PHY 1020 Laboratory Manual - pgccphy.net

PHY 1020 Laboratory Manual

D.G. SimpsonPrince George’s Community College

Spring 2021(Updated February 10, 2021)

Contents

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

1 The Electronics Lab Kit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

2 A Simple Circuit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

3 Schematic Diagrams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

4 The Resistor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

5 Ohm’s Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

6 The Capacitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

7 The RC Circuit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

8 Diodes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

9 Magnetism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

10 The Transistor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

11 The 741 Operational Amplifier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

12 The 555 Timer IC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

13 Acoustics and Temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

14 Light and Photometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

15 Logic Gates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

16 Crystal Radio Receiver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

17 The Arduino Microcontroller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Elegoo Electronics Kit Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

2

Introduction

This laboratory manual for Introductory Physics II (PHY 1020) was developed for use during the COVID-19

coronavirus global pandemic of 2020–21, when classes will be held on-line over the Internet and students

will be doing the laboratory sections at home. Unlike past laboratory sections for this course, this at-home

student laboratory will focus entirely on electronics. A few electronics applications will cover related coursematerial, such as optics and acoustics.

The global pandemic has forced us to make some changes to the way we normally do physics laboratories,

but I hope it also gives us an opportunity to do something a little different, and explore electronics at a greater

depth than we would have otherwise. You may discover, as many have, that electronics can be a fun andrewarding hobby, providing you with a creative outlet to build whatever interesting devices your imagination

can conjure.

Equipment

Each student will be sent a package of electronic equipment and parts in the mail, and you may keep these

kits after the course is over. Each kit will contain the following:

• Elegoo Upgraded Electronics Fun Kit, containing a breadboard, power supply module, resistors, ca-

pacitors, diodes, LEDs, transistors, buzzers, switches, and wires.

• AC adapter for breadboard power supply module

• Digital multimeter (AstroAI AM33D)

• Alligator clip cables

• Precision screwdriver set

• Integrated circuits: 741 op-amp, 555 timer, 7400 quad NAND gate

• Magnetic compass

• Crystal radio receiver kit (incl. 5/16” wrench)

• Relays and extra potentiometers

• Getting Started in Electronics by Forrest M. Mims III

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Prince George’s Community College PHY 1020 Lab Manual D.G. Simpson

Optional Equipment

Your kit is self-contained and should include everything you need for the labs. The following items are not

in your kit, but you might find them useful, especially if you plan to continue with electronics as a hobby.

• Small needle-nose pliers.

• Small wire cutters. (Some versions of needle-nose pliers include wire cutters.)

• Wire stripper.

• Magnifying glass. (The writing on some components can be very tiny.)

• Soldering iron and solder. This will not be used for this course, since we won’t be doing soldering.

But if you wish to continue with electronics and start building kits, this will be very useful. Weller is

considered a reputable name in quality soldering irons (www.weller-tools.com), but you should

be able to find some reasonably priced, adequate equipment from several manufacturers if you shop

around and read product reviews. If you’re really serious about electronics, you might consider asoldering station, which includes a soldering iron, holder, sponge, and temperature control. In any

case, be sure you get equipment that’s designed for electronics work. Plumbers also do soldering work

on copper pipes, but they use a different kind of soldering iron and a different kind of solder. You don’t

want to use plumbing equipment in electronics, as you may burn out components, and the plumbing

solder will damage your circuits.

• Oscilloscope. You don’t need to invest in one of these unless you’re getting really serious about elec-

tronics. If you are, then this can be a very useful piece of equipment. We have several in the physics labat the college, but you won’t be needing one for any of these home labs. Briefly, an oscilloscope lets

you plot voltage vs. time in a circuit where you have some periodic oscillation happening. Nowadays

you can get a digital oscilloscope that’s much less expensive than the old tube-based models, and there

are even some low-end models that can be plugged into a laptop PC and use the PC screen for output.

I hope you’ll enjoy your experience with electronics this semester.

— D.G. Simpson, Ph.D., January 3, 2021.

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Experiment 1

The Electronics Lab Kit

In this lab, we’ll get familiar with the electronics lab kit, set up the breadboard with a power supply, and makea few simple voltage measurements.

The Breadboard

When constructing an electronic circuit, one typically installs components by melting a bit of lead/tin alloy

called solder (pronounced “SOD-er”) to hold the component in place. This process is called soldering (“SOD-

er-ing”). In this process, a hot soldering iron is used to briefly melt the solder in place; the solder immediately

solidifies once the soldering iron is removed.

We won’t be doing soldering in this course. Instead, we will use a breadboard, which is a rectangular

white block about 6” � 2” that you’ll find in a box in your lab kit. The breadboard is used to build prototypecircuits, and allows you to easily make changes by inserting and removing components without soldering.

You’ll see the front of the breadboard has 830 small holes, into which you can insert electrical compo-

nents. You’ll also notice numbers and letters printed on the breadboard that allow you to identify individual

holes. If you hold the breadboard in a “landscape” orientation (holding a short end in each hand), you’ll see

columns numbered 1–63, and rows lettered a–j. Turn the breadboard so that the columns run 63–1 left toright, and the rows run a–j top to bottom. You should see a red horizontal line at the very top edge, and a blue

horizontal line at the very bottom edge.

Rows a–j are for mounting electronic components. Below row a and above row j, you will see two more

rows of holes labeled with + and – signs. These are called the power rails, and are used to provide power to

your circuit. You’ll notice that two of these rows are adjacent to a red line and labeled +, and the other two

are adjacent to a blue line and are labeled –. The red + rows are for providing positive voltage, and the blue– rows are for ground.

The holes on the breadboard are connected as shown in Figure 1.1, and this is what makes the breadboard

useful: you can electrically connect two components just by plugging them into electrically connected holes.

Notice that in each column, pins a–e are electrically connected, as are bins f–j. Pins e and f are not connected,

and adjacent columns are not electrically connected. Also each of the power rail rows has all of its 50 holes

connected together, but the four rails are not connected to each other.

To connect components together on the breadboard, you will insert the leads you want to connect intoholes that belong to the same set of 5 electrically connected holes. You’ll see examples of how we do this as

we go along.

5


Figure 1.1: Breadboard connections. In this orientation, in the green “circuit area” section, the columns are

numbered 1–63 right to left, and the rows are labeled a–j from top to bottom. The lines show which holes

are electrically connected together. The power supply module will be mounted on the right-hand side (next

section).

