Resistor

The property of a substance which opposes the flow of electric current (or electricity) through
it is called Resistance OR Resistance is the ability of a circuit which opposes current.
Mica, Glass, Rubber, Wood etc. are the examples of resistive materials.
Types of resistors
Resistors can be fabricated in a variety of ways.
The most common type in electronic devices and systems is the carbon-composition resistor.
Fine granulated carbon (graphite) is mixed with clay and hardened. The resistance depends on
the proportion of carbon to clay; the higher this ratio, the lower the resistance.
Another type of resistor is made from winding Nichrome or similar wire on an insulating form.
This component, called a wire wound resistor, is able to handle higher currents than a carbon-
composition resistor of the same physical size.

Application of Resistors
Resistors are used:
➢ For Current control and limiting
➢ To change electrical energy in the form of heat energy
➢ As a shunt in Ampere meters
➢ As a multiplier in a Voltmeter
➢ To control temperature
➢ To control voltage or Drop
➢ For protection purposes, e.g. Fusible Resistors
➢ In laboratories
➢ In home electrical appliances like heater, iron, immersion rod etc.
➢ Widely used in the electronics industries
 Capacitors
A capacitor is a two-terminal electrical device that possesses the ability to store energy in the
form of an electric charge. It consists of two electrical conductors that are separated by a
distance. The space between the conductors may be filled by vacuum or with an insulating
material known as a dielectric. The ability of the capacitor to store charges is known as
capacitance.

Capacitors store energy by holding apart pairs of opposite charges. The simplest design for a
capacitor is a parallel plate, which consists of two metal plates with a gap between them. But,
there are different types of capacitors manufactured in many forms, styles, lengths, girths, and
many materials.

➢ Capacitances denoted by, C = Q/V. It depends on:

➢ Geometrical configuration (shape, size, separation) of the system of two conductors.
➢ Nature of insulator/dielectric separating
➢ Charge on the capacitor leaks away due to reduction in the insulating power of the
intervening medium. This happens due to higher potential difference causing strong
electric fields.
➢ SI unit of capacitance is F (Farad).
 Inductor
An inductor is a passive component that is used in most power electronic circuits to store energy
in the form of magnetic energy when electricity is applied to it. One of the key properties of an
inductor is that it impedes or opposes any change in the amount of current flowing through it.
Whenever the current across the inductor changes it either acquires charge or loses the charge
in order to equalize the current passing through it. The inductor is also called a choke, reactor
or just coil.
An inductor is described by its distinctive nature of inductance, which is defined as the ratio of
the voltage to the rate of change of current. Inductance is a result of the induced magnetic field
on the coil. It is also determined by several factors such as;
✓ The shape of the coil.
✓ The number of turns and layers of the wire.
✓ The space that is given between the turns.
✓ Permeability of the core material.
✓ The size of the core.
The S.I. unit of inductance is henry (H) and when we measure magnetic circuits it is
equivalent to weber/ampere. It is denoted by the symbol L.
Different Types of Inductors
Depending on the type of material used inductors can be classified as follows:
✓ Iron Core Inductor
✓ Air Core Inductor
✓ Iron Powder Inductor
✓ Ferrite Core Inductor which is divided into,
✓ Soft Ferrite
✓ Hard Ferrite
 Function Generator
Function Generator is basically a signal generator that produces different types of waveforms
at the output. It has the ability to produce waveforms such as sine wave, square wave, a
triangular wave, sawtooth wave etc. An adjustable frequency range is provided by the function
generator which is in the range of some Hz to several 100KHz. There exist various function
generators that have the ability to produce two different waveforms simultaneously by using
two different output terminals. Function Generator is a versatile instrument as an extensive
variety of frequencies and waveforms are produced by it. The various waveforms generated by
the function generator are suitable for various applications. It provides adjustment of wave
shape, frequency, magnitude and offset but requires a load connected before adjustment.

This instrument not only varies the characteristics of the waveform but also has the capability
to add a dc offset to the signal. Mostly these are only able to operate at low frequency but some
costly models can also be operated at the higher frequency.

Sine wave

Square Wave

Triangle Wave

Sawtooth Wave
Applications of Function Generator
There are extensive uses of a function generator across multiple domains and those are:
In semiconductor domain
▪ Used for testing DC power supply
▪ For testing the delay margin
▪ Analyse the audio DAC
▪ To test clock frequency functional range of digital circuits

In medical domain
▪ Used for testing medical ultrasound devices, pacemakers, implantable medical
equipment, and other detector circuits
▪ In radiofrequency domain
▪ Function generators are used for calculating the BPF frequency response
▪ Used in EMC radio observations
▪ Utilized in operational testing of RFID receiver integrated circuits
▪ Measures pulsed noise figures
 Cathode Ray Oscilloscope (CRO)
A Cathode Ray Oscilloscope (CRO) is an instrument generally used in a laboratory to display,
measure and analyse various waveforms of electrical circuits. A cathode ray oscilloscope is a
very fast X-Y plotter that can display an input signal versus time or another signal.
Cathode ray oscilloscopes use luminous spots which are produced by striking the beam of
electrons and this luminous spot moves in response variation in the input quantity. At this
moment one question must be arise in our mind that why we are using only an electron beam?
The reason behind this is low effects of beam of electrons that can be used for following the
changes in the instantaneous values of rapidly changing input quantity. The general forms of
cathode ray oscilloscope operate on voltages.
Construction of Cathode Ray Oscilloscope
The main part of cathode ray oscilloscope is cathode ray tube which is also known as the
heart of cathode ray oscilloscope.

