An Intro into Simple Circuits
A circuit essentially consists of a journey that starts and ends at the same place, or a circular journey. When speaking of an electrical current, this journey consists of an electrical current which is going from the positive terminal to the negative terminal. The power source can be a battery or power from a wall socket.
See what you can do with printed circuits.
This trip around the circuit allows electricity to power many different things like lights, circuit buzzers and electrical motors for example. Essentially anything that works from electric current is a circuit example. Some are simple circuits like a light bulb. Other circuits may be far more complex, like electric cars or computers. No matter the type, these are all examples of cicruits. The amount of different components which are hooked to that one circuit determines what degree of complexity the circuit has.
The Basic Circuit:What is it?
The most basic of circuits consists only of a power source and something to consume the power – a light bulb for example. The bulb will light up when the current is connected in line from the battery. When placed between the battery’s positive terminal and the bulb, an off/off switch can be added. That is the basic set up of any light source from a flashlight to your dining room chandelier.
How to Build a Circuit with a Switch
Here we will build a simple switched circuit like we talked about above. At the core of the PCB industry rests simple switches like these. Somewhere in most electronic devices a basic circuit is structurally included.
Materials Needed
- 6-Volt battery
- Low-voltage incandescent lamp with leads
- 18 inches or more of 22-gauge wire
- A household light switch
- 4 alligator clamps
Directions
- Cut the wire in half.
- Cut a third of half of the wire. After this you will have a long, medium and short wire.
- Attach alligator clips to each end of the long wire and to one end of both the short and medium wires.
- The short wire must be clamped to the battery’s positive terminal.
- The switch should have the other end attached to it, (be sure to have the switch turned off at this point.)The other end must then be attached to the switch, which should currently be in the “off” position.
- Clamp the medium wire to the positive terminal of the light.
- At the other end, attach it to the switch.
- The negative terminal of the battery needs to have one of the long wire’s ends clamped to it.
- Next, take the other end and then clamp it to the negative terminal of the light.
Learn more about the PCB industry.
You have completed the circuit. Test and make sure it works -when you flip the switch to on, the bulb should light up. Congratulations! You have successfully created a simple circuit with a switch. Your imagination will help you come up with other uses for a simple switch.