Wires

Wires are available in a selection of standard diameters, called the American Wire Gauge (AWG) (Figure 1.2).

Notice that the bigger the number, the thinner the wire. The holes in your breadboard are sized for AWG 22

(or “22-gauge”) wire, and your kit includes some 22-gauge wire for making breadboard connections — bothpre-bent wires in a plastic case, and a bundle of more flexible “jumper” wires. You may use whatever wires

you wish when connecting holes on the breadboard.

The Breadboard Power Supply

Your electronic lab kit comes with a power supply module to allow you to provide power to the breadboard

so you can power your projects. Look closely at the module (Figure 1.3). Input comes from a DC adapter(included with the kit) that plugs into the power jack in the lower right of the figure. (Do NOT use the USB

connector! It is intended for power output, and we will not be using it for this course.) Output from the

module is shown by the four pins labeled + and – at the very top of the photo. To the left of the DC adapter

jack is a push-button, which you can use to turn the module on or off. A green LED lights up when the

module is powered on.

Just below the + and – output pins, you’ll notice some vertical “jumper” pins that are used to configure

the module. The module can provide either 3.3 V or 5 V to either power rail in any combination — 3.3 V to

both, or 5 V to both, or 3.3 V to one rail and 5 V to the other, depending on how the jumpers are set. Your

module will probably arrive configured for 5 V for one rail and 3.3 V for the other. To avoid confusion, we’regoing to change the module so it provides 5 V to both rails. To do this, make sure that both jumpers cover the

pins labeled “5V” and “VCC”. You will probably need to move one of the jumpers. Just pull it straight up to

remove it, then replace it on the correct set of pins.

Now let’s mount the power module on the breadboard. With the breadboard oriented as described above,push the power module into the breadboard on the far right side, so that the holes in column 10 are just visible

beyond the edge of the module. You should see that the output pins have + above the red power rails, and

– above the blue power rails. Now when you plug in the DC adapter and push the module’s ON switch you

will have +5 volts on each of the two red power rails, with respect to ground (the blue rails). The module

connects both blue ground rails together, so you can use whichever ground connection is convenient.

Leave the power module plugged into the breadboard for all labs for this course.

6


Figure 1.2: Table of American Wire Gauge (AWG) sizes and properties. (meters.co.uk)

7


Figure 1.3: Breadboard power supply module. Yours will look similar, but may not be identical to this.

Output from the module is from the two pairs of soldered nodes a the top of the picture, labeled + and –.

The Digital Multimeter

Included with your kit is a simple digital multimeter (DMM, Figure 1.4).1 It is a combination voltmeter (for

measuring voltage), ammeter (for measuring current), and ohmmeter (for measuring resistance). Your DMM

should come with the 9V battery already installed. If you should need to replace it, use one of the small

Phillips screwdrivers from the screwdriver set to open the battery compartment on the back of the unit. TheDMM comes with a short paper manual that explains its use. The manual is also available on the “Labs” page

of the course Web site.

Your DMM is capable of making the following measurements:

• DC voltage up to 500 V.

• AC voltage up to 500 V.

• DC current up to 2000 �A (2 mA).

• Resistance up to 200 M�.

• Diode/continuity tester.

• Simple square wave generator.

To use your DMM, plug in the red and black test leads that come with the unit. You’ll see there are three

jacks at the bottom of the face of the unit to hold the lead. The jack on the left, labeled “10 A MAX” is formeasuring large currents, and we will not be using it. According to a long-standing electronics convention:

• RED means POSITIVE

• BLACK means NEGATIVE (or GROUND)

Unless indicated otherwise, you should always plug the test leads into the jacks as follows:

1This is a very simple, basic, inexpensive DMM. If you want a top-of-the-line instrument, Fluke Corporation makes what is consid-ered the Rolls Royce of DMMs (www.fluke.com). But Fluke meters can be quite expensive — as much as $1000.

8


� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � �

� � � � � � � � � � � � �

� � � � � � � � � � � � � � ��

! " # � $ % � � � �

& ' ( ) # � $ % � � � �

� * + # � $ % � � � �

, � � - � � � � , � � �

� � . � � � , � � �

Figure 1.4: AstroAI DMM-AM33D digital multimeter.

9


• Plug the RED lead into the CENTER jack (V�mA).

• Plug the BLACK lead into the RIGHT jack (COM).

Do not try to poke the sharp ends of the DMM leads into the breadboard holes! They’re too big for that.

To turn the DMM on, rotate the center dial to the desired position, depending on the function you wishto use (voltmeter, ammeter, or ohmmeter). The numbers on the dial indicate the range – that is, the largest

measurement the DMM can measure at that setting. It’s best to use the setting just above what you plan to

measure. If the setting is too low, the meter will “overflow” and show a 1 in the display. 2 If the setting is too

high, the display may not be very accurate; for example, if the range is set too high, it may display 2.25 V as

0.002 kV.

When you’re finished, rotate the dial back to the OFF position (12 o’clock). Leaving the DMM turned on

for days will drain the battery.

Note:

• On the DMM, a horizontal bar with three dots (: : :) means DC, while a tilde (�) means AC.

• The units of measure in the display are the same as the units to which the dial is set. For example,when measuring volts with the 20 and 200 settings, the display shows volts. On the 200m and 2000m

settings, the display shows millivolts.

• If the multimeter shows a negative voltage or current, it means the leads are in the circuit backwards.

Move the black probe to where the red probe is in the circuit, and vice versa.

Example dial settings:

• To measure 5 volts DC: Set the multimeter dial to measure 20 VDC (at about the 10 o’clock position).

This is the smallest setting above 5 V. The display will show volts.

• To measure 80 mV DC: Set the multimeter dial to measure 200 m (at the 9 o’clock position). This is

the smallest setting above 50 mV. The display will show millivolts.

• To measure 100 M�: Set the multimeter dial to measure 200 M (just below the 9 o’clock position).

The display will show megohms.

• If the quantity being measured exceeds the range setting, the display will “overflow” by showing a digit1 on the screen.

If you don’t know the size of what you’re going to measure, start with the highest setting and keep turning the

dial to lower settings until the display overflows (displays “1”) — that indicates that you’ve gone one setting

to far, so turn back to the previous setting.