Let us discuss the construction of cathode ray tube in order to understand the construction of
cathode ray oscilloscope. Basically, the cathode ray tube consists of five main parts:
▪ Electron gun
▪ Deflection plate system
▪ Fluorescent screen
▪ Glass envelope
▪ Base
Applications
• The CRO’s are used in huge applications like radio stations for observing the
transmitting & receiving the properties of the signal.
• The CRO is used to measure the voltage, current, frequency, inductance, admittance,
resistance, and power factor.
• This device is also used to check the AM and FM circuits characteristics
• This device is used to monitor the signal properties as well as characteristics and also
controls the analog signals.
• The CRO is used through the resonance circuit to view the shape of the signal,
bandwidth, etc.
 • The shape of voltage and current waveform can be observed by CRO which helps to
take the necessary decision in a radio station or communication station.
• It is used in laboratories for the purpose of research. Once researchers design a new
circuit, then they use CRO to verify the waveforms of voltage and current of every
element of the circuit.
• Used for comparing phase & frequency

Voltmeter
The instrument which measures the voltage or potential difference in volts is known as
the voltmeter. It works on the principle that the torque is generated by the current which
induces because of measurand voltage and this torque deflects the pointer of the instrument.
The deflection of the pointer is directly proportional to the potential difference between the
points. The voltmeter is always connected in parallel with the circuit.
Symbolic Representation of voltmeter
The voltmeter is represented by the alphabet V inside the circle along with the two terminals.

Classifications of Voltmeter
Based on the type of measurement:
DC Voltmeter
AC Voltmeter
Difference between DC and AC voltmeter
• The DC voltmeter measures the DC voltage, but the AC voltmeter measures the AC
voltage.
• The DC voltmeter measures the peak value of DC voltage, but the AC voltmeter
measures the RMS value of the AC voltage.
• DC voltmeter does not use a rectifier before a multistage amplifier, whereas the AC
voltmeter measures the RMS value of the AC voltage.

Based on the Output:

Analogue Voltmeter
The analogue voltmeter uses for measuring the AC voltage. It displays the reading through the
pointer which is fixed on the calibrated scale. The deflection of the pointer depends on the
torque acting on it. The magnitude of the develops torque is directly proportional to the
measuring voltage.
Digital Voltmeter
The voltmeter which displays the reading in the numeric form is known as the digital
voltmeter. The digital voltmeter gives the accurate result.
The instrument which measures the direct current is known as the DC voltmeter, and the AC
voltmeter is used in the AC circuit for alternating voltage measurement.
 Ammeter
A device or instrument that is used to measure the current is called the ammeter. The unit
of the current is ampere. So this device measures the current flow in ampere is named as an
ammeter or ampere meter. The internal resistance of this device is ‘0’ however in practical; it
has some amount of internal resistance. The measuring range of this device mainly depends
on the resistance value.
Symbolic Representation of Ammeter
The Ammeter is represented by the alphabet A inside the circle along with the two terminals.

Types of Ammeters
The classification of the ammeter depends on their design and the type of current flows
through the ammeter.
• Permanent moving coil ammeter.
• Moving iron ammeter.
• Electro-dynamometer ammeter.
• Rectifier type ammeter.

By the current, the ammeter categorises into two types.

• AC ammeter
• DC ammeter
Difference between DC and AC Ammeter
• DC Voltmeter measures the peak value of DC voltage. AC Voltmeter measures the
rms value of AC voltage.
• The DC voltmeter consists of attenuator, followed by a multistage amplifier and a
PMMC meter. The AC voltmeter consists of attenuator, followed by a rectifier, a
multistage amplifier and a PMMC meter.
Based on Output
Analogue Ammeter
The analogue ammeter uses for measuring the current. It displays the reading through the
pointer which is fixed on the calibrated scale. The deflection of the pointer depends on the
torque acting on it. The magnitude of the develops torque is directly proportional to the
measuring current.
Digital Ammeter
The ammeter which displays the reading in the numeric form is known as the digital
ammeter. The digital ammeter gives the accurate result.
The instrument which measures the direct current is known as the DC ammeter, and the AC
ammeter is used in the AC circuit for alternating current measurement.