # 276-038 and 900-6298, respectively) Three 6 volt batteries Two 10 k potentiometers, linear taper (Radio Shack catalog # 271-1715) One light-emitting diode (Radio Shack catalog # 276-026 or equivalent) One 330 resistor One 470 resistor This experiment only requires a single operational amplier. The model 1458 and 353 are both dual op-amp units, with two complete amplier circuits housed in the same 8-pin DIP package. I recommend that you purchase and use dual op-amps over single op-amps even if a project only requires one, because they are more versatile (the same op-amp unit can function in projects requiring only one amplier as well as in projects requiring two). In the interest of purchasing and stocking the least number of components for your home laboratory, this makes sense. CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 3, chapter 8: Operational Ampliers LEARNING OBJECTIVES How to use an op-amp as a comparator
/2 1458
INSTRUCTIONS A comparator circuit compares two voltage signals and determines which one is greater. The result of this comparison is indicated by the output voltage: if the op-amps output is saturated in the positive direction, the noninverting input (+) is a greater, or more positive, voltage than the inverting input (-), all voltages measured with respect to ground. If the opamps voltage is near the negative supply voltage (in this case, 0 volts, or ground potential), it means the inverting input (-) has a greater voltage applied to it than the noninverting input (+). This behavior is much easier understood by experimenting with a comparator circuit than it is by reading someones verbal description of it. In this experiment, two potentiometers supply variable voltages to be compared by the op-amp. The output status of the op-amp is indicated visually by the LED. By adjusting the two potentiometers and observing the LED, one can easily comprehend the function of a comparator circuit. For greater insight into this circuits operation, you might want to connect a pair of voltmeters to the op-amp input terminals (both voltmeters referenced to ground) so that both input voltages may be numerically compared with each other, these meter indications compared to the LED status:
Comparator circuits are widely used to compare physical measurements, provided those physical variables can be translated into voltage signals. For instance, if a small generator were attached to an anemometer wheel to produce a voltage proportional to wind speed, that wind speed signal could be compared with a set-point voltage and compared by an op-amp to drive a high wind speed alarm:
6V 6V + Gen -
LED lights up when wind speed exceeds "set-point" limit established by the potentiometer position.
PARTS AND MATERIALS Operational amplier, model 1458 or 353 recommended (Radio Shack catalog # 276-038 and 900-6298, respectively) Three 6 volt batteries One 10 k potentiometer, linear taper (Radio Shack catalog # 271-1715)
CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 3, chapter 8: Operational Ampliers LEARNING OBJECTIVES How to use an op-amp as a voltage follower Purpose of negative feedback Troubleshooting strategy
6V 6V Vinput
INSTRUCTIONS In the previous op-amp experiment, the amplier was used in open-loop mode; that is, without any feedback from output to input. As such, the full voltage gain of the operational amplier was available, resulting in the output voltage saturating for virtually any amount of differential voltage applied between the two input terminals. This is good if we desire comparator operation, but if we want the op-amp to behave as a true amplier, we need it to exhibit a manageable voltage gain. Since we do not have the luxury of disassembling the integrated circuitry of the op-amp and changing resistor values to give a lesser voltage gain, we are limited to external connections and componentry. Actually, this is not a disadvantage as one might think, because the combination of extremely high open-loop voltage gain coupled with feedback allows us to use the op-amp for a much wider variety of purposes, much easier than if we were to exercise the option of modifying its internal circuitry. If we connect the output of an op-amp to its inverting (-) input, the output voltage will seek whatever level is necessary to balance the inverting inputs voltage with that applied to the noninverting (+) input. If this feedback connection is direct, as in a straight piece of wire, the output voltage will precisely follow the noninverting inputs voltage. Unlike the voltage follower circuit made from a single transistor (see chapter 5: Discrete Semiconductor Circuits), which approximated the input voltage to within several tenths of a volt, this voltage follower circuit will output a voltage accurate to within mere microvolts of the input voltage! Measure the input voltage of this circuit with a voltmeter connected between the op-amps noninverting (+) input terminal and circuit ground (the negative side of the power supply), and the output voltage between the op-amps output terminal and circuit ground. Watch the op-amps output voltage follow the input voltage as you adjust the potentiometer through its range.
You may directly measure the difference, or error, between output and input voltages by connecting the voltmeter between the op-amps two input terminals. Throughout most of the potentiometers range, this error voltage should be almost zero. Try moving the potentiometer to one of its extreme positions, far clockwise or far counterclockwise. Measure error voltage, or compare output voltage against input voltage. Do you notice anything unusual? If you are using the model 1458 or model 353 op-amp for this experiment, you should measure a substantial error voltage, or difference between output and input. Many op-amps, the specied models included, cannot swing their output voltage exactly to full power supply (rail) voltage levels. In this case, the rail voltages are +18 volts and 0 volts, respectively. Due to limitations in the 1458s internal circuitry, its output voltage is unable to exactly reach these high and low limits. You may nd that it can only go within a volt or two of the power supply rails. This is a very important limitation to understand when designing circuits using operational ampliers. If full rail-to-rail output voltage swing is required in a circuit design, other op-amp models may be selected which offer this capability. The model 3130 is one such op-amp. Precision voltage follower circuits are useful if the voltage signal to be amplied cannot tolerate loading; that is, if it has a high source impedance. Since a voltage follower by denition has a voltage gain of 1, its purpose has nothing to do with amplifying voltage, but rather with amplifying a signals capacity to deliver current to a load. Voltage follower circuits have another important use for circuit builders: they allow for simple linear testing of an op-amp. One of the troubleshooting techniques I recommend is to simplify and rebuild. Suppose that you are building a circuit using one or more op-amps to perform some advanced function. If one of those op-amps seems to be causing a problem and you suspect it may be faulty, try re-connecting it as a simple voltage follower and see if it functions in that capacity. An op-amp that fails to work as a voltage follower certainly wont work as anything more complex! COMPUTER SIMULATION Schematic with SPICE node numbers:
2 1 Vinput
2 Rload
Rbogus 0 0
Netlist (make a text le containing the following text, verbatim): Voltage follower vinput 1 0 rbogus 1 0 1meg e1 2 0 1 2 999meg
An ideal operational amplier may be simulated in SPICE using a dependent voltage source (e1 in the netlist). The output nodes are specied rst (2 0), then the two input nodes, noninverting input rst (1 2). Open-loop gain is specied last (999meg) in the dependent voltage source line. Because SPICE views the input impedance of a dependent source as innite, some nite amount of resistance must be included to avoid an analysis error. This is the purpose of Rbogus : to provide DC path to ground for the Vinput voltage source. Such bogus resistances should be arbitrarily large. In this simulation I chose 1 M for an Rbogus value. A load resistor is included in the circuit for much the same reason: to provide a DC path for current at the output of the dependent voltage source. As you can see, SPICE doesnt like open circuits!
Noninverting amplier
PARTS AND MATERIALS Operational amplier, model 1458 or 353 recommended (Radio Shack catalog # 276-038 and 900-6298, respectively) Three 6 volt batteries Two 10 k potentiometers, linear taper (Radio Shack catalog # 271-1715)
LEARNING OBJECTIVES How to use an op-amp as a single-ended amplier Using divided, negative feedback
R1 Vinput
INSTRUCTIONS This circuit differs from the voltage follower in only one respect: output voltage is fed back to the inverting (-) input through a voltage-dividing potentiometer rather than being directly connected. With only a fraction of the output voltage fed back to the inverting input, the opamp will output a corresponding multiple of the voltage sensed at the noninverting (+) input in keeping the input differential voltage near zero. In other words, the op-amp will now function as an amplier with a controllable voltage gain, that gain being established by the position of the feedback potentiometer (R2 ). Set R2 to approximately mid-position. This should give a voltage gain of about 2. Measure both input and output voltage for several positions of the input potentiometer R1 . Move R2 to a different position and re-take voltage measurements for several positions of R1 . For any given R2 position, the ratio between output and input voltage should be the same. You will also notice that the input and output voltages are always positive with respect to ground. Because the output voltage increases in a positive direction for a positive increase of the input voltage, this amplier is referred to as noninverting. If the output and input voltages were related to one another in an inverse fashion (i.e. positive increasing input voltage results in positive decreasing or negative increasing output), then the amplier would be known as an inverting type. The ability to leverage an op-amp in this fashion to create an amplier with controllable voltage gain makes this circuit an extremely useful one. It would take quite a bit more design and troubleshooting effort to produce a similar circuit using discrete transistors. Try adjusting R2 for maximum and minimum voltage gain. What is the lowest voltage gain attainable with this amplier conguration? Why do you think this is? COMPUTER SIMULATION
R1 0 2 1 Vinput 0
2 + Rbogus
3 Rload
Netlist (make a text le containing the following text, verbatim): Noninverting amplifier vinput 1 0 r2 3 2 5k r1 2 0 5k rbogus 1 0 1meg e1 3 0 1 2 999meg rload 3 0 10k .dc vinput 5 5 1 .print dc v(1,0) v(3,0) .end With R1 and R2 set equally to 5 k in the simulation, it mimics the feedback potentiometer of the real circuit at mid-position (50%). To simulate the potentiometer at the 75% position, set R2 to 7.5 k and R1 to 2.5 k.
High-impedance voltmeter
PARTS AND MATERIALS Operational amplier, model TL082 recommended (Radio Shack catalog # 276-1715) Operational amplier, model LM1458 recommended (Radio Shack catalog # 276-038) Four 6 volt batteries One meter movement, 1 mA full-scale deection (Radio Shack catalog #22-410) 15 k precision resistor Four 1 M resistors The 1 mA meter movement sold by Radio Shack is advertised as a 0-15 VDC meter, but is actually a 1 mA movement sold with a 15 k +/- 1% tolerance multiplier resistor. If you get this Radio Shack meter movement, you can use the included 15 k resistor for the resistor specied in the parts list. This meter experiment is based on a JFET-input op-amp such as the TL082. The other opamp (model 1458) is used in this experiment to demonstrate the absence of latch-up: a problem inherent to the TL082. You dont need 1 M resistors, exactly. Any very high resistance resistors will sufce.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES Voltmeter loading: its causes and its solution How to make a high-impedance voltmeter using an op-amp What op-amp latch-up is and how to avoid it
15 k
0-1 mA +
+ Test probe
0 to 1 mA meter movement +
INSTRUCTIONS An ideal voltmeter has innite input impedance, meaning that it draws zero current from the circuit under test. This way, there will be no impact on the circuit as the voltage is
being measured. The more current a voltmeter draws from the circuit under test, the more the measured voltage will sag under the loading effect of the meter, like a tire-pressure gauge releasing air out of the tire being measured: the more air released from the tire, the more the tires pressure will be impacted in the act of measurement. This loading is more pronounced on circuits of high resistance, like the voltage divider made of 1 M resistors, shown in the schematic diagram. If you were to build a simple 0-15 volt range voltmeter by connecting the 1 mA meter movement in series with the 15 k precision resistor, and try to use this voltmeter to measure the voltages at TP1, TP2, or TP3 (with respect to ground), youd encounter severe measurement errors induced by meter impact:
TP3 should be 9 volts TP2 should be 6 volts TP1 should be 3 volts 15 k 0-1 mA +
1 M However, the meter will fail to measure these voltages correctly due to the meters "loading" effect!TP1
Try using the meter movement and 15 k resistor as shown to measure these three voltages. Does the meter read falsely high or falsely low? Why do you think this is? If we were to increase the meters input impedance, we would diminish its current draw or load on the circuit under test and consequently improve its measurement accuracy. An op-amp with high-impedance inputs (using a JFET transistor input stage rather than a BJT input stage) works well for this application. Note that the meter movement is part of the op-amps feedback loop from output to inverting input. This circuit drives the meter movement with a current proportional to the voltage impressed at the noninverting (+) input, the requisite current supplied directly from the batteries through the op-amps power supply pins, not from the circuit under test through the test probe. The meters range is set by the resistor connecting the inverting (-) input to ground. Build the op-amp meter circuit as shown and re-take voltage measurements at TP1, TP2, and TP3. You should enjoy far better success this time, with the meter movement accurately measuring these voltages (approximately 3, 6, and 9 volts, respectively). You may witness the extreme sensitivity of this voltmeter by touching the test probe with one hand and the most positive battery terminal with the other. Notice how you can drive the needle upward on the scale simply by measuring battery voltage through your body resistance: an impossible feat with the original, unamplied voltmeter circuit. If you touch the test probe to ground, the meter should read exactly 0 volts.
