ResistorsExample: Circuit symbol:FunctionResistors restrict the flow of electric current, for example a resistor is placed in series with alight-emitting diode (LED) to limit the current passing through the LED.Connecting and solderingResistors may be connected either way round. They are not damaged by heat when soldering. The Resistor Colour Code Colour Number Black 0 Brown 1 Red 2 Orange 3 Yellow 4 Green 5 Blue 6 Violet 7 Grey 8
Resistor values - the resistor colour code White 9Resistance is measured in ohms, the symbol for ohm is an omega .1 is quite small so resistor values are often given in k and M .1k = 1000 1M = 1000000 .Resistor values are normally shown using coloured bands.Each colour represents a number as shown in the table.Most resistors have 4 bands: • The first band gives the first digit. • The second band gives the second digit. • The third band indicates the number of zeros. • The fourth band is used to shows the tolerance (precision) of the resistor, this may be ignored for almost all circuits but further details are given below.This resistor has red (2), violet (7), yellow (4 zeros) and gold bands.So its value is 270000 = 270 k .On circuit diagrams the is usually omitted and the value is written 270K.Find out how to make your own Resistor Colour Code CalculatorSmall value resistors (less than 10 ohm)The standard colour code cannot show values of less than 10 . To show these small valuestwo special colours are used for the third band:gold which means × 0.1 and silver whichmeans × 0.01. The first and second bands represent the digits as normal.For example:red, violet, gold bands represent 27 × 0.1 = 2.7green, blue, silver bands represent 56 × 0.01 = 0.56Tolerance of resistors (fourth band of colour code)The tolerance of a resistor is shown by the fourth band of the colour code. Tolerance isthe precision of the resistor and it is given as a percentage. For example a 390 resistor with
a tolerance of ±10% will have a value within 10% of 390 , between 390 - 39 = 351 and 390 +39 = 429 (39 is 10% of 390).A special colour code is used for the fourth band tolerance:silver ±10%, gold ±5%, red ±2%, brown ±1%.If no fourth band is shown the tolerance is ±20%.Tolerance may be ignored for almost all circuits because precise resistorvalues are rarely required.Resistor shorthandResistor values are often written on circuit diagrams using a code system which avoids using adecimal point because it is easy to miss the small dot. Instead the letters R, K and M are used inplace of the decimal point. To read the code: replace the letter with a decimal point, thenmultiply the value by 1000 if the letter was K, or 1000000 if the letter was M. The letter R meansmultiply by 1.For example: 560R means 560 2K7 means 2.7 k = 2700 39K means 39 k 1M0 means 1.0 M = 1000 kReal resistor values (the E6 and E12 series)You may have noticed that resistors are not available with every possible value, for example22k and 47k are readily available, but 25k and 50k are not!Why is this? Imagine that you decided to make resistors every 10 giving 10,20, 30, 40, 50 and so on. That seems fine, but what happens when you reach1000? It would be pointless to make 1000, 1010, 1020, 1030 and so onbecause for these values 10 is a very small difference, too small to benoticeable in most circuits. In fact it would be difficult to make resistorssufficiently accurate.
To produce a sensible range of resistor values you need to increase the sizeof the step as the value increases. The standard resistor values are based onthis idea and they form a series which follows the same pattern for everymultiple of ten.The E6 series (6 values for each multiple of ten, for resistors with 20%tolerance)10, 15, 22, 33, 47, 68, ... then it continues 100, 150, 220, 330, 470, 680, 1000etc.Notice how the step size increases as the value increases. For this series thestep (to the next value) is roughly half the value.The E12 series (12 values for each multiple of ten, for resistors with 10%tolerance)10, 12, 15, 18, 22, 27, 33, 39, 47, 56, 68, 82, ... then it continues 100, 120,150 etc.Notice how this is the E6 series with an extra value in the gaps.The E12 series is the one most frequently used for resistors. It allows you tochoose a value within 10% of the precise value you need. This is sufficientlyaccurate for almost all projects and it is sensible because most resistors areonly accurate to ±10% (called their tolerance). For example a resistor marked390 could vary by ±10% × 390 = ±39 , so it could be any value between351 and 429 .Resistors in Series and ParallelFor information on resistors connected in series and parallel please seethe Resistance page,Power Ratings of Resistors
Linear (LIN) track means that the resistance changes at a constant rate as you movethe wiper. This is the standard arrangement and you should assume this type isrequired if a project does not specify the type of track. Presets always have lineartracks.Logarithmic (LOG) track means that the resistance changes slowly at oneend of the track and rapidly at the other end, so halfway along the trackis not half the total resistance! This arrangement is used for volume(loudness) controls because the human ear has a logarithmic response toloudness so fine control (slow change) is required at low volumes and coarsercontrol (rapid change) at high volumes. It is important to connect the ends ofthe track the correct way round, if you find that turning the spindle increasesthe volume rapidly followed by little further change you should swap theconnections to the ends of the track.RheostatThis is the simplest way of using a variable resistor. Twoterminals are used: one connected to an end of the track,the other to the moveable wiper. Turning the spindlechanges the resistance between the two terminals from zero Rheostat Symbolup to the maximum resistance.Rheostats are often used to vary current, for example to control thebrightness of a lamp or the rate at which a capacitor charges.If the rheostat is mounted on a printed circuit board you may find that all three terminalsare connected! However, one of them will be linked to the wiper terminal. This improvesthe mechanical strength of the mounting but it serves no function electrically.PresetsThese are miniature versions of the standard variableresistor. They are designed to be mounted directly onto thecircuit board and adjusted only when the circuit is built. Forexample to set the frequency of an alarm tone or the Preset Symbolsensitivity of a light-sensitive circuit. A small screwdriver orsimilar tool is required to adjust presets.