Please keep the following in mind when making measurements with the DMM:

• Do not try to put the DMM leads into the breadboard holes. They’re too big for that, and you’ll damage

the board.

• To measure the voltage between two points, place the leads on the two points of interest in the circuit.

• To measure the current in a circuit, you must first break the circuit at the point of interest, and then

insert the DMM in series in the circuit.

• To measure the resistance of a component, you should remove the resistance from the circuit com-

pletely, then place the DMM leads on the two component leads.

2This is a bid odd; most meters display “OL” for “overload”.

10


Testing the Breadboard Power Supply

Let’s now use the DMM to test the breadboard power supply.

1. Make sure the breadboard power supply is plugged into the breadboard, as described above.

2. Plug in the DC adapter and plug it into the breadboard power supply module.

3. Press the button so the green LED lights up, meaning the power supply is ON.

4. Plug the red and black leads into the DMM, as described above.

5. Locate the output pins on the breadboard. You should see two soldered nodes on top edge of the powermodule, and another pair at the bottom. Each pair is labeled + and –. Each pair of soldered nodes is

on a little segment jutting out from the main circuit board, on either side of column 10. If you installed

the power module correctly, each of the two + nodes should be above a red power rail, and each of the

two – nodes should be above a blue ground rail.

6. Now turn on the DMM so that it’s used as DC voltmeter (settings in the upper left, labeled “V: : :”.

We’re going to be measuring voltages around 5 volts, so set the DC voltmeter to the next highestsetting, 20 V.

7. Now firmly touch the DMM leads to the two soldered nodes that are above the power rail at the bottom

of the breadboard. Touch the black (negative) lead to the node labeled –, and the red (positive) lead to

the node labeled +. Your press should be firm enough for good contact, but not too hard. The meter

should read about 5.00 volts. (If it reads 3.30 volts, then you probably have the jumper in the wrong

place. Move the jumper so that it covers the 5V and VCC pins.)

8. Repeat the previous step for the two soldered nodes at the top edge of the breadboard. You should once

again read 5.0 volts.

9. The breadboard power module includes a few pins to allow you to provide power to external devicesnot connected to the breadboard. You will see these as two rows of four pins near the on/off switch.

(These types of pins are called header pins.) If you look at the power module circut board, you’ll see

on one side, four of the pins are labeled “GND”. On the other side, two pins are labeled “3.3V”, and

the other two are labeled ”5V”. Place the black DMM lead firmly against the GND pins (they’re all

electrically connected together on the board, so it doesn’t matter which pin(s) you touch). Now use thered DMM lead to touch each of the other four pins one by one, and look at the meter reading in each

case. You should be able to verify that the two pins labeled “3.3V” are indeed at 3.3 volts, and the two

pins labeled “5V” are at 5 volts. (You wont read these values exaclty, but they should be close.)

10. When you’re done, press the power module switch to its OFF position (green LED turns off), and turn

the dial on the DVM to the OFF position (at the top).

What To Turn In

Return the following by email:

1. Take a photo of your breadboard with the power module attached.

2. In your email, tell me what voltage reading you got for both the top and bottom positive (+) power

rails.

11


12

Experiment 2

A Simple Circuit

Introduction

In this lab, we’ll get a little more practice using the breadboard and multimeter, and build a simple circuit.

Materials

• Breadboard with attached power supply

• Red LED

• 220 � resistor (red-red-black-black-brown)

Multimeter Practice

1. Plug the red and black leads into your digital multimeter (DMM) as described before (black lead into

the COM jack, and red lead into the V�mA jack). Turn the dial to the “continuity setting” (shown in

this figure).

Now try touching the red and black probes together. You should hear a beep from the DMM, indicating

that current is flowing from one probe to the other. When you separate the probes, the display should

show “1.” This DMM setting may be used whenever you wish to find whether there is a conducting

path between two points, or whether there is a break in the circuit.

2. Find a battery around your house somewhere – AA, AAA, 9V, etc. Set the DMM dial to the 20 V DC

setting (at about 10:00 on the dial), and touch the probes to the battery to measure the battery voltage.

13


You should read about 1.5 V for an AA or AAA battery, or 9 V for a 9-volt battery. Record what youmeasured.

3. Now set the dial at 2000 � (at the very bottom of the dial). This sets the DMM to measure resistance.

Touch the probes across the 220 � resistor and note the value shown in the display. It should show

near 220 �. Write down the value shown in the display and include it in your email for this lab.

4. Now we’re going to construct a very simple circuit on the breadboard. With the power supply module

plugged into the right-hand side of the breadboard and the letters on the breadboard running a–j from

top to bottom (as in Figure 1.1). Plug the white power supply into the wall outlet and into the power

module. When you press the ON button, the green LED should turn on. Press the button again so thegreen LED is OFF (no power to the breadboard).

5. Examine the red LED and notice that one lead is longer than the other. Plug the red LED into the

breadboard so that the short lead (–) is in hole a30, and the long lead (+) is plugged into a nearby hole

in the + power rail (these are the holes at the very edge of the breadboard, near the red line).

6. Plug the 220 � resistor into the breadboard. One resistor lead should go into hole b30, and the other

into any convenient hole in the – power rail (the holes next to the blue line).

7. Now push the ON button on the breadboard power module. The green LED on the power module

should turn on, and the red LED you just plugged into the breadboard should also turn on.

8. Remove the resistor lead from hole b30 to hole d30. The LED should still light up, because holes a30

through e30 are all electrically connected. Any of those holes should work just as well.

What’s happening is this. Electric current flows from the + (red) power rail to the + lead of the red LED

(the longer lead). Current flows through the LED, then to the resistor lead in row 30, because the LED lead

and resistor lead are connected through the breadboard. Current then flows through the resistor and back to

the – (blue) power rail, forming a closed circuit. Current flowing through the LED causes it to light up. The

resistor is in place to lower the voltage going to the LED; the LED isn’t designed to handle a full 5 volts, sothe resistor lowers that somewhat. Without the resistor, you might burn out the LED.

When you’re finished, remember to turn the dial on your DMM to the OFF position (top of the dial).

What to Turn In

Send the following results by e-mail:

1. Did you hear a beep during the continuity test?

2. What value did you measure (using the DMM) for your battery voltage?

3. What value did you measure (using the DMM) for the resistance of the 220 � resistor? Is it within 1%

of the value shown by the color bands (220 �)?