After youve proven this circuit to work, modify it by changing the power supply from dual to split. This entails removing the center-tap ground connection between the 2nd and 3rd batteries, and grounding the far negative battery terminal instead:
This alteration in the power supply increases the voltages at TP1, TP2, and TP3 to 6, 12, and 18 volts, respectively. With a 15 k range resistor and a 1 mA meter movement, measuring 18 volts will gently peg the meter, but you should be able to measure the 6 and 12 volt test points just ne. Try touching the meters test probe to ground. This should drive the meter needle to exactly 0 volts as before, but it will not! What is happening here is an op-amp phenomenon called latch-up: where the op-amp output drives to a positive voltage when the input common-mode voltage exceeds the allowable limit. In this case, as with many JFET-input op-amps, neither input should be allowed to come close to either power supply rail voltage. With a single supply, the op-amps negative power rail is at ground potential (0 volts), so grounding the test probe brings the noninverting (+) input exactly to that rail voltage. This is bad for a JFET op-amp, and drives the output strongly positive, even though it doesnt seem like it should, based on how op-amps are supposed to function. When the op-amp ran on a dual supply (+12/-12 volts, rather than a single +24 volt supply), the negative power supply rail was 12 volts away from ground (0 volts), so grounding the test probe didnt violate the op-amps common-mode voltage limit. However, with the single +24 volt supply, we have a problem. Note that some op-amps do not latch-up the way the model TL082 does. You may replace the TL082 with an LM1458 op-amp, which is pin-for-pin compatible (no breadboard wiring changes needed). The model 1458 will not latch-up when the test probe is grounded, although you may still get incorrect meter readings with the measured voltage exactly equal to the negative power supply rail. As a general rule, you should always be sure the op-amps power supply rail voltages exceed the expected input voltages.
PARTS AND MATERIALS Four 6 volt batteries Operational amplier, model 1458 recommended (Radio Shack catalog # 276-038) One 10 k potentiometer, linear taper (Radio Shack catalog # 271-1715) Two capacitors, 0.1 F each, non-polarized (Radio Shack catalog # 272-135) Two 100 k resistors Three 1 M resistors Just about any operational amplier model will work ne for this integrator experiment, but Im specifying the model 1458 over the 353 because the 1458 has much higher input bias currents. Normally, high input bias current is a bad characteristic for an op-amp to have in a precision DC amplier circuit (and especially an integrator circuit!). However, I want the bias current to be high in order that its bad effects may be exaggerated, and so that you will learn one method of counteracting its effects. CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 3, chapter 8: Operational Ampliers LEARNING OBJECTIVES Method for limiting the span of a potentiometer Purpose of an integrator circuit How to compensate for op-amp bias current SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM
100 k 10 k 100 k
INSTRUCTIONS As you can see from the schematic diagram, the potentiometer is connected to the rails of the power source through 100 k resistors, one on each end. This is to limit the span of the potentiometer, so that full movement produces a fairly small range of input voltages for the op-amp to operate on. At one extreme of the potentiometers motion, a voltage of about 0.5 volt (with respect the the ground point in the middle of the series battery string) will be produced at the potentiometer wiper. At the other extreme of motion, a voltage of about -0.5 volt will be produced. When the potentiometer is positioned dead-center, the wiper voltage should measure zero volts. Connect a voltmeter between the op-amps output terminal and the circuit ground point. Slowly move the potentiometer control while monitoring the output voltage. The output voltage should be changing at a rate established by the potentiometers deviation from zero (center) position. To use calculus terms, we would say that the output voltage represents the integral (with respect to time) of the input voltage function. That is, the input voltage level establishes the output voltage rate of change over time. This is precisely the opposite of differentiation, where the derivative of a signal or function is its instantaneous rate of change. If you have two voltmeters, you may readily see this relationship between input voltage and output voltage rate of change by measuring the wiper voltage (between the potentiometer
wiper and ground) with one meter and the output voltage (between the op-amp output terminal and ground) with the other. Adjusting the potentiometer to give zero volts should result in the slowest output voltage rate-of-change. Conversely, the more voltage input to this circuit, the faster its output voltage will change, or ramp. Try connecting the second 0.1 F capacitor in parallel with the rst. This will double the amount of capacitance in the op-amps feedback loop. What affect does this have on the circuits integration rate for any given potentiometer position? Try connecting another 1 M resistor in parallel with the input resistor (the resistor connecting the potentiometer wiper to the inverting terminal of the op-amp). This will halve the integrators input resistance. What affect does this have on the circuits integration rate? Integrator circuits are one of the fundamental building-block functions of an analog computer. By connecting integrator circuits with ampliers, summers, and potentiometers (dividers), almost any differential equation could be modeled, and solutions obtained by measuring voltages produced at various points in the network of circuits. Because differential equations describe so many physical processes, analog computers are useful as simulators. Before the advent of modern digital computers, engineers used analog computers to simulate such processes as machinery vibration, rocket trajectory, and control system response. Even though analog computers are considered obsolete by modern standards, their constituent components still work well as learning tools for calculus concepts. Move the potentiometer until the op-amps output voltage is as close to zero as you can get it, and moving as slowly as you can make it. Disconnect the integrator input from the potentiometer wiper terminal and connect it instead to ground, like this:
Applying exactly zero voltage to the input of an integrator circuit should, ideally, cause the output voltage rate-of-change to be zero. When you make this change to the circuit, you should notice the output voltage remaining at a constant level or changing very slowly.
With the integrator input still shorted to ground, short past the 1 M resistor connecting the op-amps noninverting (+) input to ground. There should be no need for this resistor in an ideal op-amp circuit, so by shorting past it we will see what function it provides in this very real op-amp circuit:
Connect integrator input directly to ground Short past the "grounding" resistor -
Connect integrator input directly to ground Short past the "grounding" resistor
As soon as the grounding resistor is shorted with a jumper wire, the op-amps output voltage will start to change, or drift. Ideally, this should not happen, because the integrator
circuit still has an input signal of zero volts. However, real operational ampliers have a very small amount of current entering each input terminal called the bias current. These bias currents will drop voltage across any resistance in their path. Since the 1 M input resistor conducts some amount of bias current regardless of input signal magnitude, it will drop voltage across its terminals due to bias current, thus offsetting the amount of signal voltage seen at the inverting terminal of the op-amp. If the other (noninverting) input is connected directly to ground as we have done here, this offset voltage incurred by voltage drop generated by bias current will cause the integrator circuit to slowly integrate as though it were receiving a very small input signal. The grounding resistor is better known as a compensating resistor, because it acts to compensate for voltage errors created by bias current. Since the bias currents through each op-amp input terminal are approximately equal to each other, an equal amount of resistance placed in the path of each bias current will produce approximately the same voltage drop. Equal voltage drops seen at the complementary inputs of an op-amp cancel each other out, thus nulling the error otherwise induced by bias current. Remove the jumper wire shorting past the compensating resistor and notice how the opamp output returns to a relatively stable state. It may still drift some, most likely due to bias voltage error in the op-amp itself, but that is another subject altogether! COMPUTER SIMULATION Schematic with SPICE node numbers:
Netlist (make a text le containing the following text, verbatim): DC integrator vinput 1 0 dc 0.05 r1 1 2 1meg c1 2 3 0.1u ic=0 e1 3 0 0 2 999k .tran 1 30 uic .plot tran v(1,0) v(3,0) .end
PARTS AND MATERIALS Two 6 volt batteries One capacitor, 0.1 F, non-polarized (Radio Shack catalog # 272-135) One 555 timer IC (Radio Shack catalog # 276-1723) Two light-emitting diodes (Radio Shack catalog # 276-026 or equivalent) One 1 M resistor One 100 k resistor Two 510 resistors Audio detector with headphones Oscilloscope (recommended, but not necessary) A oscilloscope would be useful in analyzing the waveforms produced by this circuit, but it is not essential. An audio detector is a very useful piece of test equipment for this experiment, especially if you dont have an oscilloscope. CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 4, chapter 10: Multivibrators LEARNING OBJECTIVES How to use the 555 timer as an astable multivibrator Working knowledge of duty cycle SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM
510 1 M Vcc 555 Disch 100 k Thresh Trig 0.1 F Gnd Ctrl 510 6V Out RST 6V
555 + -
INSTRUCTIONS The 555 integrated circuit is a general-purpose timer useful for a variety of functions. In this experiment, we explore its use as an astable multivibrator, or oscillator. Connected to a capacitor and two resistors as shown, it will oscillate freely, driving the LEDs on and off with a square-wave output voltage. This circuit works on the principle of alternately charging and discharging a capacitor. The 555 begins to discharge the capacitor by grounding the Disch terminal when the voltage detected by the Thresh terminal exceeds 2/3 the power supply voltage (Vcc ). It stops discharging the capacitor when the voltage detected by the Trig terminal falls below 1/3 the power supply voltage. Thus, when both Thresh and Trig terminals are connected to the capacitors positive terminal, the capacitor voltage will cycle between 1/3 and 2/3 power supply voltage in a sawtooth pattern. During the charging cycle, the capacitor receives charging current through the series combination of the 1 M and 100 k resistors. As soon as the Disch terminal on the 555 timer goes to ground potential (a transistor inside the 555 connected between that terminal and ground turns on), the capacitors discharging current only has to go through the 100 k resistor. The result is an RC time constant that is much longer for charging than for discharging, resulting in a charging time greatly exceeding the discharging time. The 555s Out terminal produces a square-wave voltage signal that is high (nearly Vcc ) when the capacitor is charging, and low (nearly 0 volts) when the capacitor is discharging. This alternating high/low voltage signal drives the two LEDs in opposite modes: when one is on, the other will be off. Because the capacitors charging and discharging times are unequal, the high and low times of the outputs square-wave waveform will be unequal as well. This can be seen in the relative brightness of the two LEDs: one will be much brighter than the other, because it is on for a longer period of time during each cycle. The equality or inequality between high and low times of a square wave is expressed as that waves duty cycle. A square wave with a 50% duty cycle is perfectly symmetrical: its high time is precisely equal to its low time. A square wave that is high 10% of the time
and low 90% of the time is said to have a 10% duty cycle. In this circuit, the output waveform has a high time exceeding the low time, resulting in a duty cycle greater than 50%. Use the audio detector (or an oscilloscope) to investigate the different voltage waveforms produced by this circuit. Try different resistor values and/or capacitor values to see what effects they have on output frequency or charge/discharge times.
PARTS AND MATERIALS Two 6 volt batteries One capacitor, 470 F electrolytic, 35 WVDC (Radio Shack catalog # 272-1030 or equivalent) One capacitor, 0.1 F, non-polarized (Radio Shack catalog # 272-135) One 555 timer IC (Radio Shack catalog # 276-1723) Two PNP transistors models 2N2907 or 2N3906 recommended (Radio Shack catalog # 276-1604 is a package of fteen PNP transistors ideal for this and other experiments) Two light-emitting diodes (Radio Shack catalog # 276-026 or equivalent) One 100 k resistor One 47 k resistor Two 510 resistors Audio detector with headphones The voltage rating on the 470 F capacitor is not critical, so long as it generously exceeds the maximum power supply voltage. In this particular circuit, that maximum voltage is 12 volts. Be sure you connect this capacitor in the circuit properly, respecting polarity! CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 1, chapter 13: Capacitors Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 4, chapter 10: Multivibrators LEARNING OBJECTIVES How to use the 555 timer as an astable multivibrator A practical use for a current mirror circuit Understanding the relationship between capacitor current and capacitor voltage rate-ofchange
510 47 kTP2 TP3
+ A 100 k TP1
INSTRUCTIONS Again, we are using a 555 timer IC as an astable multivibrator, or oscillator. This time, however, we will compare its operation in two different capacitor-charging modes: traditional RC and constant-current. Connecting test point #1 (TP1) to test point #3 (TP3) using a jumper wire. This allows the capacitor to charge through a 47 k resistor. When the capacitor has reached 2/3 supply voltage, the 555 timer switches to discharge mode and discharges the capacitor to a level of 1/3 supply voltage almost immediately. The charging cycle begins again at this point. Measure voltage directly across the capacitor with a voltmeter (a digital voltmeter is preferred), and note the rate of capacitor charging over time. It should rise quickly at rst, then taper off as it builds up to 2/3 supply voltage, just as you would expect from an RC charging circuit. Remove the jumper wire from TP3, and re-connect it to TP2. This allows the capacitor to be charged through the controlled-current leg of a current mirror circuit formed by the two PNP transistors. Measure voltage directly across the capacitor again, noting the difference in charging rate over time as compared to the last circuit conguration.
