Elenco Basic Electronic Experiments - Manual (Page 71)

Primary........................... The larger of the two coils in a transformer.
Printed Circuit Board... A board used for mounting electrical components. Components are connected using metal
traces “printed” on the board instead of wires.
Receiver......................... The device which is receiving a message (usually with radio).
Resistance..................... The electrical friction between an electric current and the material it is flowing through; the
loss of energy from electrons as they move between atoms of the material.
Resistor.......................... Components used to control the flow of electricity in a circuit. They are made of carbon.
Resistor-Transistor-
Logic (RTL).................... A type of circuit arrangement used to construct digital gates.
Reverse-Biased............. When there is a voltage in the direction of high-resistance across a diode.
Saturation...................... The state of a transistor when the circuit resistances, not the transistor itself, are limiting
the current.
Schematic...................... A drawing of an electrical circuit that uses symbols for all the components.
Secondary...................... The smaller of the two coils in a transformer.
Semiconductor.............. A material that has more resistance than conductors but less than insulators. It is used to
construct diodes, transistors, and integrated circuits.
Series.............................. When electrical components are connected one after the other.
Short Circuit.................. When wires from different parts of a circuit (or different circuits) connect accidentally.
Silicon............................. The chemical element most commonly used as a semiconductor.
Solder............................. A tin-lead metal that becomes a liquid when heated to above 360 degrees. In addition to
having low resistance like other metals, solder also provides a strong mounting that can
withstand shocks.
Speaker.......................... A device which converts electrical energy into sound.
Switch............................. A device to connect (“closed” or “on”) or disconnect (“open” or “off”) wires in an electric
circuit.
Transformer................... A device which uses two coils to change the AC voltage and current (increasing one while
decreasing the other).
Transient........................ Temporary. Used to describe DC changes to circuits.
Transistor....................... An electronic device that uses a small amount of current to control a large amount of cur
rent.
Transmitter.................... The device which is sending a message (usually with radio).
Truth Table.................... A table which lists all the possible combinations of inputs and outputs for a digital circuit.
Tungsten........................ A highly resistive material used in light bulbs.
Variable Resistor.......... A resistor with an additional arm contact that can move along the resistive material and tap
off the desired resistance.
Voltage........................... A measure of how strong an electric charge across a material is.
Voltage Divider............. A resistor configuration to create a lower voltage.
Volts (V).......................... The unit of measure for voltage.
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