4. Were you successful in getting the red LED to light?

5. Take a photo of your completed LED circut and attach it to your email.

14

Experiment 3

Schematic Diagrams

Introduction

In this lab, we will get some experience in using the breadboard to create some simple circuits.

Materials


• Red LEDs (2)

• 220 � resistor (red-red-black-black-brown)

Procedure

A schematic diagram is a diagram that shows how electronic parts are connected together to form a working

circuit. Each component is represented with a standard schematic symbol, as shown in Figure 3.1.In this lab, we will construct two simple circuits from given schematic diagrams. The first circuit will just

have a light-emitting diode (LED) connected to the breadboard power supply (as in the last lab) so that the

LED lights up. The second circuit will be similar, but with two LEDs in series.

15


Figure 3.1: Schematic symbols used in this manual.

16


One LED

Use this schematic diagram to build this circuit on your breadboard. If you’ve done it correctly, the LED

should light up when the breadboard power supply is turned on.

Here are some tips:

• There are many ways you can get this to work — there is not just one solution. You may place

the components anywhere on the breadboard, and you may use jumper wires included with your kit

whenever you wish.

• Begin with the power supply module turned off.

• The 5-volt breadboard power supply is shown using the “battery” symbol. Any hole adjacent to the red

line on your breadboard will supply +5 volts, and any hole adjacent to the blue line will be “ground.”

Running a jumper wire from a +5 V “red line” hole acts as the + end of the battery, and running a

jumper wire from a ground “blue line” hole acts as the – end of the battery.

• To connect the + end of the battery to the resistor, first insert the resistor into the breadboard. You caninsert the two resistor leads in any two holes on the breadboard that you find convenient (in rows a–j),

as long as the two holes are not both in the same group of five electrically-connected holes. Then run

a jumper wire from any + (red line) hole to one of the holes that is electrically connected to one of the

leads of the resistor.

• Now add the LED. Note that the LED has a long lead (+) and a short lead (–). You’ll want to connect

the long (+) lead to the other end of the resistor. You can do this in a couple of different ways: (1)You could plug the LED into the breadboard anywhere, then run a jumper wire from the + lead to the

resistor; or (2) you could plug the + lead of the LED into a hole that’s electrically connected to the

resistor.

• Run a jumper wire from the – LED lead to the blue (ground) power supply rail.

• When you’re done, carefully inspect your work. You should be able to trace a path from the red +power supply rail, to one end of the resistor, through the resistor, to the + lead of the LED, through the

LED, and to the blue – power supply rail.

• Turn on the power to your power supply module, and watch the LED light up. Take a picture of it.

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Two LEDs

Now try to build this circuit. It’s a modification of the previous circuit, where a second LED is added. If you

get it working properly, both LEDs should light up, although they will be a bit dimmer than a single LED.

Take a picture of your working circuit.

What to Turn In

Send (via email) photos of your working circuit — one showing your one-LED circuit with one LED lit, and

a second photo showing your two-LED circuit with both LEDs lit.

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Experiment 4

The Resistor

This lab will introduce an important electronic component — the resistor.

Materials


• 220 � resistor (red-red-black-black-brown) (2)

• Digital multimeter (DMM) and leads

A resistor is a device that impedes the flow of electric current in a circuit. They are very common

components, and have a variety of uses. One common use is to change the voltage in a certain part of the

circuit so that another component will receive the voltage it expects. Resistance is measured in ohms (�) – a

larger number of ohms meaning a greater resistance to the flow of current.

The most common type of resistor is the fixed carbon resistor. Your kit contains 120 such resistors of

different values: 10 �, 100 �, 220 �, 330 �, 1 k�, 2 k�, 5 k�, 10 k�, 100 k�, 1 M�. There are 10 of

each resistor value except 220 �, for which you have 30.

Rather than try to print the resistance on the resistor in tiny print, it is customary to indicate the valueof the resistance by printing a series of colored bands on the resistor. The colors indicate the value of the

resistor, as shown in Figure 4.1.

The resistors in your kit are 1/4 watt, the values have 1% tolerance, and they are of the five-band variety.

The five color bands are:

• First significant digit.

• Second significant digit.

• Third significant digit.

• Power of 10.

• Tolerance. These resistors are 1%, so this band will always be brown.

To read the resistor value, look at the colors of the two bands on the ends. One of them should be brown(the tolerance band — all our resistors are 1% tolerance). Turn the resistor so that the brown (tolerance) band

is on the right. If the bands on both ends are brown, then it’s a little harder, but notice that for our resistors,

19


Figure 4.1: Resistor color code. Our electronics kits have five-band resistors.

this can only happen when the first three bands are “brown, black, black”, so turn these resistors so that thesequence “brown, black, black” is on the left.

As an example, look at a 220 � resistor. (The resistance values are printed on the band of tape that holds

the resistors together.) The colors are: red, red, black, black, brown. This means 220�100 = 220 �. The final

brown band means 1% tolerance, so the actual value of this resistor could be between 220 � 2:2 D 217:8 �

and 220 C 2:2 D 222:2 �.

Look through all ten packages of resistors in your kit. All resistors of the same value are taped togetherand have the value of the resistance printed on the tape. Look at the color bands on the resistor and see if you

can read the resistance values. They should match what’s printed on the tape.

For an additional discussion of resistors, see pp. 28–31 in Getting Started in Electronics.

Measuring Resistance with the DMM

Let’s begin by measuring a resistor with the DMM.

1. Remove a 220 � resistor (red, red, black, black, brown) from its tape strip.

2. Plug in the DMM leads as described above.

3. Turn on the DMM by turning the dial to the “ohmmeter” settings (lower left part of the dial, where yousee “�” printed. We’ll be measuring a 220 � resistor, so set the dial to the next highest setting, 2000

�. The meter should show a “1”, indicating “overflow”, or infinite resistance. (You haven’t connected

anything yet.)

4. Now firmly touch the two DMM leads to the two leads (wires) coming out of the resistor. The resistor

is symmetrical, so it doesn’t matter which side gets the black DMM lead and which gets the red lead.

20


The DMM should show something near 220, which is the measured resistor value, in ohms.

5. Now switch the dial to “20K” and repeat. This time the display shows the resistor value in kilohms,

because the dial is setting ends with a “K”. You should see about 0.22 (kilohms), which is the same

as 220 ohms. Although this works, you would normally not want to do this because of some loss of

accuracy. It’s better to set the DMM to the lowest setting that’s above what you’re measuring. Thisholds for using the voltmeter and ammeter settings as well.