By connecting TP1 to TP2, the capacitor receives a nearly constant charging current. Constant capacitor charging current yields a voltage curve that is linear, as described by the equation i = C(de/dt). If the capacitors current is constant, so will be its rate-of-change of voltage over time. The result is a ramp waveform rather than a sawtooth waveform:
PARTS AND MATERIALS Four 6 volt batteries One capacitor, 100 F electrolytic, 35 WVDC (Radio Shack catalog # 272-1028 or equivalent) One capacitor, 0.1 F, non-polarized (Radio Shack catalog # 272-135) One 555 timer IC (Radio Shack catalog # 276-1723) Dual operational amplier, model 1458 recommended (Radio Shack catalog # 276-038) One NPN power transistor (Radio Shack catalog # 276-2041 or equivalent) Three 1N4001 rectifying diodes (Radio Shack catalog # 276-1101) One 10 k potentiometer, linear taper (Radio Shack catalog # 271-1715) One 33 k resistor 12 volt automotive tail-light lamp Audio detector with headphones CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 3, chapter 8: Operational Ampliers Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 2, chapter 7: Mixed-Frequency AC Signals LEARNING OBJECTIVES How to use the 555 timer as an astable multivibrator How to use an op-amp as a comparator How to use diodes to drop unwanted DC voltage How to control power to a load by pulse-width modulation SCHEMATIC DIAGRAMVcc 555 Disch Thresh Trig 0.1 F Gnd Ctrl Out + RST1
33 k
Power transistor
555 + + -
INSTRUCTIONS This circuit uses a 555 timer to generate a sawtooth voltage waveform across a capacitor, then compares that signal against a steady voltage provided by a potentiometer, using an opamp as a comparator. The comparison of these two voltage signals produces a square-wave output from the op-amp, varying in duty cycle according to the potentiometers position. This variable duty cycle signal then drives the base of a power transistor, switching current on and off through the load. The 555s oscillation frequency is much higher than the lamp laments ability to thermally cycle (heat and cool), so any variation in duty cycle, or pulse width, has the effect of controlling the total power dissipated by the load over time.
Control voltage
Controlling electrical power through a load by means of quickly switching it on and off, and varying the on time, is known as pulse-width modulation, or PWM. It is a very efcient means of controlling electrical power because the controlling element (the power transistor) dissipates comparatively little power in switching on and off, especially if compared to the wasted power dissipated of a rheostat in a similar situation. When the transistor is in cutoff, its power dissipation is zero because there is no current through it. When the transistor is saturated, its dissipation is very low because there is little voltage dropped between collector and emitter while it is conducting current. PWM is a concept easier understood through experimentation than reading. It would be nice to view the capacitor voltage, potentiometer voltage, and op-amp output waveforms all on one (triple-trace) oscilloscope to see how they relate to one another, and to the load power. However, most of us have no access to a triple-trace oscilloscope, much less any oscilloscope at all, so an alternative method is to slow the 555 oscillator down enough that the three voltages may be compared with a simple DC voltmeter. Replace the 0.1 F capacitor with one that is 100 F or larger. This will slow the oscillation frequency down by a factor of at least a thousand, enabling you to measure the capacitor voltage slowly rise over time, and the opamp output transition from high to low when the capacitor voltage becomes greater than the potentiometer voltage. With such a slow oscillation frequency, the load power will not be proportioned as before. Rather, the lamp will turn on and off at regular intervals. Feel free to experiment with other capacitor or resistor values to speed up the oscillations enough so the lamp never fully turns on or off, but is throttled by quick on-and-off pulsing of the transistor. When you examine the schematic, you will notice two operational ampliers connected in parallel. This is done to provide maximum current output to the base terminal of the power transistor. A single op-amp (one-half of a 1458 IC) may not be able to provide sufcient output current to drive the transistor into saturation, so two op-amps are used in tandem. This should only be done if the op-amps in question are overload-protected, which the 1458 series of opamps are. Otherwise, it is possible (though unlikely) that one op-amp could turn on before the other, and damage result from the two outputs short-circuiting each other (one driving high and the other driving low simultaneously). The inherent short-circuit protection offered by the 1458 allows for direct driving of the power transistor base without any need for a current-
limiting resistor. The three diodes in series connecting the op-amps outputs to the transistors base are there to drop voltage and ensure the transistor falls into cutoff when the op-amp outputs go low. Because the 1458 op-amp cannot swing its output voltage all the way down to ground potential, but only to within about 2 volts of ground, a direct connection from the op-amp to the transistor would mean the transistor would never fully turn off. Adding three silicon diodes in series drops approximately 2.1 volts (0.7 volts times 3) to ensure there is minimal voltage at the transistors base when the op-amp outputs go low. It is interesting to listen to the op-amp output signal through an audio detector as the potentiometer is adjusted through its full range of motion. Adjusting the potentiometer has no effect on signal frequency, but it greatly affects duty cycle. Note the difference in tone quality, or timbre, as the potentiometer varies the duty cycle from 0% to 50% to 100%. Varying the duty cycle has the effect of changing the harmonic content of the waveform, which makes the tone sound different. You might notice a particular uniqueness to the sound heard through the detector headphones when the potentiometer is in center position (50% duty cycle 50% load power), versus a kind of similarity in sound just above or below 50% duty cycle. This is due to the absence or presence of even-numbered harmonics. Any waveform that is symmetrical above and below its centerline, such as a square wave with a 50% duty cycle, contains no even-numbered harmonics, only odd-numbered. If the duty cycle is below or above 50%, the waveform will not exhibit this symmetry, and there will be even-numbered harmonics. The presence of these even-numbered harmonic frequencies can be detected by the human ear, as some of them correspond to octaves of the fundamental frequency and thus t more naturally into the tone scheme.
PARTS AND MATERIALS Four 6 volt batteries Dual operational amplier, model TL082 recommended (Radio Shack catalog # 276-1715) One NPN power transistor in a TO-220 package (Radio Shack catalog # 276-2020 or equivalent) One PNP power transistor in a TO-220 package (Radio Shack catalog # 276-2027 or equivalent) One 1N914 switching diode (Radio Shack catalog # 276-1620) One capacitor, 47 F electrolytic, 35 WVDC (Radio Shack catalog # 272-1015 or equivalent) Two capacitors, 0.22 F, non-polarized (Radio Shack catalog # 272-1070) One 10 k potentiometer, linear taper (Radio Shack catalog # 271-1715) Be sure to use an op-amp that has a high slew rate. Avoid the LM741 or LM1458 for this reason. The closer matched the two transistors are, the better. If possible, try to obtain TIP41 and TIP42 transistors, which are closely matched NPN and PNP power transistors with dissipation ratings of 65 watts each. If you cannot get a TIP41 NPN transistor, the TIP3055 (available from Radio Shack) is a good substitute. Do not use very large (i.e. TO-3 case) power transistors, as the op-amp may have trouble driving enough current to their bases for good operation. CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 3, chapter 4: Bipolar Junction Transistors Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 3, chapter 8: Operational Ampliers LEARNING OBJECTIVES How to build a push-pull class B amplier using complementary bipolar transistors The effects of crossover distortion in a push-pull amplier circuit Using negative feedback via an op-amp to correct circuit nonlinearities
Volume 10 k +V 1
Audio signal in
0.22 F 47 F -V 10 k 1N914
Power supply
ILLUSTRATIONVolume control NPN + B CE
INSTRUCTIONS This project is an audio amplier suitable for amplifying the output signal from a small radio, tape player, CD player, or any other source of audio signals. For stereo operation, two
identical ampliers must be built, one for the left channel and other for the right channel. To obtain an input signal for this amplier to amplify, just connect it to the output of a radio or other audio device like this:
In a push-pull amplier circuit, the two transistors take turns amplifying the alternate half-cycles of the waveform like this:
Transistor #1
Transistor #2
If the hand-off between the two transistors is not precisely synchronized, though, the ampliers output waveform may look something like this instead of a pure sine wave:
Here, distortion results from the fact that there is a delay between the time one transistor turns off and the other transistor turns on. This type of distortion, where the waveform attens at the crossover point between positive and negative half-cycles, is called crossover distortion. One common method of mitigating crossover distortion is to bias the transistors so that their turn-on/turn-off points actually overlap, so that both transistors are in a state of conduction for a brief moment during the crossover period:
Transistor #1 both
This form of amplication is technically known as class AB rather than class B, because each transistor is on for more than 50% of the time during a complete waveform cycle. The disadvantage to doing this, though, is increased power consumption of the amplier circuit, because during the moments of time where both transistors are conducting, there is current conducted through the transistors that is not going through the load, but is merely being shorted from one power supply rail to the other (from -V to +V). Not only is this a waste of energy, but it dissipates more heat energy in the transistors. When transistors increase in temperature, their characteristics change (Vbe forward voltage drop, , junction resistances, etc.), making proper biasing difcult. In this experiment, the transistors operate in pure class B mode. That is, they are never conducting at the same time. This saves energy and decreases heat dissipation, but lends itself to crossover distortion. The solution taken in this circuit is to use an op-amp with negative feedback to quickly drive the transistors through the dead zone producing crossover distortion and reduce the amount of attening of the waveform during crossover.
The rst (leftmost) op-amp shown in the schematic diagram is nothing more than a buffer. A buffer helps to reduce the loading of the input capacitor/resistor network, which has been placed in the circuit to lter out any DC bias voltage out of the input signal, preventing any DC voltage from becoming amplied by the circuit and sent to the speaker where it might cause damage. Without the buffer op-amp, the capacitor/resistor ltering circuit reduces the low-frequency (bass) response of the amplier, and accentuates the high-frequency (treble). The second op-amp functions as an inverting amplier whose gain is controlled by the 10 k potentiometer. This does nothing more than provide a volume control for the amplier. Usually, inverting op-amp circuits have their feedback resistor(s) connected directly from the op-amp output terminal to the inverting input terminal like this:
Input +V + -VIf we were to use the resulting output signal to drive the base terminals of the push-pull transistor pair, though, we would experience signicant crossover distortion, because there would be a dead zone in the transistors operation as the base voltage went from + 0.7 volts to - 0.7 volts:
+V Audio signal in 1
+ -V Top transistor doesnt turn on until Vbe exceeds +0.7 volts Bottom transistor doesnt turn on until Vbe drops below -0.7 volts
8 speaker
If you have already constructed the amplier circuit in its nal form, you may simplify it to this form and listen to the difference in sound quality. If you have not yet begun construction of the circuit, the schematic diagram shown above would be a good starting point. It will amplify an audio signal, but it will sound horrible!
The reason for the crossover distortion is that when the op-amp output signal is between + 0.7 volts and - 0.7 volts, neither transistor will be conducting, and the output voltage to the speaker will be 0 volts for the entire 1.4 volts span of base voltage swing. Thus, there is a zone in the input signal range where no change in speaker output voltage will occur. Here is where intricate biasing techniques are usually introduced to the circuit to reduce this 1.4 volt gap in transistor input signal response. Usually, something like this is done:
-VThe two series-connected diodes will drop approximately 1.4 volts, equivalent to the combined Vbe forward voltage drops of the two transistors, resulting in a scenario where each transistor is just on the verge of turning on when the input signal is zero volts, eliminating the 1.4 volt dead signal zone that existed before. Unfortunately, though, this solution is not perfect: as the transistors heat up from conducting power to the load, their Vbe forward voltage drops will decrease from 0.7 volts to something less, such as 0.6 volts or 0.5 volts. The diodes, which are not subject to the same heating effect because they do not conduct any substantial current, will not experience the same change in forward voltage drop. Thus, the diodes will continue to provide the same 1.4 volt bias voltage even though the transistors require less bias voltage due to heating. The result will be that the circuit drifts into class AB operation, where both transistors will be in a state of conduction part of the time. This, of course, will result in more heat dissipation through the transistors, exacerbating the problem of forward voltage drop change. A common solution to this problem is the insertion of temperature-compensation feedback resistors in the emitter legs of the push-pull transistor circuit:
-VThis solution doesnt prevent simultaneous turn-on of the two transistors, but merely reduces the severity of the problem and prevents thermal runaway. It also has the unfortunate effect of inserting resistance in the load current path, limiting the output current of the amplier. The solution I opted for in this experiment is one that capitalizes on the principle of op-amp negative feedback to overcome the inherent limitations of the push-pull transistor output circuit. I use one diode to provide a 0.7 volt bias voltage for the push-pull pair. This is not enough to eliminate the dead signal zone, but it reduces it by at least 50%:
Since the voltage drop of a single diode will always be less than the combined voltage drops of the two transistors base-emitter junctions, the transistors can never turn on simultaneously, thereby preventing class AB operation. Next, to help get rid of the remaining crossover distortion, the feedback signal of the op-amp is taken from the output terminal of the amplier (the transistors emitter terminals) like this:
The op-amps function is to output whatever voltage signal it has to in order to keep its two input terminals at the same voltage (0 volts differential). By connecting the feedback wire to the emitter terminals of the push-pull transistors, the op-amp has the ability to sense any dead zone where neither transistor is conducting, and output an appropriate voltage signal to the bases of the transistors to quickly drive them into conduction again to keep up with the input signal waveform. This requires an op-amp with a high slew rate (the ability to produce a fast-rising or fast-falling output voltage), which is why the TL082 op-amp was specied for this circuit. Slower op-amps such as the LM741 or LM1458 may not be able to keep up with the high dv/dt (voltage rate-of-change over time, also known as de/dt) necessary for low-distortion operation.
