During this workshop we'll be using the following material:
- Breadboard
- Jumper cables
- Resistor
- Photoresistor
Breadboards are one of the most fundamental pieces when learning how to build circuits. Next, you will learn how to use it.
Breadboards are great for making temporary circuits and prototyping, as they require no soldering.
Prototyping is the process of testing out an idea by creating a preliminary model from which other forms are developed or copied, and it is one of the most common uses for breadboards. If you aren’t sure how a circuit will react under a given set of parameters, it’s best to build a prototype and test it out.
For those new to electronics and circuits, breadboards are often the best place to start. That is the real beauty of breadboards – they can house both the simplest circuit as well as very complex circuits.
A jumper cable, also known as jumper, is an electrical wire with a connector or pin at each end, which is normally used to interconnect the components of a breadboard to test the circuit.
Jumpers are fitted by inserting their "end connectors" into the slots provided in a breadboard.
Resistors are electronic components which have a specific, constant electrical resistance. The resistor’s resistance limits the flow of electrons through a circuit. They are passive components, meaning they only consume power (and can’t generate it). Resistors are usually added to circuits where they complement active components like op-amps, microcontrollers, and other integrated circuits. Commonly resistors are used to limit current, divide voltages, and pull-up I/O lines. (Don't bother understand this fully right now)
The electrical resistance of a resistor is measured in Ohms. The symbol for an Ohm is the greek capital-omega: Ω. The definition of 1Ω is the resistance between two points where 1 volt (1V) of applied potential energy will push 1 ampere (1A) of current.
As SI units go, larger or smaller values of Ohms can be matched with a prefix like kilo-, mega-, or giga-, to make large values easier to read. It’s very common to see resistors in the kilohm (kΩ) and megaohm (MΩ) range (much less common to see miliohm (mΩ) resistors). For example, a 4,700Ω resistor is equivalent to a 4.7kΩ resistor (that can also be represented as 4K7Ω), and a 5,600,000Ω resistor can be written as 5,600kΩ, 5.6MΩ or even 5M6Ω.
A potentiometer, informally a pot, is a three-terminal resistor with a sliding or rotating contact that forms an adjustable voltage divider. If only two terminals are used, one end and the wiper, it acts as a variable resistor or rheostat.
The measuring instrument called a potentiometer is essentially a voltage divider used for measuring electric potential (voltage); the component is an implementation of the same principle, hence its name.