6. When you’re done, turn off the DMM by turning the dial to the OFF position (at the top of the dial).

Resistors in Series

Rs D R1 C R2 C R3 C : : : (4.1)

Now we’re going to get a little practice using the breadboard by measuring the resistance of two resistors

connected in series. Sometimes it can be a little difficult to get the leads into the holes if the hole hasn’t been

used before. You should be able to feel the lead going into the hole.

1. Remove a second 200 � resistor (red, red, black, black, brown) from the taped string of resistors. You

should now have two 220 � resistors.

2. Bend the leads for one resistor at 90ı and plug them into the breadboard holes. Any two holes that are

convenient will do, as long as they’re not electrically connected. For example, you might use holes c55

and c49.

3. Bend the leads for the second resistor at 90ı and plug it into the breadboard in series with the first

resistor. To do this, one lead should be electrically connected to one of the leads on the first resistor.

For example, you might put one lead in hol e49. Since one lead of the first resistor is in c49 and a49–

e49 are electrically connected (in the same column), these two leads will be connected, just as if they

were tied together. The second lead can go anywhere (for example, hole e40).

4. Now get out the DMM, put the DMM leads into the jacks (remember: black into the COM jack on the

right, and red into the V�mA jack in the center). Turn the dial to use the DMM as an ohmmeter; in

this case, turn it to 2000 � (the setting at the very bottom), since we’ll be measuring resistances below2000 � but above 200 � (the next lower setting).

5. Now firmly touch the DMM leads to the two resistor leads on the ends (for example, to the lead in

hole c55 and the lead in hole e40). Again, do not try to force the black and read DMM leads into

the breadboard holes!! Just touch the sharp leads against the resistor leads. The DMM should showabout 440 ohms. (Remember that for ohmmeter readings, it doesn’t matter whether you use the red

lead on the left and black on the right, or vice versa. Resistors are symmetrical.) Your readings are in

agreement with theory, which says that the resistance of the series combination should equal the sum

of the individual resistances: 220 � C 220 � D 440 �.

Resistors in Parallel

1

Rp

D 1

R1

C 1

R2

C 1

R3

C � � � (4.2)

Now we’re going to use the same setup to measure resistances in parallel.

21


• Remove the first lead of the first resistor from the breadboard, and move it so it is electrically connectedto the second lead of the second resistor. In the examples shown earlier, that means removing the

resistor lead from hole c55 and putting it in hole c40. The resistors are now in parallel: the leads in

holes c49 and e49 are connected through the breadboard connections, as are the leads in holes c40 and

e40.

• Touch one DMM lead to either of the two connected leads on the left, and the other to either of the

two connected leads on the right. (In this example, put one DMM lead on either of the resistor leads in

column 49, and the other on either of the leads in column 40.) The DMM should read about 110 �, inagreement with theory:

Rp D�

1

220 �C 1

220 �

�

�1

D 110 �

• When you’re done, turn off the DMM by turning the dial to the OFF position (at the top of the dial).

What To Turn In

22

Experiment 5

Ohm’s Law

V D IR (5.1)

Power

P D IV D I 2R D V 2

R(5.2)

The Voltage Divider

One common use for resistors is to create a voltage divider, as shown in the figure below. This is useful for

providing the correct voltage to other components in a circuit.

23


For example, our breadboard power rails provide us with a 5 V power source. But if we want to use a

light-emitting diode (LED) in the circuit, we don’t want to connect the LED directly to a 5 V supply, because

LEDs aren’t designed to handle that much voltage. The LED data sheet may tell us that the LED shouldoperate at 2 V, with a maximum of 2.5 V; hooking it up directly to 5 V could cause damage to the LED. We

use a voltage divider circuit to reduce the voltage from 5 V to 2 V. This means just putting a resistor in series

with the LED, and we choose the voltage drop

Vout D Vin

R2

R1 C R2

It’s possible to build a variable voltage divider, where the center “tap” point can be adjusted. Such a

device is called a potentiometer. A potentiometer has three leads: one end at each end of the resistor, and a

third for the tap point (sometimes called the wiper).

The Current Divider

In D It

Rt

Rn

where Rt is the total resistance. In this case (two resistors),

Rt D R1R2

R1 C R2

(5.3)

What To Turn In

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Experiment 6

The Capacitor

Types of Capacitors

Capacitors in Series

1

Cp

D 1

C1

C 1

C2

C 1

C3

C � � � (6.1)

Capacitors in Parallel

Cs D C1 C C2 C C3 C : : : (6.2)

For an additional discussion of capacitors, see pp. 22–35 in Getting Started in Electronics.

What To Turn In

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26

Experiment 7

The RC Circuit

What To Turn In

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28

Experiment 8

Diodes

For an additional discussion of diodes, see pp. 44–47 in Getting Started in Electronics.

Diodes

Light-Emitting Diodes (LEDs)

For an additional discussion of LEDs, see pp. 66–69 in Getting Started in Electronics.

Color Voltage (V) Current (mA) Series resistance at 5V (�)

Red 2.0 20 220

Yellow 2.0 20 220

Green 3.6 20 220Blue 3.5 20 220

White 3.2 20 220

What To Turn In

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30

Experiment 9

Magnetism

The Electromagnet

The Relay

Demonstrating Ampere’s Law

What To Turn In

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32

Experiment 10

The Transistor

For an additional discussion of transistors, see pp. 48–57 in Getting Started in Electronics.

What To Turn In

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34

Experiment 11

The 741 Operational Amplifier

For an additional discussion of operational amplifiers, see p. 93 in Getting Started in Electronics.

What To Turn In

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36

Experiment 12

The 555 Timer IC

What To Turn In

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38

Experiment 13

Acoustics and Temperature

The Active and Passive Buzzers

Building a Digital Thermometer

What To Turn In

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40

Experiment 14

Light and Photometry

Light Colors: The RGB LED

Building a Photometer

What To Turn In

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42

Experiment 15

Logic Gates

Elementary Symbolic Logic

Symbolic logic is s branch of mathematics that deals with logical reasoning: it studies what conclusions we

can logically deduce from given statements. Here we’ll give an elementary introduction to the subject.