Only a couple of capacitors are added to this circuit to bring it into its nal form: a 47 F capacitor connected in parallel with the diode helps to keep the 0.7 volt bias voltage constant despite large voltage swings in the op-amps output, while a 0.22 F capacitor connected between the base and emitter of the NPN transistor helps reduce crossover distortion at low volume settings:
Chapter 7
Digital circuits are circuits dealing with signals restricted to the extreme limits of zero and some full amount. This stands in contrast to analog circuits, in which signals are free to vary continuously between the limits imposed by power supply voltage and circuit resistances. These circuits nd use in true/false logical operations and digital computation. The circuits in this chapter make use of IC, or integrated circuit, components. Such components are actually networks of interconnected components manufactured on a single wafer of semiconducting material. Integrated circuits providing a multitude of pre-engineered functions are available at very low cost, benetting students, hobbyists and professional circuit designers alike. Most integrated circuits provide the same functionality as discrete semiconductor circuits at higher levels of reliability and at a fraction of the cost. 329
Circuits in this chapter will primarily use CMOS technology, as this form of IC design allows for a broad range of power supply voltage while maintaining generally low power consumption levels. Though CMOS circuitry is susceptible to damage from static electricity (high voltages will puncture the insulating barriers in the MOSFET transistors), modern CMOS ICs are far more tolerant of electrostatic discharge than the CMOS ICs of the past, reducing the risk of chip failure by mishandling. Proper handling of CMOS involves the use of anti-static foam for storage and transport of ICs, and measures to prevent static charge from building up on your body (use of a grounding wrist strap, or frequently touching a grounded object). Circuits using TTL technology require a regulated power supply voltage of 5 volts, and will not tolerate any substantial deviation from this voltage level. Any TTL circuits in this chapter will be adequately labeled as such, and it will be expected that you realize its unique power supply requirements. When building digital circuits using integrated circuit chips, it is highly recommended that you use a breadboard with power supply rail connections along the length. These are sets of holes in the breadboard that are electrically common along the entire length of the board. Connect one to the positive terminal of a battery, and the other to the negative terminal, and DC power will be available to any area of the breadboard via connection through short jumper wires:
PARTS AND MATERIALS 4011 quad NAND gate (Radio Shack catalog # 276-2411) Eight-position DIP switch (Radio Shack catalog # 275-1301) Ten-segment bargraph LED (Radio Shack catalog # 276-081) One 6 volt battery Two 10 k resistors Three 470 resistors Caution! The 4011 IC is CMOS, and therefore sensitive to static electricity! CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 4, chapter 3: Logic Gates LEARNING OBJECTIVES Purpose of a pulldown resistor How to experimentally determine the truth table of a gate How to connect logic gates together How to create different logical functions by using NAND gates
/4 4011
6V 10 k 10 k
INSTRUCTIONS To begin, connect a single NAND gate to two input switches and one LED, as shown. At rst, the use of an 8-position switch and a 10-segment LED bargraph may seem excessive, since only two switches and one LED are needed to show the operation of a single NAND gate. However, the presence of those extra switches and LEDs make it very convenient to expand the circuit, and help make the circuit layout both clean and compact. It is highly recommended that you have a datasheet for the 4011 chip available when you build your circuit. Dont just follow the illustration shown above! It is important that you develop the skill of reading datasheets, especially pinout diagrams, when connecting IC terminals to other circuit elements. The datasheets connection diagram is an essential piece of information to have. Shown here is my own rendition of what any 4011 datasheet shows:
"Pinout," or "connection" diagram for the 4011 quad NAND gate VDD 14 13 12 11 10 9 8
7 Gnd
In the breadboard illustration, Ive shown the circuit built using the lower-left NAND gate: pin #s 1 and 2 are the inputs, and pin #3 is the output. Pin #s 14 and 7 conduct DC power to all four gate circuits inside the IC chip, VDD representing the positive side of the power supply (+V), and Gnd representing the negative side of the power supply (-V), or ground. Sometimes the negative power supply terminal will be labeled VSS instead of Gnd on a datasheet, but it means the same thing.
Digital logic circuitry does not make use of split power supplies as op-amps do. Like op-amp circuits, though, ground is still the implicit point of reference for all voltage measurements. If I were to speak of a high signal being present on a certain pin of the chip, I would mean that there was full voltage between that pin and the negative side of the power supply (ground). Note how all inputs of the unused gates inside the 4011 chip are connected either to VDD or ground. This is not a mistake, but an act of intentional design. Since the 4011 is a CMOS integrated circuit, and CMOS circuit inputs left unconnected (oating) can assume any voltage level merely from intercepting a static electric charge from a nearby object, leaving inputs oating means that those unused gates may receive any random combinations of high and low signals. Why is this undesirable, if we arent using those gates? Who cares what signals they receive, if we are not doing anything with their outputs? The problem is, if static voltage signals appear at the gate inputs that are not fully high or fully low, the gates internal transistors may begin to turn on in such a way as to draw excessive current. At worst, this could lead to damage of the chip. At best it means excessive power consumption. It matters little if we choose to connect these unused gate inputs high (VDD ) or low (ground), so long as we connect them to one of those two places. In the breadboard illustration, I show all the top inputs connected to VDD , and all the bottom inputs (of the unused gates) connected to ground. This was done merely because those power supply rail holes were closer and did not require long jumper wires! Please note that none of the unused gate outputs have been connected to VDD or ground, and for good reason! If I were to do that, I may be forcing a gate to assume the opposite output state that its trying to achieve, which is a complicated way of saying that I would have created a short-circuit. Imagine a gate that is supposed to output a high logic level (for a NAND gate, this would be true if any of its inputs were low). If such a gate were to have its output terminal directly connected to ground, it could never reach a high state (being made electrically common to ground through the jumper wire connection). Instead, its upper (P-channel) output transistor would be turned on in vain, sourcing maximum current to a nonexistent load. This would very likely damage the gate! Gate output terminals, by their very nature, generate their own logic levels and never oat in the same way that CMOS gate inputs do. The two 10 k resistors are placed in the circuit to avoid oating input conditions on the used gate. With a switch closed, the respective input will be directly connected to VDD and therefore be high. With a switch open, the 10 k pulldown resistor provides a resistive connection to ground, ensuring a secure low state at the gates input terminal. This way, the input will not be susceptible to stray static voltages. With the NAND gate connected to the two switches and one LED as shown, you are ready to develop a truth table for the NAND gate. Even if you already know what a NAND gate truth table looks like, this is a good exercise in experimentation: discovering a circuits behavioral principles by induction. Draw a truth table on a piece of paper like this:
B Output 0 1 0 1
The A and B columns represent the two input switches, respectively. When the switch is on, its state is high or 1. When the switch is off, its state is low, or 0, as ensured by its pulldown resistor. The gates output, of course, is represented by the LED: whether it is lit (1) or unlit (0). After placing the switches in every possible combination of states and recording the LEDs status, compare the resulting truth table with what a NAND gates truth table should be. As you can imagine, this breadboard circuit is not limited to testing NAND gates. Any gate type may be tested with two switches, two pulldown resistors, and an LED to indicate output status. Just be sure to double-check the chips pinout diagram before substituting it pin-for-pin in place of the 4011. Not all quad gate chips have the same pin assignments! An improvement you might want to make to this circuit is to assign a couple of LEDs to indicate input status, in addition to the one LED assigned to indicate the output. This makes operation a little more interesting to observe, and has the further benet of indicating if a switch fails to close (or open) by showing the true input signal to the gate, rather than forcing you to infer input status from switch position:
PARTS AND MATERIALS 4001 quad NOR gate (Radio Shack catalog # 276-2401) Eight-position DIP switch (Radio Shack catalog # 275-1301) Ten-segment bargraph LED (Radio Shack catalog # 276-081) One 6 volt battery Two 10 k resistors Two 470 resistors Two 100 resistors Caution! The 4001 IC is CMOS, and therefore sensitive to static electricity! CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 4, chapter 3: Logic Gates Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 4, chapter 10: Multivibrators LEARNING OBJECTIVES The effects of positive feedback in a digital circuit What is meant by the invalid state of a latch circuit What a race condition is in a digital circuit The importance of valid high CMOS signal voltage levels
/4 4001
6V 10 k1
INSTRUCTIONS The 4001 integrated circuit is a CMOS quad NOR gate, identical in input, output, and power supply pin assignments to the 4011 quad NAND gate. Its pinout, or connection, diagram is as such:
"Pinout," or "connection" diagram for the 4001 quad NOR gate VDD 14 13 12 11 10 9 8
When two NOR gates are cross-connected as shown in the schematic diagram, there will be positive feedback from output to input. That is, the output signal tends to maintain the gate in its last output state. Just as in op-amp circuits, positive feedback creates hysteresis. This tendency for the circuit to remain in its last output state gives it a sort of memory. In fact, there are solid-state computer memory technologies based on circuitry like this! If we designate the left switch as the Set input and the right switch as the Reset, the left LED will be the Q output and the right LED the Q-not output. With the Set input high (switch on) and the Reset input low, Q will go high and Q-not will go low. This is known as the set state of the circuit. Making the Reset input high and the Set input low reverses the latch circuits output state: Q low and Q-not high. This is known as the reset state of the circuit. If both inputs are placed into the low state, the circuits Q and Q-not outputs will remain in their last states, remembering their prior settings. This is known as the latched state of the circuit.
Because the outputs have been designated Q and Q-not, it is implied that their states will always be complementary (opposite). Thus, if something were to happen that forced both outputs to the same state, we would be inclined to call that mode of the circuit invalid. This is exactly what will happen if we make both Set and Reset inputs high: both Q and Q-not outputs will be forced to the same low logic state. This is known as the invalid or illegal state of the circuit, not because something has gone wrong, but because the outputs have failed to meet the expectations established by their labels. Since the latched state is a hysteretic condition whereby the last output states are remembered, one might wonder what will happen if the circuit powers up this way, with no previous state to hold. To experiment, place both switches in their off positions, making both Set and Reset inputs low, then disconnect one of the battery wires from the breadboard. Then, quickly make and break contact between that battery wire and its proper connection point on the breadboard, noting the status of the two LEDs as the circuit is powered up again and again:
When a latch circuit such as this is powered up into its latched state, the gates race against each other for control. Given the low inputs, both gates try to output high signals. If one of the gates reaches its high output state before the other, that high state will be fed back to the other gates input to force its output low, and the race is won by the faster gate. Invariably, one gate wins the race, due to internal variations between gates in the chip, and/or external resistances and capacitances that act to delay one gate more than the other. What this usually means is that the circuit tends to power up in the same mode, over and over again. However, if you are persistent in your powering/unpowering cycles, you should see at least a few times where the latch circuit powers up latched in the opposite state from normal. Race conditions are generally undesirable in any kind of system, as they lead to unpredictable operation. They can be particularly troublesome to locate, as this experiment shows, because of the unpredictability they create. Imagine a scenario, for instance, where one of the two NOR gates was exceptionally slow-acting, due to a defect in the chip. This handicap would cause the other gate to win the power-up race every time. In other words, the circuit will be very predictable on power-up with both inputs low. However, suppose that the unusual chip were to be replaced by one with more evenly matched gates, or by a chip where the other NOR gate were consistently slower. Normal circuit behavior is not supposed to change when a component is replaced, but if race conditions are present, a change of components may very well do just that.
