Electrical components used in electronic & electric circuit

An electrical circuit consists of some electrical components and a source of voltage or current. These circuit components perform all the activities in a circuit. We need to know the function of every circuit component to use these properly in a circuit. Examples of some electrical components are resistors, capacitors, inductors, diodes, transistors etc. In this article, I’m going to discuss some important electrical and electronic circuit components with their uses.

Contents in this article:

• Types of circuit components
• Examples of electrical components used in electrical circuit
• Resistor
• Capacitor
• Inductor
• Diode
• Transistor
• Switches
• Transformer
• OP-AMP

Different types of circuit components

There are two types of circuit components on the basis of the composition of materials –

• Electrical circuit components
• Electronic circuit components

The circuit components made of conductors are the electrical components and the circuit components made of semiconductors or vacuum tubes are the electronic components. Resistors, capacitors and inductors are electrical components as they are made of metals like copper wire. On the other hand, diodes and transistors are the electronic circuit elements as their main compositions are the semiconductors like Silicon, Germanium etc.

Circuit components have two categories on the basis of their Current-Voltage curve –

• Linear circuit components
• Non-linear circuit components

Linear circuit components

The linear circuit components are the circuit components having linear Current-Voltage relation. Ohm’s law and Kirchhoff’s law are applicable to the circuit consisting of linear circuit components.

Examples: Resistors, Capacitors and Inductors are some examples of Linear circuit components.

Non-Linear Circuit components

Non-linear circuit components are just opposite to linear circuit components. This type of circuit component has non-linear nature in Current-Voltage curve. Ohm’s law and Kirchhoff’s law are not applicable to a circuit consisting of non-linear circuit components.

Examples:  Diode and Transistor are the two examples of Non-Linear circuit components.

Again, there are two types of circuit components based on their function or work–

• Active Circuit components
• Passive Circuit components

Active electrical circuit components

The circuit components which can amplify or rectify the input signal at the output are the active circuit components.

Examples: Diode can rectify the ac signal, so it is an active circuit component. Again, Transistor can amplify the input signal, so Transistor is also an active circuit component.

Passive electrical circuit components

The circuit components that neither amplify nor rectify the input signal at the output are the passive circuit components.

Examples:  Resistor, Capacitor and Inductor are some examples of passive circuit components.

Examples of electrical components used in electrical circuit

The examples of 10 components of electronic circuit are –

1. Resistor
2. Capacitor
3. Inductor
4. Diode
5. Transistor
6. LED
7. Keys or switches
8. Battery
9. Transformer
10. OP-AMP

Even the connecting wires are the components of circuits.

Most common electrical components and their uses

The most common electrical components in a circuit are resistor, capacitor, Inductor, Diode, Transistor, etc. Here we mentioned the functions or uses of these components.

1. Resistor

Resistor is a linear and passive circuit component which opposes the current flow through an electronic circuit. So, the main purpose of the resistor is to control the current through the circuit. Resistance is the opposition given by the resistor to the electric current flowing through it.

2. Capacitor

The main purpose of a Capacitor is to store electric charges on it and to release the stored charges whenever the circuit requires it. The process of storage of charges is called the charging of capacitor and the process of releasing the charges is known as the discharging of capacitor.

Capacitor gives high impedance to DC and low impedance to AC. Therefore, the main purpose of a capacitor is to block the DC to flow further in the circuit. The Capacitor which is used to block DC is called the Blocking capacitor. Also, capacitors are connected in parallel to a high resistance that can bypass AC through it. The capacitors used to bypass the AC are the bypass capacitors.

Capacitors have huge applications in our daily life, almost every electric and electronic device like ceiling fan, battery, power bank, memory circuit (DRAM), Motherboard of TV, computer, Laptop and Smartphone, etc. use capacitors.

3. Inductor

Like resistors and capacitors, the inductors are also the linear and passive circuit elements. But the uses of inductors are different from the uses of resistors and capacitors. Inductors offer high impedance to AC and low impedance to DC. Therefore, inductors are used to block alternating current (AC) to flow through it.

Chock coil has high inductance and low resistance which is used in Tube lights to oppose AC to pass through the Tube light.

Read more: Impedance of inductor

4. Diode

Semiconductor diode is a non-linear circuit element used as a rectifier to convert alternating current into direct current. A diode can also perform switching activities in electronic circuits. Click here for more details on diode.

5. Transistor

Transistor is a non-linear and active circuit element used as an Amplifier to amplify the magnitude of an input signal at the output. Transistors are also used as a switch in electronic circuits. Click here for more details on transistor.

6. Electrical switches

Switches are the much-needed circuit element in an electrical or electronic circuit. Keys or switches enable us to turn off the current flow through the circuit or through a part of a circuit, even when the sources are on. Switches also help to switch the current flow from one direction to another direction in the circuit.

7. Transformer

A transformer is a very useful circuit component used in electrical and electronic circuits. It transforms the amplitude of alternating voltage (or current) from one value to another value keeping the power and frequency of the AC same. Transformers have huge applications in commercial power supply. Commercial power suppliers supply AC of 33000 volts which is converted into 11000 volts and then 11000 volts into 440 volts for the people to use. Transformers help this type of transformation of AC voltages.

You can read a detailed post on Transformer and its principle.

8. OP-AMP

The OP-AMP or the Operational Amplifier is another useful electronic circuit component used to amplify voltages. OP-AMP is available in integrated circuit (IC) form. IC 741 is the most common OP-AMP used in electronic circuits.

These are the basic electrical components for electric and electronic circuits. This is all from this article. If you have any doubts on this topic feel free to ask me in the comment section.

Thank You!

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