Let p and q be two statements; for example, let p stand for the statement “I am young” and let q standfor the statement “I am a student.” Each statement may have a value of either true (T) or false (F). We may

combine these statements in several different ways, as described below.

Negation (NOT p). The statement “not p” (denoted by :p) has the opposite value of p: if p is true,

then :p is false; and if p is false, then :p is true. Using our example statements, if p means “I am young”,

then :p means “I am not young.”

Conjunction (p AND q). The statement “p and q” (denoted by p ^ q) is true only if p and q are both

true; otherwise, p ^ q has the value “false”. In our example, p ^ q means “I am young and I am a student.”If I am young and a student, then p ^ q is true; if I’m not young, or I’m not a student, or both, then p ^ q has

the value “false.”

Disjunction (p OR q). The statement “p or q” (denoted by p _ q) is true if p is true, or if q is true, or

if they’re both true; if p and q are both false, then, p _ q has the value “false”. In our example, p _ q means

“I am young or I am a student.”. If I am young, or I am a student, or I am both young and a student, then

p _ q is true; if I am neither young nor a student, then p _ q has the value “false.” This use of the word “or”is called “inclusive or” because it allows for the possibility that both p and q may be true. Often in everyday

life, we may use the word ‘’or” to mean “exclusive or” — for example, if the stewardess on an airplane offers

us “coffee or tea”, she means either one or the other — not both. A logical disjunction is an inclusive “or”;

we will cover exclusive “or” shortly.

Conditional (IF p, THEN q). The statement “if p, then q” (or “p implies q”, denoted by p � q) is false

if p is true and q is false; otherwise p � q has the value “true.” In our example, p � q means “if I am young,then I am a student” — that is, all young people are students. Consider the following:

• p and q are both true. I am young and I am a student, so “if I am young, then I am a student” is true.

• p is false, but q is true. I am not young, and I am an (older) student; this does not contradict “if I am

young, then I am a student”.

• p and q are both false. I am neither young nor a student, so this does not contradict “if I am young,

then I am a student.”

• p is true, but q is false. I am young but I am not a student, so “if I am young, then I am a student” is

false.

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Biconditional (p IF AND ONLY IF q). This is equivalent to “.p � q/ ^ .q � p/”, and is denoted byp � q. It has the value “true” if p and q are both true, or if they’re both false. If one is true and one is false,

then p � q is false. The biconditional is closely related to the exclusive “or” mentioned earlier: p “exclusive

or” q is equivalent to the negation of the biconditional, :.p � q/. In our example, p � q means “I am

young if and only if I am a student.” In other words, all young people, and only young people, are students.

These operations are summarized in the truth tables below, which shows all combinations of “true” (T)

and “false” (F) values for p and q.

Negation

p :p

T F

F T

Conjunction Disjunction Conditional Biconditionalp q p ^ q p _ q p � q p � q

T T T T T T

T F F T F FF T F T T F

F F F F T T

A few elementary deductions (called inferences) that we can make are:

Modus ponens. (e.g. “If I am young, then I am a student. I am young. Therefore, I am a student.”)

p � q

p

) q

Modus tollens. (e.g. “If I am young, then I am a student. I am not a student. Therefore, I am not young.”

p � q

:q

) :p

Disjunctive syllogism. (e.g. “I am young, or I am a student. I am not young. Therefore, I am a student.”)

p _ q

:p

) q

Hypothetical syllogism. (e.g. “If I am young, then I am a student. If I am a student, then I read a lot.Therefore, if I am young, then I read a lot.”)

p � q

q � r

) p � r

This is only a very brief introduction to symbolic logic. There are many more inference rules and equiva-lence rules that allow one to analyze much more complex arguments and determine whether they are logically

valid. (See the References chapter of this manual for additional information.)

44


Boolean Algebra

It is useful when building computer circuits to implement these symbolic logic operators in hardware. Boolean

algebra is the algebra of these symbolic logic statements, and in digital electronics we find logic gates that

implement these functions. Boolean algebra notation is a little different from that used in symbolic logic, as

shown in the table below.

Name Boolean Symbolic

Negation NOT :p

Conjunction AND p ^ q

Disjunction OR p _ q

Conditional IMPLY p � q

Exclusive Or XOR :.p � q/

Negated conjunction NAND :.p ^ q/

Negated disjunction NOR :.p _ q/

Negated conditional NIMPLY :.p � q/

Biconditional XNOR p � q

One can buy pre-packaged integrated circuits that implement these logic gates. Included with your elec-tronics kit, for example, are several ICs that implement the NAND (:.p ^q/) function. A NAND gate device

accepts two inputs, represented as voltages: +5 V represents the value “true”, and 0 V (ground) represents

“false.” The only allowed inputs to the device are either +5 V or 0 V. The output of the device is NAND

operation, also represented as +5 V for “true” and 0 V for “false.” If both inputs are “true” (+5 V), then the

output is “false” (0V). If either of the inputs, or both, is “false” (0 V), then the output is “true” (+5 V).When dealing with logic gates, the value “true” (+5 V) may also be called “high” or “1”. The value

“false” (0 V or ground) may also be called “low” or “0”. A truth table showing the results of each Boolean

operation is shown in the table below.

Negation Conjunction Disjunction Conditional Exclusive Or Neg. Conj. Neg. Disj. Neg. Cond. BiconditionalNOT(p) AND(p; q) OR(p; q) IMPLY(p;q) XOR(p; q) NAND(p; q) NOR(p; q) NIMPLY(p; q) XNOR(p; q)

p q :p p ^ q p _ q p � q :.p � q/ :.p ^ q/ :.p _ q/ :.p � q/ p � q

1 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 11 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 00 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 00 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 1

NAND Gate

One can show that any of the operations mentioned above may be expressed as some combination of “NAND”

(:.p ^ q/) operations, and so logic gates for the other operations are often implemented in logic gates as

combinations of NAND gates. (The same is true of NOR gates, but NAND gates are cheaper to manufacture.)To see how this can be done, let p and q be two inputs, each of which may be either “high” or “low”. Then

define

r D NAND.p; q/

s D NAND.p; p/

t D NAND.q; q/

u D NAND.s; q/

v D NAND.p; t/

w D NAND.s; t/

Then each of the Boolean operators may be expressed as a function of NAND operations:

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Boolean In terms of NAND Symbolic logic equivalent