Due to the inherent race tendency of an S-R latch, one should not design a circuit with the expectation of a consistent power-up state, but rather use external means to force the race so that the desired gate always wins. An interesting modication to try in this circuit is to replace one of the 470 LED dropping resistors with a lower-value unit, such as 100 . The obvious effect of this alteration will be increased LED brightness, as more current is allowed through. A not-so-obvious effect will also result, and it is this effect which holds great learning value. Try replacing one of the 470 resistors with a 100 resistor, and operate the input signal switches through all four possible setting combinations, noting the behavior of the circuit. You should note that the circuit refuses to latch in one of its states (either Set or Reset), but only in the other state, when the input switches are both set low (the latch mode). Why is this? Take a voltmeter and measure the output voltage of the gate whose output is high when both inputs are low. Note this voltage indication, then set the input switches in such a way that the other state (either Reset or Set) is forced, and measure the output voltage of the other gate when its output is high. Note the difference between the two gate output voltage levels, one gate loaded by an LED with a 470 resistor, and the other loaded by an LED with a 100 resistor. The one loaded down by the heavier load (100 resistor) will be much less: so much less that this voltage will not be interpreted by the other NOR gates input as a high signal at all as it is fed back! All logic gates have permissible high and low input signal voltage ranges, and if the voltage of a digital signal falls outside this permissible range, it might not be properly interpreted by the receiving gate. In a latch circuit such as this, which depends on a solid high signal fed back from the output of one gate to the input of the other, a weak signal will not be able to maintain the positive feedback necessary to keep the circuit latched in one of its states. This is one reason I favor the use of a voltmeter as a logic probe for determining digital signal levels, rather than an actual logic probe with high and low lights. A logic probe may not indicate the presence of a weak signal, whereas a voltmeter denitely will by means of its quantitative indication. This type of problem, common in circuits where different families of integrated circuits are mixed (TTL and CMOS, for example), can only be found with test equipment providing quantitative measurements of signal level.
PARTS AND MATERIALS 4011 quad NAND gate (Radio Shack catalog # 276-2411) Eight-position DIP switch (Radio Shack catalog # 275-1301) Ten-segment bargraph LED (Radio Shack catalog # 276-081) One 6 volt battery Three 10 k resistors Two 470 resistors Caution! The 4011 IC is CMOS, and therefore sensitive to static electricity! CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 4, chapter 3: Logic Gates Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 4, chapter 10: Multivibrators LEARNING OBJECTIVES Principle and function of an enabled latch circuit
SCHEMATIC DIAGRAMSet Enable Reset (power connections to gates not shown for simplicity) Q1
/4 40111
INSTRUCTIONS Although this circuit uses NAND gates instead of NOR gates, its behavior is identical to that of the NOR gate S-R latch (a high Set input drives Q high, and a high Reset input drives Q-not high), except for the presence of a third input: the Enable. The purpose of the Enable input is to enable or disable the Set and Reset inputs from having effect over the circuits output status. When the Enable input is high, the circuit acts just like the NOR gate S-R latch. When the Enable input is low, the Set and Reset inputs are disabled and have no effect whatsoever on the outputs, leaving the circuit in its latched state. This kind of latch circuit (also called a gated S-R latch), may be constructed from two NOR gates and two AND gates, but the NAND gate design is easier to build since it makes use of all four gates in a single integrated circuit.
PARTS AND MATERIALS 4011 quad NAND gate (Radio Shack catalog # 276-2411) 4001 quad NOR gate (Radio Shack catalog # 276-2401) Eight-position DIP switch (Radio Shack catalog # 275-1301) Ten-segment bargraph LED (Radio Shack catalog # 276-081) One 6 volt battery Three 10 k resistors Two 470 resistors Caution! The 4011 IC is CMOS, and therefore sensitive to static electricity! Although the parts list calls for a ten-segment LED unit, the illustration shows two individual LEDs being used instead. This is due to lack of room on my breadboard to mount the switch assembly, two integrated circuits, and the bargraph. If you have room on your breadboard, feel free to use the bargraph as called for in the parts list, and as shown in prior latch circuits. CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 4, chapter 3: Logic Gates Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 4, chapter 10: Multivibrators LEARNING OBJECTIVES The difference between a gated latch and a ip-op How to build a pulse detector circuit Learn the effects of switch contact bounce on digital circuits
Clock Reset
4001 4011
INSTRUCTIONS The only difference between a gated (or enabled) latch and a ip-op is that a ip-op is enabled only on the rising or falling edge of a clock signal, rather than for the entire duration of a high enable signal. Converting an enabled latch into a ip-op simply requires that a pulse detector circuit be added to the Enable input, so that the edge of a clock pulse generates a brief high Enable pulse:
Input Delayed input Output Brief period of time when both inputs of the NOR gate are lowThe single NOR gate and three inverter gates create this effect by exploiting the propagation delay time of multiple, cascaded gates. In this experiment, I use three NOR gates with paralleled inputs to create three inverters, thus using all four NOR gates of a 4001 integrated circuit:
Normally, when using a NOR gate as an inverter, one input would be grounded while the other acts as the inverter input, to minimize input capacitance and increase speed. Here, however, slow response is desired, and so I parallel the NOR inputs to make inverters rather than use the more conventional method. Please note that this particular pulse detector circuit produces a high output pulse at every falling edge of the clock (input) signal. This means that the ip-op circuit should be responsive to the Set and Reset input states only when the middle switch is moved from on to off, not from off to on. When you build this circuit, though, you may discover that the outputs respond to Set and Reset input signals during both transitions of the Clock input, not just when it is switched from a high state to a low state. The reason for this is contact bounce: the effect of a mechanical switch rapidly making-and-breaking when its contacts are rst closed, due to the elastic collision of the metal contact pads. Instead of the Clock switch producing a single, clean lowto-high signal transition when closed, there will most likely be several low-high-low cycles as the contact pads bounce upon off-to-on actuation. The rst high-to-low transition caused by bouncing will trigger the pulse detector circuit, enabling the S-R latch for that moment in time, making it responsive to the Set and Reset inputs. Ideally, of course, switches are perfect and bounce-free. In the real world, though, contact bounce is a very common problem for digital gate circuits operated by switch inputs, and must
PARTS AND MATERIALS One 9V Battery Battery Clip (Radio Shack catalog # 270-325) Mini Hook Clips (soldered to Battery Clip, Radio Shack catalog # 270-372) One Potentiometer, 10 K, 15-Turn (Radio Shack catalog # 271-343) One 555 timer IC (Radio Shack catalog # 276-1723) One red light-emitting diode (Radio Shack catalog # 276-041 or equivalent) One green light-emitting diode (Radio Shack catalog # 276-022 or equivalent) Two 1 K Resistors One DVM (Digital Volt Meter) or VOM (Volt Ohm Meter) CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 3, chapter 8: Positive Feedback Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 4, chapter 3: Logic Signal Voltage Levels LEARNING OBJECTIVES Learn how a Schmitt Trigger works How to use the 555 timer as an Schmitt Trigger SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM
Schmitt Triggers have a convention to show a gate that is also a Schmitt Trigger, shown below.
The same schematic redrawn to reect this convention looks something like this:
The 555 timer is probably one of the more versatile black box chips. Its 3 resistor voltage divider, 2 comparators, and built in set reset ip op are wired to form a Schmitt Trigger in this design. Its interesting to note that the conguration isnt even close to the op amp conguration shown elsewhere, but the end result is identical. Try adjusting the potentiometer until the lights ip states, then measure the voltage. Compare this voltage to the power supply voltage. Adjust the potentiometer the other way until the LEDs ip states again, and measure the voltage. How close to the 1/3 and 2/3 marks did you get? Try substituting the 9V battery with a 6 volt battery, or two 6 volt batteries, and see how close the thresholds are to the 1/3 and 2/3 marks. Schmitt Triggers are a fundamental circuit with several uses. One is signal processing, they can pull digital data out of some extremely noisy environments. Other big uses will be shown in following projects, such as an extremely simple RC oscillator. THEORY OF OPERATION The dening characteristic of any Schmitt Trigger is its hysteresis. In this case it is 1/3 and 2/3 of the power supply voltage, dened by the built in resistor voltage divider on the 555. The built in comparators C1 and C2 compare the input voltage to the references provided by the voltage divider and use the comparison to trip the built in ip op, which drives the output driver, another nice feature of the 555. The 555 can drive up to 200ma off either side of the power supply rail, the output driver creates a very low conduction path to either side of the power supply connections. The circuit shorts each side of the LED circuit, leaving the other side to light up. The 5K resistors are not very accurate. It is interesting to note that IC fabrication doesnt generally allow precision resistors, but the resistors compared to each other are extremely close in value, which is critical to the circuits operation.
LED sequencer
PARTS AND MATERIALS 4017 decade counter/divider (Radio Shack catalog # 276-2417) 555 timer IC (Radio Shack catalog # 276-1723) Ten-segment bargraph LED (Radio Shack catalog # 276-081) One SPST switch One 6 volt battery 10 k resistor 1 M resistor 0.1 F capacitor (Radio Shack catalog # 272-135 or equivalent) Coupling capacitor, 0.047 to 0.001 F Ten 470 resistors Audio detector with headphones Caution! The 4017 IC is CMOS, and therefore sensitive to static electricity! Any single-pole, single-throw switch is adequate. A household light switch will work ne, and is readily available at any hardware store. The audio detector will be used to assess signal frequency. If you have access to an oscilloscope, the audio detector is unnecessary. CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 4, chapter 3: Logic Gates Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 4, chapter 4: Switches Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 4, chapter 11: Counters LEARNING OBJECTIVES Use of a 555 timer circuit to produce clock pulses (astable multivibrator) Use of a 4017 decade counter/divider circuit to produce a sequence of pulses Use of a 4017 decade counter/divider circuit for frequency division Using a frequency divider and timepiece (watch) to measure frequency Purpose of a pulldown resistor Learn the effects of switch contact bounce on digital circuits Use of a 555 timer circuit to debounce a mechanical switch (monostable multivibrator)
Clk ClkEn Rst Carry Vcc 1 M Disch 6V Thresh Trig 0.1 F Gnd Ctrl Ten-segment LED bargraph 470 each 555 Out RST VDD 4017 0123456789 Gnd
555 4017
INSTRUCTIONS The model 4017 integrated circuit is a CMOS counter with ten output terminals. One of these ten terminals will be in a high state at any given time, with all others being low, giving a one-of-ten output sequence. If low-to-high voltage pulses are applied to the clock (Clk) terminal of the 4017, it will increment its count, forcing the next output into a high state. With a 555 timer connected as an astable multivibrator (oscillator) of low frequency, the 4017 will cycle through its ten-count sequence, lighting up each LED, one at a time, and recycling back to the rst LED. The result is a visually pleasing sequence of ashing lights. Feel free to experiment with resistor and capacitor values on the 555 timer to create different ash rates. Try disconnecting the jumper wire leading from the 4017s Clock terminal (pin #14) to the 555s Output terminal (pin #3) where it connects to the 555 timer chip, and hold its end in your hand. If there is sufcient 60 Hz power-line noise around you, the 4017 will detect it as a fast clock signal, causing the LEDs to blink very rapidly. Two terminals on the 4017 chip, Reset and Clock Enable, are maintained in a low state by means of a connection to the negative side of the battery (ground). This is necessary if the chip is to count freely. If the Reset terminal is made high, the 4017s output will be reset
back to 0 (pin #3 high, all other output pins low). If the Clock Enable is made high, the chip will stop responding to the clock signal and pause in its counting sequence.
If the 4017s Reset terminal is connected to one of its ten output terminals, its counting sequence will be cut short, or truncated. You may experiment with this by disconnecting the Reset terminal from ground, then connecting a long jumper wire to the Reset terminal for easy connection to the outputs at the ten-segment LED bargraph. Notice how many (or how few) LEDs light up with the Reset connected to any one of the outputs:
Counters such as the 4017 may be used as digital frequency dividers, to take a clock signal and produce a pulse occurring at some integer factor of the clock frequency. For example, if the clock signal from the 555 timer is 200 Hz, and the 4017 is congured for a full-count sequence (the Reset terminal connected to ground, giving a full, ten-step count), a signal with a period ten times as long (20 Hz) will be present at any of the 4017s output terminals. In other words, each output terminal will cycle once for every ten cycles of the clock signal: a frequency ten times as slow.
To experiment with this principle, connect your audio detector between output 0 (pin #3) of the 4017 and ground, through a very small capacitor (0.047 F to 0.001 F). The capacitor is used for coupling AC signals only, to that you may audibly detect pulses without placing a DC (resistive) load on the counter chip output. With the 4017 Reset terminal grounded, you will have a full-count sequence, and you will hear a click in the headphones every time the 0 LED lights up, corresponding to 1/10 of the 555s actual output frequency:
In fact, knowing this mathematical relationship between clicks heard in the headphone and the clock frequency allows us to measure the clock frequency to a fair degree of precision. Using a stopwatch or other timepiece, count the number of clicks heard in one full minute while connected to the 4017s 0 output. Using a 1 M resistor and 0.1 F capacitor in the 555 timing circuit, and a power supply voltage of 13 volts (instead of 6), I counted 79 clicks in one minute from my circuit. Your circuit may produce slightly different results. Multiply the number of pulses counted at the 0 output by 10 to obtain the number of cycles produced by the 555 timer during that same time (my circuit: 79 x 10 = 790 cycles). Divide this number by 60 to obtain the number of timer cycles elapsed in each second (my circuit: 790/60 = 13.17). This nal gure is the clock frequency in Hz.
