Basic Electronics Resource Library

Electronic schematics are like recipes for electronics. They tell you what ingredients to use and how to mix the ingredients. But instead of using text to explain the recipe, a drawing is used. They are also called circuit diagrams. Read how to read schematics here.

So you want to learn electronics? There are many ways to Rome, but some are more fun than others =) When I started out, I started with asking my dad questions like “How can I make a light flash?”. He always had a simple explanation. Then I went down in our basement and tried to […]

Electric current is what you get when electric charge moves around a circuit. It’s pretty simple when you finally get it. But there are some common pitfalls that can give you the wrong idea when learning. And if you don’t know what current is and how it works, it’s a huge source of confusion when […]

The difference between Alternating Current (AC) and Direct Current (DC) is simple: AC vs DC comes down to how the current flows. AC is a current that alternates its direction. It goes back and forth continuously. DC is a current that flows in one direction. Current flow in a DC circuit: For example, a battery […]

I’m going to show you what negative voltage is by putting John into a hole. As you’ll quickly learn, it’s nothing weird or mystical. Meet John. He is 1.8 meters (6 feet) tall. What does it mean that John is 1.8 m tall? Could you find his height by only looking at his head? No. […]

Below you can see the circuit we’re currently talking about. The resistor and capacitor on the left of the inverter make up an RC delay element: But how does the current flow in this circuit?