NOT (p) NAND (p; p) :p equiv :.p ^ p/

NOT (q) NAND (q; q) :q equiv :.q ^ q/

AND (p; q) NAND (r; r) p ^ q equiv :Œ:.p ^ q/ ^ :.p ^ q/�

OR (p; q) NAND (s; t ) p _ q equiv :Œ:.p ^ p/ ^ :.q ^ q/�

IMPLY (p; q) NAND (p; t ) p � q equiv :Œp ^ :.q ^ q/�

XOR (p; q) NAND (u; v) :.p � q/ equiv :f:Œ:.p ^ p/ ^ q� ^ :Œp ^ :.q ^ q/�gNAND (p; q) NAND (p; q) :.p ^ q/ equiv :.p ^ q/

NOR (p; q) NAND (w; w) :.p _ q/ equiv :f:Œ:.p ^ p/ ^ :.q ^ q/� ^ :Œ:.p ^ p/ ^ :.q ^ q/�gNIMPLY (p; q) NAND (v; v) :.p � q/ equiv :f:Œp ^ :.q ^ q/� ^ :Œp ^ :.q ^ q/�gXNOR (p; q) NAND (r; w) p � q equiv :f:.p ^ q/ ^ :Œ:.p ^ p/ ^ :.q ^ q/�g

We’ll start this lab with a 7400 integrated circuit (IC), which contains four NAND gates inside it.

For an additional discussion of logic gates, see pp. 84–87 in Getting Started in Electronics.

NAND Gate

We’ll begin the lab by connecting the 7400 NAND IC to the appropriate components to get it working. To

make it easy, we’ll just use jumper wires from the breadboard power rails for the input, and we’ll connect an

LED to the output. If the LED lights up, the output will be “true”; if not, it will be “false.”

NOT Gate

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Figure 15.1: How to construct logic gates using only NAND gates. (https://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/logic/universal-gates.html)

AND Gate

OR Gate

Other Gates

What To Turn In

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48

Experiment 16

Crystal Radio Receiver

For this lab, assemble the crystal radio kit included with your electronics kit. The manual for the radio,

including assembly instructions, is available on the course Web site. Note that you will have to connect your

finished radio to an antenna and a ground, as described in the instructions. It’s common in radio practice toconnect the ground wire to a copper pipe driven into the ground, or a copper cold-water pipe in your home’s

plumbing, if that’s feasible in your situation. Otherwise you can just follow the instructions in the manual.

The ground should ideally be a large conductor of some kind, and is used to give the electrons someplace to

go; otherwise the circuit gets “stopped up” and current won’t flow.

Once you’ve completed your radio kit and hooked it up to an antenna and ground, put the earphone in

your ear and turn the variable capacitor until you hear a radio station. One problem you may encounter is thatAM radio is not as popular today as it was 50 years ago, so there aren’t as many stations on the air. If you

have difficulty hearing anything at night, try during the day — some stations reduce their power or go off the

air at night, so you may have better luck in the daytime.

History

Theory of Operation

A schematic diagram of the crystal radio circuit is shown in Figure 16.1.

You’ll first notice something interesting from your construction and from the diagram — no batteries!

Your crystal radio will run forever for free. It’s powered by the radio waves from the radio transmitter.

Because neither the radio signal itself nor the components are “ideal”, it can be surprisingly difficult to

explain the details of what’s physically happening in this circuit, but we can outline the general idea.

First, we have to understand how the electromagnetic radio waves are formed. They consist primarily of

a carrier wave, which is just a sinusoidal wave whose frequency is assigned to the radio station by the FCC.For example, radio station KDKA in Pittsburgh transmits radio waves whose carrier wave has a frequency

of 1020 kHz. But unlike a pure sinusoidal wave, the amplitude of the carrier wave isn’t constant — it is

modulated, meaning that the amplitude changes with time according to the content being carried — voice,

music, etc. (See Figure 16.2.)

Consider a long wire (the antenna) connected to the ground (e.g. a copper pipe driven into the ground).

The antenna will be hit by electromagnetic waves of all different frequencies all at the same time, and the

free electrons in the wire will move in some complex fashion in response to the sum of all the electric fieldsassociated with those waves.

Now attach the antenna and ground to an LC circuit, shown in the figure a the “ferrite loop antenna” and

“variable capacitor.” The “ferrite loop antenna” is really an inductor — loops of wire wound around a ceramic

49


A

G

Antenna

Ferr

ite L

oopst

ick A

nte

nna

Variable

Capaci

tor

1N34A

47K

.001uf

Ceramic Earphone

Ground

Figure 16.1: Schematic diagram of the crystal radio kit. (www.mikeselectronicparts.com)

Figure 16.2: Amplitude modulation. (physics-and-radio-electronics.com)

50


material containing iron. The inductor and capacitor together form an “LC circuit” which, as described inclass, resonates at a certain frequency, f D 1=.2�

pLC /. Out of all the electromagnetic waves hitting the

antenna, those that have a frequency near the resonant frequency of the LC circuit will be amplified much

more than the others, and will be passed along to the right in the diagram, to the diode. The capacitor is made

variable so that the LC resonant frequency can be changed, allowing you to tune in different stations.

The diode acts as a rectifier, allowing the current to pass only in one direction. Current due to the radio

signal will be alternating current, sloshing back and forth in both directions. The diode will cut out the halfof the signal in which the current moves backwards, so that only current moving to the right will get past the

the diode. If it weren’t for the diode, the net signal to the earphone would be zero, and you wouldn’t be able

to hear anything; the diode makes the net signal positive — a fluctuating DC signal. In the past, one used

a piece of the mineral galena (PbS) and a fine wire called a cat’s whisker to make a crude diode. Your kit

includes a germanium diode that is basically this same arrangement in miniature, but using a small piece ofgermanium in place of the galena crystal. The germanium diode is much easier to use.

To the right of the diode, you notice a 0.001 �F capacitor. Its function is to remove the carrier wave,

and pass along just the audio signal part of the radio wave. This is called a low-pass filter: it allows lower

frequencies (audio) to pass through, while high frequencies (the carrier wave) are blocked. The idea is that

high frequencies don’t have time to charge the capacitor very much, but lower frequencies do, so only lower-frequency waves are able to pass through the capacitor.

You’ll also notice a 47 k� resistor. Its purpose is to discharge the capacitor during the times when there’s

no signal going through the diode.