Now, leaving one test probe of the audio detector connected to ground, take the other test probe (the one with the coupling capacitor connected in series) and connect it to pin #3 of the 555 timer. The buzzing you hear is the undivided clock frequency:
By connecting the 4017s Reset terminal to one of the output terminals, a truncated sequence will result. If we are using the 4017 as a frequency divider, this means the output frequency will be a different factor of the clock frequency: 1/9, 1/8, 1/7, 1/6, 1/5, 1/4, 1/3, or 1/2, depending on which output terminal we connect the Reset jumper wire to. Re-connect the audio detector test probe to output 0 of the 4017 (pin #3), and connect the Reset terminal jumper to the sixth LED from the left on the bargraph. This should produce a 1/5 frequency division ratio:
Counting the number of clicks heard in one minute again, you should obtain a number approximately twice as large as what was counted with the 4017 congured for a 1/10 ratio, because 1/5 is twice as large a ratio as 1/10. If you do not obtain a count that is exactly twice what you obtained before, it is because of error inherent to the method of counting cycles: coordinating your sense of hearing with the display of a stopwatch or other time-keeping device. Try replacing the 1 M timing resistor in the 555 circuit with one of greatly lesser value, such as 10 k. This will increase the clock frequency driving the 4017 chip. Use the audio detector to listen to the divided frequency at pin #3 of the 4017, noting the different tones produced as you move the Reset jumper wire to different outputs, creating different frequency division ratios. See if you can produce octaves by dividing the original frequency by 2, then by 4, and then by 8 (each descending octave represents one-half the previous frequency). Octaves are readily distinguished from other divided frequencies by their similar pitches to the original tone. A nal lesson that may be learned from this circuit is that of switch contact bounce. For this, you will need a switch to provide clock signals to the 4017 chip, instead of the 555 timer. Re-connect the Reset jumper wire to ground to enable a full ten-step count sequence, and disconnect the 555s output from the 4017s Clock input terminal. Connect a switch in series with a 10 k pulldown resistor, and connect this assembly to the 4017 Clock input as shown:
Clk ClkEn Rst Carry VDD 4017 0123456789 6V Ten-segment LED bargraph 10 k 470 each Gnd
The purpose of a pulldown resistor is to provide a denite low logic state when the switch contact opens. Without this resistor in place, the 4017s Clock input wire would be oating whenever the switch contact was opened, leaving it susceptible to interference from stray static voltages or electrical noise, either one capable of making the 4017 count randomly. With the pulldown resistor in place, the 4017s Clock input will have a denite, albeit resistive, connection to ground, providing a stable low logic state that precludes any interference from static electricity or noise coupled from nearby AC circuit wiring. Actuate the switch on and off, noting the action of the LEDs. With each off-to-on switch transition, the 4017 should increment once in its count. However, you may notice some strange behavior: sometimes, the LED sequence will skip one or even several steps with a single switch closure. Why is this? It is due to very rapid, mechanical bouncing of the switch contacts. When two metallic contacts are brought together rapidly as does happen inside most switches, there will be an elastic collision. This collision results in the contacts making and breaking very rapidly as they bounce off one another. Normally, this bouncing is much to rapid for you to see its effects, but in a digital circuit such as this where the counter chip is able
co nn ec t
to respond to very quick clock pulses, these bounces are interpreted as distinct clock signals, and the count incremented accordingly. One way to combat this problem is to use a timing circuit to produce a single pulse for any number of input pulse signals received within a short amount of time. The circuit is called a monostable multivibrator, and any technique eliminating the false pulses caused by switch contact bounce is called debouncing. The 555 timer circuit is capable of functioning as a debouncer, if the Trigger input is connected to the switch as such:Using the 555 timer to "debounce" the switch
Clk ClkEn Rst Carry Vcc 1 M Disch 6V Thresh Trig 0.1 F Gnd 10 k Ctrl 555 Out RST VDD 4017 0123456789 Gnd
Please note that since we are using the 555 once again to provide a clock signal to the 4017, we must re-connect pin #3 of the 555 chip to pin #14 of the 4017 chip! Also, if you have altered the values of the resistor or capacitor in the 555 timer circuit, you should return to the original 1 M and 0.1 F components. Actuate the switch again and note the counting behavior of the 4017. There should be no more skipped counts as there were before, because the 555 timer outputs a single, crisp pulse for every on-to-off actuation (notice the inversion of operation here!) of the switch. It is
important that the timing of the 555 circuit be appropriate: the time to charge the capacitor should be longer than the settling period of the switch (the time required for the contacts to stop bouncing), but not so long that the timer would miss a rapid sequence of switch actuations, if they were to occur.
PARTS AND MATERIALS 4001 quad NOR gate (Radio Shack catalog # 276-2401) 4070 quad XOR gate (Radio Shack catalog # 900-6906) Two, eight-position DIP switches (Radio Shack catalog # 275-1301) Two light-emitting diodes (Radio Shack catalog # 276-026 or equivalent) Four 1N914 switching diodes (Radio Shack catalog # 276-1122) Ten 10 k resistors Two 470 resistors Pushbutton switch, normally open (Radio Shack catalog # 275-1556) Two 6 volt batteries Caution! Both the 4001 and 4070 ICs are CMOS, and therefore sensitive to static electricity! This experiment may be built using only one 8-position DIP switch, but the concept is easier to understand if two switch assemblies are used. The idea is, one switch acts to hold the correct code for unlocking the lock, while the other switch serves as a data entry point for the person trying to open the lock. In real life, of course, the switch assembly with the key code set on it must be hidden from the sight of the person opening the lock, which means it must be physically located elsewhere from where the data entry switch assembly is. This requires two switch assemblies. However, if you understand this concept clearly, you may build a working circuit with only one 8-position switch, using the left four switches for data entry and the right four switches to hold the key code. For extra effect, choose different colors of LED: green for Go and red for No go. CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 4, chapter 3: Logic Gates LEARNING OBJECTIVES Using XOR gates as bit comparators How to build simple gate functions with diodes and a pullup/down resistor Using NOR gates as controlled inverters
358Vdd "Key code"
No go
470 470
10 k (all)
Go 10 k Enter
Data entry + -
Enter + -
INSTRUCTIONS This circuit illustrates the use of XOR (Exclusive-OR) gates as bit comparators. Four of these XOR gates compare the respective bits of two 4-bit binary numbers, each number entered into the circuit via a set of switches. If the two numbers match, bit for bit, the green Go LED will light up when the Enter pushbutton switch is pressed. If the two numbers do not exactly match, the red No go LED will light up when the Enter pushbutton is pressed.
Because four bits provides a mere sixteen possible combinations, this lock circuit is not very sophisticated. If it were used in a real application such as a home security system, the No go output would have to be connected to some kind of siren or other alarming device, so that the entry of an incorrect code would deter an unauthorized person from attempting another code entry. Otherwise, it would not take much time to try all combinations (0000 through 1111) until the correct one was found! In this experiment, I do not describe how to work this circuit into a real security system or lock mechanism, but only how to make it recognize a pre-entered code. The key code that must be matched at the data entry switch array should be hidden from view, of course. If this were part of a real security system, the data entry switch assembly would be located outside the door, and the key code switch assembly behind the door with the rest of the circuitry. In this experiment, you will likely locate the two switch assemblies on two different breadboards, but it is entirely possible to build the circuit using just a single (8-position) DIP switch assembly. Again, the purpose of the experiment is not to make a real security system, but merely to introduce you to the principle of XOR gate code comparison. It is the nature of an XOR gate to output a high (1) signal if the input signals are not the same logic state. The four XOR gates output terminals are connected through a diode network which functions as a four-input OR gate: if any of the four XOR gates outputs a high signal indicating that the entered code and the key code are not identical then a high signal will be passed on to the NOR gate logic. If the two 4-bit codes are identical, then none of the XOR gate outputs will be high, and the pull-down resistor connected to the common sides of the diodes will provide a low signal state to the NOR logic. The NOR gate logic performs a simple task: prevent either of the LEDs from turning on if the Enter pushbutton is not pressed. Only when this pushbutton is pressed can either of the LEDs energize. If the Enter switch is pressed and the XOR outputs are all low, the Go LED will light up, indicating that the correct code has been entered. If the Enter switch is pressed and any of the XOR outputs are high, the No go LED will light up, indicating that an incorrect code has been entered. Again, if this were a real security system, it would be wise to have the No go output do something that deters an unauthorized person from discovering the correct code by trial-and-error. In other words, there should be some sort of penalty for entering an incorrect code. Let your imagination guide your design of this detail!
PARTS AND MATERIALS 555 timer IC (Radio Shack catalog # 276-1723) One 1N914 switching diode (Radio Shack catalog # 276-1122) Two 10 k resistors One 100 F capacitor (Radio Shack catalog # 272-1028) 4027 dual J-K ip-op (Radio Shack catalog # 900-4394) Ten-segment bargraph LED (Radio Shack catalog # 276-081) Three 470 resistors One 6 volt battery Caution! The 4027 IC is CMOS, and therefore sensitive to static electricity! CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 4, chapter 10: Multivibrators Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 4, chapter 11: Counters LEARNING OBJECTIVES Using the 555 timer as a square-wave oscillator How to make an asynchronous counter using J-K ip-ops SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM
10 k 10 k 6V
555 4027
INSTRUCTIONS In a sense, this circuit cheats by using only two J-K ip-ops to make a three-bit binary counter. Ordinarily, three ip-ops would be used one for each binary bit but in this case we can use the clock pulse (555 timer output) as a bit of its own. When you build this circuit, you will nd that it is a down counter. That is, its count sequence goes from 111 to 110 to 101 to 100 to 011 to 010 to 001 to 000 and then back to 111. While it is possible to construct an up counter using J-K ip-ops, this would require additional components and introduce more complexity into the circuit. The 555 timer operates as a slow, square-wave oscillator with a duty cycle of approximately 50 percent. This duty cycle is made possible by the use of a diode to bypass the lower resistor during the capacitors charging cycle, so that the charging time constant is only RC and not 2RC as it would be without the diode in place. It is highly recommended, in this experiment as in all experiments, to build the circuit in stages: identify portions of the circuit with specic functions, and build those portions one at a time, testing each one and verifying its performance before building the next. A very common mistake of new electronics students is to build an entire circuit at once without testing sections of it during the construction process, and then be faced with the possibility of several problems simultaneously when it comes time to nally apply power to it. Remember that a small amount of extra attention paid to detail near the beginning of a project is worth an enormous amount of troubleshooting work near the end! Students who make the mistake of not testing circuit portions before attempting to operate the entire circuit often (falsely) think that the time it would take to test those sections is not worth it, and then spend days trying to gure out what the problem(s) might be with their experiment. Following this philosophy, build the 555 timer circuit rst, before even plugging the 4027 IC into the breadboard. Connect the 555s output (pin #3) to the Least Signicant Bit (LSB) LED, so that you have visual indication of its status. Make sure that the output oscillates in a slow, square-wave pattern (LED is lit for about as long as it is off in a cycle), and that it is a reliable signal (no erratic behavior, no unexplained pauses). If the 555 timer is not working properly, neither will the rest of the counter circuit! Once the timer circuit has been proven good, proceed to plug the 4027 IC into the breadboard and complete the rest of the necessary connections between it, the 555 timer circuit, and the LED assembly.
7-segment display
PARTS AND MATERIALS 4511 BCD-to-7seg latch/decoder/driver (Radio Shack catalog # 900-4437) Common-cathode 7-segment LED display (Radio Shack catalog # 276-075) Eight-position DIP switch (Radio Shack catalog # 275-1301) Four 10 k resistors Seven 470 resistors One 6 volt battery Caution! The 4511 IC is CMOS, and therefore sensitive to static electricity! CROSS-REFERENCES Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 4, chapter 9: Combinational Logic Functions LEARNING OBJECTIVES How to use the 4511 7-segment decoder/display driver IC Gain familiarity with the BCD code How to use 7-segment LED assemblies to create decimal digit displays How to identify and use both active-low and active-high logic inputs SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM
(MSB) 6V 10 k each
470 each f e
a g d b c
INSTRUCTIONS This experiment is more of an introduction to the 4511 decoder/display driver IC than it is a lesson in how to build up a digital function from lower-level components. Since 7-segment displays are very common components of digital devices, it is good to be familiar with the driving circuits behind them, and the 4511 is a good example of a typical driver IC. Its operating principle is to input a four-bit BCD (Binary-Coded Decimal) value, and energize the proper output lines to form the corresponding decimal digit on the 7-segment LED display. The BCD inputs are designated A, B, C, and D in order from least-signicant to mostsignicant. Outputs are labeled a, b, c, d, e, f, and g, each letter corresponding to a standardized segment designation for 7-segment displays. Of course, since each LED segment requires its own dropping resistor, we must use seven 470 resistors placed in series between the 4511s output terminals and the corresponding terminals of the display unit. Most 7-segment displays also provide for a decimal point (sometimes two!), a separate LED and terminal designated for its operation. All LEDs inside the display unit are made common to each other on one side, either cathode or anode. The 4511 display driver IC requires a common-cathode 7-segment display unit, and so that is what is used here. After building the circuit and applying power, operate the four switches in a binary counting sequence (0000 to 1111), noting the 7-segment display. A 0000 input should result in a decimal 0 display, a 0001 input should result in a decimal 1 display, and so on through 1001 (decimal 9). What happens for the binary numbers 1010 (10) through 1111 (15)? Read the datasheet on the 4511 IC and see what the manufacturer species for operation above an input value of 9. In the BCD code, there is no real meaning for 1010, 1011, 1100, 1101, 1110, or 1111. These are binary values beyond the range of a single decimal digit, and so have no function in a BCD system. The 4511 IC is built to recognize this, and output (or not output!) accordingly. Three inputs on the 4511 chip have been permanently connected to either Vdd or ground: the Lamp Test, Blanking Input, and Latch Enable. To learn what these inputs do, remove the short jumpers connecting them to either power supply rail (one at a time!), and replace the short jumper with a longer one that can reach the other power supply rail. For example, remove the short jumper connecting the Latch Enable input (pin #5) to ground, and replace it with a long jumper wire that can reach all the way to the Vdd power supply rail. Experiment with making this input high and low, observing the results on the 7-segment display as you alter the BCD code with the four input switches. After youve learned what the inputs function
is, connect it to the power supply rail enabling normal operation, and proceed to experiment with the next input (either Lamp Test or Blanking Input). Once again, the manufacturers datasheet will be informative as to the purpose of each of these three inputs. Note that the Lamp Test (LT) and Blanking Input (BI) input labels are written with boolean complementation bars over the abbreviations. Bar symbols designate these inputs as active-low, meaning that you must make each one low in order to invoke its particular function. Making an active-low input high places that particular input into a passive state where its function will not be invoked. Conversely, the Latch Enable (LE) input has no complementation bar written over its abbreviation, and correspondingly it is shown connected to ground (low) in the schematic so as to not invoke that function. The Latch Enable input is an active-high input, which means it must be made high (connected to Vdd ) in order to invoke its function.
ContributorsContributors to this chapter are listed in chronological order of their contributions, from most recent to rst. See Appendix 2 (Contributor List) for dates and contact information. Bill Marsden (August 2008) Author of 555 Schmitt Trigger section.
Appendix A-1
They say that necessity is the mother of invention. At least in the case of this book, that adage is true. As an industrial electronics instructor, I was forced to use a sub-standard textbook during my rst year of teaching. My students were daily frustrated with the many typographical errors and obscure explanations in this book, having spent much time at home struggling to comprehend the material within. Worse yet were the many incorrect answers in the back of the book to selected problems. Adding insult to injury was the $100+ price. Contacting the publisher proved to be an exercise in futility. Even though the particular text I was using had been in print and in popular use for a couple of years, they claimed my complaint was the rst theyd ever heard. My request to review the draft for the next edition of their book was met with disinterest on their part, and I resolved to nd an alternative text. Finding a suitable alternative was more difcult than I had imagined. Sure, there were plenty of texts in print, but the really good books seemed a bit too heavy on the math and the less intimidating books omitted a lot of information I felt was important. Some of the best books were out of print, and those that were still being printed were quite expensive. It was out of frustration that I compiled Lessons in Electric Circuits from notes and ideas I had been collecting for years. My primary goal was to put readable, high-quality information into the hands of my students, but a secondary goal was to make the book as affordable as possible. Over the years, I had experienced the benet of receiving free instruction and encouragement in my pursuit of learning electronics from many people, including several teachers of mine in elementary and high school. Their seless assistance played a key role in my own studies, paving the way for a rewarding career and fascinating hobby. If only I could extend the gift of their help by giving to other people what they gave to me . . . So, I decided to make the book freely available. More than that, I decided to make it open, following the same development model used in the making of free software (most notably the various UNIX utilities released by the Free Software Foundation, and the Linux operating 365
system, whose fame is growing even as I write). The goal was to copyright the text so as to protect my authorship but expressly allow anyone to distribute and/or modify the text to suit their own needs with a minimum of legal encumbrance. This willful and formal revoking of standard distribution limitations under copyright is whimsically termed copyleft. Anyone can copyleft their creative work simply by appending a notice to that effect on their work, but several Licenses already exist, covering the ne legal points in great detail. The rst such License I applied to my work was the GPL General Public License of the Free Software Foundation (GNU). The GPL, however, is intended to copyleft works of computer software, and although its introductory language is broad enough to cover works of text, its wording is not as clear as it could be for that application. When other, less specic copyleft Licenses began appearing within the free software community, I chose one of them (the Design Science License, or DSL) as the ofcial notice for my project. In copylefting this text, I guaranteed that no instructor would be limited by a text insufcient for their needs, as I had been with error-ridden textbooks from major publishers. Im sure this book in its initial form will not satisfy everyone, but anyone has the freedom to change it, leveraging my efforts to suit variant and individual requirements. For the beginning student of electronics, learn what you can from this book, editing it as you feel necessary if you come across a useful piece of information. Then, if you pass it on to someone else, you will be giving them something better than what you received. For the instructor or electronics professional, feel free to use this as a reference manual, adding or editing to your hearts content. The only catch is this: if you plan to distribute your modied version of this text, you must give credit where credit is due (to me, the original author, and anyone else whose modications are contained in your version), and you must ensure that whoever you give the text to is aware of their freedom to similarly share and edit the text. The next chapter covers this process in more detail. It must be mentioned that although I strive to maintain technical accuracy in all of this books content, the subject matter is broad and harbors many potential dangers. Electricity maims and kills without provocation, and deserves the utmost respect. I strongly encourage experimentation on the part of the reader, but only with circuits powered by small batteries where there is no risk of electric shock, re, explosion, etc. High-power electric circuits should be left to the care of trained professionals! The Design Science License clearly states that neither I nor any contributors to this book bear any liability for what is done with its contents.
One of the best ways to learn how things work is to follow the inductive approach: to observe specic instances of things working and derive general conclusions from those observations. In science education, labwork is the traditionally accepted venue for this type of learning, although in many cases labs are designed by educators to reinforce principles previously learned through lecture or textbook reading, rather than to allow the student to learn on their own through a truly exploratory process. Having taught myself most of the electronics that I know, I appreciate the sense of frustration students may have in teaching themselves from books. Although electronic components are typically inexpensive, not everyone has the means or opportunity to set up a laboratory in their own homes, and when things go wrong theres no one to ask for help. Most textbooks
seem to approach the task of education from a deductive perspective: tell the student how things are supposed to work, then apply those principles to specic instances that the student may or may not be able to explore by themselves. The inductive approach, as useful as it is, is hard to nd in the pages of a book. However, textbooks dont have to be this way. I discovered this when I started to learn a computer program called SPICE. It is a text-based piece of software intended to model circuits and provide analyses of voltage, current, frequency, etc. Although nothing is quite as good as building real circuits to gain knowledge in electronics, computer simulation is an excellent alternative. In learning how to use this powerful tool, I made a discovery: SPICE could be used within a textbook to present circuit simulations to allow students to observe the phenomena for themselves. This way, the readers could learn the concepts inductively (by interpreting SPICEs output) as well as deductively (by interpreting my explanations). Furthermore, in seeing SPICE used over and over again, they should be able to understand how to use it themselves, providing a perfectly safe means of experimentation on their own computers with circuit simulations of their own design. Another advantage to including computer analyses in a textbook is the empirical verication it adds to the concepts presented. Without demonstrations, the reader is left to take the authors statements on faith, trusting that what has been written is indeed accurate. The problem with faith, of course, is that it is only as good as the authority in which it is placed and the accuracy of interpretation through which it is understood. Authors, like all human beings, are liable to err and/or communicate poorly. With demonstrations, however, the reader can immediately see for themselves that what the author describes is indeed true. Demonstrations also serve to clarify the meaning of the text with concrete examples. SPICE is introduced early in volume I (DC) of this book series, and hopefully in a gentle enough way that it doesnt create confusion. For those wishing to learn more, a chapter in this volume (volume V) contains an overview of SPICE with many example circuits. There may be more ashy (graphic) circuit simulation programs in existence, but SPICE is free, a virtue complementing the charitable philosophy of this book very nicely.
First, I wish to thank my wife, whose patience during those many and long evenings (and weekends!) of typing has been extraordinary. I also wish to thank those whose open-source software development efforts have made this endeavor all the more affordable and pleasurable. The following is a list of various free computer software used to make this book, and the respective programmers: GNU/Linux Operating System Linus Torvalds, Richard Stallman, and a host of others too numerous to mention. Vim text editor Bram Moolenaar and others. Xcircuit drafting program Tim Edwards. SPICE circuit simulation program too many contributors to mention. TEX text processing system Donald Knuth and others.
Gimp image manipulation program too many contributors to mention. Winscope signal analysis software Dr. Constantin Zeldovich. (Free for personal and academic use.) Appreciation is also extended to Robert L. Boylestad, whose rst edition of Introductory Circuit Analysis taught me more about electric circuits than any other book. Other important texts in my electronics studies include the 1939 edition of The Radio Handbook, Bernard Grobs second edition of Introduction to Electronics I, and Forrest Mims original Engineers Notebook. Thanks to the staff of the Bellingham Antique Radio Museum, who were generous enough to let me terrorize their establishment with my camera and ash unit. I wish to specically thank Jeffrey Elkner and all those at Yorktown High School for being willing to host my book as part of their Open Book Project, and to make the rst effort in contributing to its form and content. Thanks also to David Sweet (website: (http://www.andamooka.org)) and Ben Crowell (website: (http://www.lightandmatter.com)) for providing encouragement, constructive criticism, and a wider audience for the online version of this book. Thanks to Michael Stutz for drafting his Design Science License, and to Richard Stallman for pioneering the concept of copyleft. Last but certainly not least, many thanks to my parents and those teachers of mine who saw in me a desire to learn about electricity, and who kindled that ame into a passion for discovery and intellectual adventure. I honor you by helping others as you have helped me. Tony Kuphaldt, July 2001 A candle loses nothing of its light when lighting another Kahlil Gibran
Appendix A-2
As a copylefted work, this book is open to revision and expansion by any interested parties. The only catch is that credit must be given where credit is due. This is a copyrighted work: it is not in the public domain! If you wish to cite portions of this book in a work of your own, you must follow the same guidelines as for any other copyrighted work. Here is a sample from the Design Science License: The Work is copyright the Author. All rights to the Work are reserved by the Author, except as specifically described below. This License describes the terms and conditions under which the Author permits you to copy, distribute and modify copies of the Work. In addition, you may refer to the Work, talk about it, and (as dictated by "fair use") quote from it, just as you would any copyrighted material under copyright law. Your right to operate, perform, read or otherwise interpret and/or execute the Work is unrestricted; however, you do so at your own risk, because the Work comes WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY -- see Section 7 ("NO WARRANTY") below. If you wish to modify this book in any way, you must document the nature of those modications in the Credits section along with your name, and ideally, information concerning how you may be contacted. Again, the Design Science License: Permission is granted to modify or sample from a copy of the Work, 369
producing a derivative work, and to distribute the derivative work under the terms described in the section for distribution above, provided that the following terms are met: (a) The new, derivative work is published under the terms of this License. (b) The derivative work is given a new name, so that its name or title can not be confused with the Work, or with a version of the Work, in any way. (c) Appropriate authorship credit is given: for the differences between the Work and the new derivative work, authorship is attributed to you, while the material sampled or used from the Work remains attributed to the original Author; appropriate notice must be included with the new work indicating the nature and the dates of any modifications of the Work made by you. Given the complexities and security issues surrounding the maintenance of les comprising this book, it is recommended that you submit any revisions or expansions to the original author (Tony R. Kuphaldt). You are, of course, welcome to modify this book directly by editing your own personal copy, but we would all stand to benet from your contributions if your ideas were incorporated into the online master copy where all the world can see it.