Finally, on the far right, is a set of headphones or an earphone. In your kit, this is a high-impedance

ceramic earphone that fits in one ear. The earphone contains a transducer — a piezoelectric material that

flexes a bit when a voltage is applied to it. The transducer converts the signal coming into it (which is avoltage carrying the audio signal) into physical motion, which is used to vibrate a diaphragm that produces

sound waves.

Actual operation of the receiver is more complicated that this description might suggest. For example,

The antenna and earphone have capacitances of their own.

Be sure to see the very helpful computer animation and explanation, How a Crystal Radio Works athttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-PParSmwtE

What To Turn In

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52

Experiment 17

The Arduino Microcontroller

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54

Elegoo Electronics Kit Contents

Here’s a list of the contents of the components contained in the Elegoo Upgraded Electronics Fun Kit:

• Breadboard

• Breadboard Power Supply Module

• Resistors ( 14

W, 1%): 10 �, 100 �, 220 �, 330 �, 1 k�, 2 k�, 5 k�, 10 k�, 100 k�, 1 M�.

• Precision Potentiometer, 3386p-1-103T

• NTC thermistor, MF52D-103f-3950

• Photoresistors, CDS-55

• Ceramic Capacitors

• Electrolytic Capacitors

• Diodes, 1N4007

• LEDs (Red, Yellow, Green, Blue, White)

• RGB LED

• Buttons

• Transistors, PN2222 NPN Bipolar

• Active buzzer

• Passive buzzer

• Shift register, 74HC595

• Optocoupler, 4N35

• Assorted wires and connectors

Data sheets for these components may be found on the “Labs” page of the class Web site.

55


56

References

• Mims, Forrest M. III. Getting Started in Electronics. Master Publishing, Arlington, TX, 2000. ISBN978-945053-28-6. This is an excellent introduction to electronics for beginners, and is included with

your electronics kit. The text is all hand-written with nice hand-drawn figures.

• Mims, Forrest M. III. Forrest Mims Engineer’s Notebook. Technology Publishing, Eagle Rock, VA,

1992. ISBN 978-1-878707-03-01. Similar in format to his other book Getting Started in Electronics,

but at a somewhat more advanced level and focusing on digital electronics.

• Mims, Forrest M. III. The Forrest Mims Circuit Scrapbook. (2 vols.) Technology Publishing, Eagle

Rock, VA, 2000. ISBN 978-1-878707-48-2 and 978-878707-1-49-3. Similar to the previous two books,

but at an even more advanced level. Basically a catalog of useful circuits, mostly digital.

• Horowitz, Paul, and Winfield Hill. The Art of Electronics. (3rd ed.) Cambridge, 2015. ISBN 978-

0521809269. A highly regarded work, and considered by many to be the ultimate textbook and refer-ence on electronics. The writing is at a fairly high level, but also quite practical. Probably the most

exhaustive treatment of electronics available.

• Horowitz, Paul, and Winfield Hill. The Art of Electronics: the X Chapters. Cambridge, 2020. ISBN

978-1108499941. This contains more extensive discussions of some topics covered more briefly in The

Art of Electronics.

• Horowitz, Paul, and Winfield Hill. Learning the Art of Electronics. Cambridge, 2016. ISBN 978-

0521177238. A laboratory manual to accompany The Art of Electronics.

• Platt, Charles. Make: Electronics. 2nd ed. Maker Media, San Francisco, 2015. An excellent book

for newcomers to electronics, with good explanations, illustrations, and projects. This is intended asa hands-on book, where you build and play with real breadboard circuits. This would make a good

follow-up book if you want to continue with electronics beyond the labs in this course.

• Scherz, Paul and Simon Monk. Practical Electronics for Inventors. 4th ed. McGraw-Hill, 2016.

Another good book at a more advanced level. This one is focused more on theory, and includes some

use of the calculus. This book is big (about 1000 pages) and pretty comprehensive.

On-Line

• All About Circuits, online at www.allaboutcircuits.com/textbook. A large online book

covering a lot of electronics. It comes in six volumes totaling nearly 2800 pages, and is regularly up-dated. Volume 1: Direct Current; Volume 2: Alternating Current; Volume 3, Semiconductors; Volume

4, Digital; Volume 5, Reference; Volume 6, Experiments.

57


• U.S. Navy Electricity and Electronics Training Series (NEETS), at www.maritime.org/doc/#neets.An electronics training course by the U.S. Navy, aimed at training electronics tecnicians.

• The Cleveland Institute of Electronics, at www.cie-wc.edu has been around since the 1930s, when

it offered correspondence courses by mail. Today it is online, and still offers outstanding on-line

courses in electronics at several many levels, from basic electronics to computer and microcontrollers.

A well-respected school with excellent training materials. (The author is a current student at CIE and

can attest to the quality of the programs.)

• The American Radio Relay League, at www.arrl.org, is the organization of amateur radio operators

in the United States. If you’re interested in amateur radio or radio electronics, this is the place to start.They can guide you on getting an amateur radio license, amateur radio activities, and they sell excellent

books covering many aspects of radio and radio electronics.

• How a Crystal Radio Works, on YouTube athttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-PParSmwtE

Symbolic Logic

• Miller, Haran B. Arguments, Arrows, Trees, and Truth. 2nd ed. Advocate Pub., 1980. An excellent

short elementary college text.

• Copi, Irving M. Symbolic Logic. MacMillan, New York, 1954. One of the standard texts in the field.

• Tapscott, Bangs L. Elementary Applied Symbolic Logic. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1976.

An excellent college-level textbook.

• Gensler, Harry J. Introduction to Logic. 3rd ed. Routledge, 2017. A good recent introductory text.

Includes some accompanying downloadable software.

Electronics Parts

• Digi-Key Corp., www.digikey.com. An excellent source of electronic parts of all kinds, with a

large selection.

• SparkFun, www.sparkfun.com. Parts and tutorials for electronics hobbyists.

• Mike’s Electronic Parts, LLC, www.mikeselectronicparts.com . This is where the crystal

radio kit came from. They also have a number of other interesting things.

• Arduino, www.arduino.cc. The Web site for the popular Arduino microcontroller. This is where

you can buy the microcontroller and download the software for it. There are lots of imitations and

knock-offs of the Arduino boards out there, so if you want to be sure you’re getting a genuine Arduino

board, you can order one here.

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PHY 1020 Laboratory Manual - pgccphy.net

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