All entries arranged in alphabetical order of surname. Major contributions are listed by individual name with some detail on the nature of the contribution(s), date, contact info, etc. Minor contributions (typo corrections, etc.) are listed by name only for reasons of brevity. Please understand that when I classify a contribution as minor, it is in no way inferior to the effort or value of a major contribution, just smaller in the sense of less text changed. Any and all contributions are gratefully accepted. I am indebted to all those who have given freely of their own knowledge, time, and resources to make this a better book!
Dennis Crunkilton
Date(s) of contribution(s): January 2006 to present Nature of contribution: Mini table of contents, all chapters except appedicies; html, latex, ps, pdf; See Devel/tutorial.html; 01/2006. Nature of contribution: CH 4, section: AC induction motor, 09/2007. Contact at: dcrunkilton(at)att(dot)net
Tony R. Kuphaldt
Date(s) of contribution(s): 1996 to present Nature of contribution: Original author. Contact at: firstname.lastname@example.com
Bill Marsden
Date(s) of contribution(s): August 2008 Nature of contribution: Original author: 555 Schmidt trigger Section, Chapter 7. Contact at: bill marsden2(at)hotmail(dot)com
Date(s) of contribution(s):February 2008 Nature of contribution:Ch 5; Clarication concerning LEDs as photosensors. Contact at: FMims(at)aol.com
Date(s) of contribution(s): Month and year of contribution Nature of contribution: Insert text here, describing how you contributed to the book. Contact at: my firstname.lastname@example.com
line-allaboutcircuits.com (June 2005) Typographical error correction in Volumes 1,2,3,5, various chapters ,(:s/visa-versa/vice versa/). The students of Bellingham Technical Colleges Instrumentation program. Colin Creitz (May 2007) Chapters: several, s/its/its. Jeff DeFreitas (March 2006)Improve appearance: replace / and / Chapters: A1, A2. Don Stalkowski (June 2002) Technical help with PostScript-to-PDF le format conversion. Joseph Teichman (June 2002) Suggestion and technical help regarding use of PNG images instead of JPEG. Michael Warner (April 2002) Suggestions for a section describing home laboratory setup.
email@example.com (August 2007) Ch 1, s/starting/started . firstname.lastname@example.com (August 2007) Ch 6, s/and and off/on and off/ . Timothy firstname.lastname@example.com (Feb 2008) Changed default roman font to newcent. Imranullah Syed (Feb 2008) Suggested centering of uncaptioned schematics. firstname.lastname@example.com, email@example.com (May 2008) Changed image 05320.png to agree with inage 05321.png/item firstname.lastname@example.com (April 2009) s/Try changed/Try changing//item
Appendix A-3
Copyright c 1999-2000 Michael Stutz email@example.com Verbatim copying of this document is permitted, in any medium.
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Index ratio, 255 555 timer, 310, 313, 316 AC, 145 AC coupling, oscilloscope, 193, 208 Active-high input, 364 Active-low input, 364 Alligator clip, 19 Alternating current, 145 Alternator, 164 Amp, 36 Ampere, 36 Amplier circuit, 134 Amplier impedance, 242 Amplier, inverting, 245, 297 Amplier, noninverting, 297 Amplier, operational, 250 Amplitude, 182 Analog, 287, 329 Analog computer, 133, 144 Analog multimeter, 16 Antiresonance, 189 Astable multivibrator, 273, 310 Audio taper potentiometer, 87, 117, 155 Autoranging meter, 18 Banana plugs and jacks, 99 Battery, 19 Beta ratio, 255 Bias current, op-amp, 307 Binding posts, 99 Bounce, switch contact, 343, 354 Breadboard, 22 Calculus, 143, 304 Calibration drifthyperpage, 107 Capacitor, decoupling, 196 Choke, 188 Choke, lter, 223 Circuit, 29 Circuit, short, 32 Common-mode voltage, 265 Commonality, electrical, 24 Computer simulation, 76 Computer, analog, 133, 144 Constant-current diode, 261 Contact bounce, 343, 354 Continuity, 22 Continuity vs. commonality, 24 Current divider, 84 Current mirror, 261, 313 Current regulator, 255 Current, denition, 36 DC, 59 Debouncing, switch, 355 Decoupling capacitor, 196 Derivative, calculus, 143, 304 Detector, null, 124 Differential amplier, 265, 268 Differential pair, 265, 268 Differentiation, calculus, 143, 304 Digital, 287, 329 Digital multimeter, 16 Diode, 26 Diode equation, 256 Diode, constant-current, 261 Direct current, 59 Discontinuity, 29 Divider, current, 84 Divider, voltage, 70 Drift, calibration, 107 Duty cycle, 310 377
378 E, symbol for voltage, 44 Effect, Seebeck, 110 Electrical continuity, 22 Electrical shock hazard, 26 Electrically common points, 24, 64 Electromagnetic induction, 57 Electromagnetism, 56 Equation, diode, 256 Experiment: 3-bit binary counter, 360 Experiment: 4-wire resistance measurement, 127 Experiment: 555 audio oscillator, 309 Experiment: 555 ramp generator, 312 Experiment: 555 Schmitt Trigger, 345 Experiment: 7-segment display, 362 Experiment: AC power supply, 147 Experiment: Alternator, 164 Experiment: Ammeter usage, 35 Experiment: Audio detector, 155 Experiment: Audio oscillator, 272 Experiment: Basic gate function, 331 Experiment: BJT switch, 228 Experiment: Bridge rectier, 216 Experiment: Capacitor charging and discharging, 138 Experiment: Center-tap rectier, 211 Experiment: Class B audio amplier, 319 Experiment: Common-emitter amplier, 244 Experiment: Commutating diode, 201 Experiment: Current divider, 78 Experiment: Current mirror, 253 Experiment: Differential amplier, 264 Experiment: Electromagnetic eld sensor, AC, 160 Experiment: Electromagnetic induction, 57 Experiment: Electromagnetism, 55 Experiment: Electrostatic eld sensor, AC, 162 Experiment: Half-wave rectier, 203 Experiment: High-impedance voltmeter, 299 Experiment: Induction motor, 170 Experiment: Integrator, 303 Experiment: JFET current regulator, 259 Experiment: Keyboard as signal generator, 180 Experiment: LED sequencer, 348 Experiment: Multi-stage amplier, 249 Experiment: Multimeter, 112 Experiment: 339 Experiment: Experiment: Experiment: Experiment: Experiment: Experiment: Experiment: Experiment: Experiment: Experiment: Experiment: Experiment: 87 Experiment: Experiment: Experiment: Experiment: Experiment: Experiment: Experiment: Experiment: Experiment: Experiment: Experiment: Experiment: Experiment: Experiment: Experiment: Experiment: Experiment: Experiment: Experiment: Experiment: Experiment: Experiment: Experiment: Experiment: Experiment: Experiment: Experiment: Experiment: Experiment: Experiment:
INDEXNAND gate S-R enabled latch, NAND gate S-R ip-op, 341 Noninverting amplier, 296 Nonlinear resistance, 45 NOR gate S-R latch, 335 Ohms Law, 42 Ohmmeter usage, 21 Oscilloscope, PC, 183 Parallel batteries, 63 Phase shift, 174 Potato battery, 136 Potentiometer as rheostat, 93 Potentiometer as voltage divider, Potentiometric voltmeter, 122 Power dissipation, 48 Precision potentiometer, 99 Precision voltage follower, 292 Pulsed-light sensor, 236 PWM power controller, 315 Rate-of-change indicator, 142 Rectier/lter, 219 Rheostat range limiting, 102 Series batteries, 60 Signal coupling, 191 Simple circuit, 28 Simple combination lock, 357 Simple op-amp, 267 Sound cancellation, 177 Static electricity sensor, 233 Switch in circuit, 53 Tank circuit, 188 Thermoelectricity, 109 Transformer, homemade, 151 Vacuum tube audio amplier, 275 Variable inductor, 153 Voltage averager, 131 Voltage comparator, 289 Voltage detector, sensitive, 117 Voltage divider, 67 Voltage follower, 239 Voltage regulator, 225 Voltmeter usage, 15 Waveform analysis, 186
INDEXFeedback, 288, 293 Feedback, negative, 246 Field winding, alternator, 164 Filter, 221 Filter choke, 223 Floating input, dened, 333, 354 Frequency, 182 Frequency domain, 187 Full-wave rectication, 212 Function generator, 181 Fundamental frequency, 187 Fuse, 37 Fuse, slow-blow, 147 Generator, 19, 164 Generator, AC signal, 181 Half-wave rectication, 204 Harmonics, 182 Hazard, electrical shock, 26 Headphone, 117 Heat sink, 221 Hysteresis, 336 I, symbol for current, 44 IC, 200, 287, 329 Illegal state, 336 Impedance matching, 120, 158 Impedance, amplier, 242 Impedance, denition, 120, 158 Induction, electromagnetic, 57 Inductive kickbackhyperpage, 56, 120, 158 Integrated circuit, 200, 287, 329 Integration, calculus, 304 Interactive adjustment, 101 Invalid state, 336 Inverting amplier, 245, 297 Joules Law, 51 Jumper wire, 19 KCL, 84 Kirchhoff s Current Law, 84 Kirchhoff s Voltage Law, 70 KVL, 70 Latch-up, 302 Latched state, 336 LED, 18 Light-Emitting Diode, 18 Linear taper potentiometer, 87, 117, 155
Magnet wire, 55, 151 Maximum Power Transfer Theorem, 120, 158 Megger, 128 Meter movement, 112 Meter overrange, 18 Metric prex, 25, 38 Monostable multivibrator, 355 Motor, induction, 168 Motor, synchronous, 168 Movement, meter, 112 Multimeter, 16 Multivibrator, 273, 310 Multivibrator, monostable, 355 Negative feedback, 246 Noninverting amplier, 297 Null detector, 124 Null-balance voltmeter, 124 Ohm, 22 Ohms Law, 44 Ohms Law, AC version, 175 Op-amp, 265, 268 Operational amplier, 250, 265, 268, 288 Operational amplier, programmable, 271 Oscilloscope, 184 Oscilloscope coupling, 193, 208 Overrange, meter, 18 Pair, differential, 265, 268 Parallel, 64, 105 Permeability, 154 Phase shift, 175 Photocell, 27 Polarity, 19, 31 Potentiometer, 87 Potentiometer as rheostat, 94 Potentiometer, linear vs. audio taper, 87 Potentiometric voltmeter, 124 Power supply, 145 Power, denition, 51
380 Programmable op-amp, 271 Pulldown resistor, 353 Pulse-width modulation, 317 PWM power control, 317 Q, inductor quality factorhyperpage, 189 R, symbol for resistance, 44 Race condition, 337 Rail voltage, 294 Rectication, full-wave, 212 Rectication, half-wave, 204 Rectifying diode, 26 Regulator, current, 255 Reluctance, magnetic, 152 Reset state, 336 Resistance, denition, 22 Resistor color code, 24 Resistor, pulldown, 353 Resistor, shunt, 241 Resonance, 189 Resonant frequency, 189 Rheostat, 94 Ring-lug terminal, 165 Ripple voltage, 206, 221 Schmitt trigger, 345 Seebeck effect, 110 Semiconductor, 200 Series, 61, 104 Series-parallel, 66 Set state, 336 Shielding, 161, 163 Shock hazard, 26 Short circuit, 32 Shunt resistor, 241 Signal generator, 181 Simulation, computer, 76 Slip ring, alternator, 165 Soldering, 148 Span calibration, 105 SPICE, 76 Split phase, 217 Stator winding, alternator, 164 Strip, terminal, 34 Switch, 53 Switch debouncing, 355 Tank circuit, 189 Terminal strip, 34 Terminal, ring lug, 165 Thermal runaway, 257, 261 Thermocouple, 110 Time constant, 140 Time domain, 187 Transformer, 117, 145 Transistor, 96 Transistor, junction eld-effect, 234 Unit, ampere, 36 Unit, ohm, 22 Unit, volt, 18 Unit, watt, 51 Volt, 18 Voltage divider, 70 Voltage follower, 240, 268, 293 Voltage, common-mode, 265 Voltage, denition, 18 Voltage, polarity, 19, 31 Voltage, ripple, 206, 221 Watt, 51 Wire, magnet, 55 Z, symbol for impedance, 120, 158 Zero calibration, 105