CapacitorsFunctionCapacitors store electric charge. They are used with resistors in timing circuits because ittakes time for a capacitor to fill with charge. They are used to smooth varying DC supplies byacting as a reservoir of charge. They are also used in filter circuits because capacitors easilypass AC (changing) signals but they block DC (constant) signals.CapacitanceThis is a measure of a capacitors ability to store charge. A large capacitance means that morecharge can be stored. Capacitance is measured in farads, symbol F. However 1F is very large,so prefixes are used to show the smaller values.Three prefixes (multipliers) are used, µ (micro), n (nano) and p (pico): • µ means 10-6 (millionth), so 1000000µF = 1F • n means 10-9 (thousand-millionth), so 1000nF = 1µF • p means 10-12 (million-millionth), so 1000pF = 1nFCapacitor values can be very difficult to find because there are many types ofcapacitor with different labelling systems!There are many types of capacitor but they can be splitinto two groups, polarised and unpolarised. Each grouphas its own circuit symbol.Polarised capacitors (large values, 1µF +)
Examples: Circuit symbol:Electrolytic CapacitorsElectrolytic capacitors are polarised and they must be connected the correct way round, atleast one of their leads will be marked + or -. They are not damaged by heat when soldering.There are two designs of electrolytic capacitors; axial where the leads areattached to each end (220µF in picture) and radial where both leads are atthe same end (10µF in picture). Radial capacitors tend to be a little smallerand they stand upright on the circuit board.It is easy to find the value of electrolytic capacitors because they are clearlyprinted with their capacitance and voltage rating. The voltage rating can bequite low (6V for example) and it should always be checked when selecting anelectrolytic capacitor. If the project parts list does not specify a voltage,choose a capacitor with a rating which is greater than the projects powersupply voltage. 25V is a sensible minimum for most battery circuits.Tantalum Bead CapacitorsTantalum bead capacitors are polarised and have low voltage ratings like electrolytic capacitors.They are expensive but very small, so they are used where a large capacitance is needed in asmall size.Modern tantalum bead capacitors are printed with their capacitance, voltageand polarity in full. However older ones use a colour-code system which hastwo stripes (for the two digits) and a spot of colour for the number of zeros togive the value in µF. The standard colour code is used, but for thespot, grey is used to mean × 0.01 and white means × 0.1 so that values ofless than 10µF can be shown. A third colour stripe near the leads shows thevoltage (yellow 6.3V, black 10V, green 16V, blue 20V, grey 25V, white 30V,pink 35V). The positive (+) lead is to the right when the spot isfacing you: when the spot is in sight, the positive is to theright.For example: blue, grey, black spot means 68µFFor example: blue, grey, white spot means 6.8µFFor example: blue, grey, grey spot means 0.68µF
Unpolarised capacitors (small values, up to 1µF)Examples: Circuit symbol:Small value capacitors are unpolarised and may be connected either wayround. They are not damaged by heat when soldering, except for one unusualtype (polystyrene). They have high voltage ratings of at least 50V, usually250V or so. It can be difficult to find the values of these small capacitorsbecause there are many types of them and several differentlabelling systems!Many small value capacitors have their value printed but without amultiplier, so you need to use experience to work out what themultiplier should be!For example 0.1 means 0.1µF = 100nF.Sometimes the multiplier is used in place of the decimal point:For example: 4n7 means 4.7nF.Capacitor Number CodeA number code is often used on small capacitors where printing is difficult: • the 1st number is the 1st digit, • the 2nd number is the 2nd digit, • the 3rd number is the number of zeros to give the capacitance in pF. • Ignore any letters - they just indicate tolerance and voltage rating.For example: 102 means 1000pF = 1nF (not 102pF!)For example: 472J means 4700pF = 4.7nF (J means 5%tolerance). Colour Code
Capacitor Colour Code Colour NumberA colour code was used on polyester capacitors for many years. It is nowobsolete, but of course there are many still around. The colours should be read Black 0like the resistor code, the top three colour bands giving the value in pF. Ignorethe 4th band (tolerance) and 5th band (voltage rating). Brown 1For example: Red 2 brown, black, orange means 10000pF = 10nF Orange 3= 0.01µF. Yellow 4Note that there are no gaps between the colourbands, so 2 identical bands actually appear as a Green 5wide band. Blue 6For example: Violet 7 wide red, yellow means 220nF = 0.22µF. Grey 8 White 9Polystyrene CapacitorsThis type is rarely used now. Their value (in pF) is normally printedwithout units. Polystyrene capacitors can be damaged by heat whensoldering (it melts the polystyrene!) so you should use a heat sink(such as a crocodile clip). Clip the heat sink to the lead between the capacitor and the joint.Real capacitor values (the E3 and E6 series)You may have noticed that capacitors are not available with every possible value, for example22µF and 47µF are readily available, but 25µF and 50µF are not!Why is this? Imagine that you decided to make capacitors every 10µF giving10, 20, 30, 40, 50 and so on. That seems fine, but what happens when youreach 1000? It would be pointless to make 1000, 1010, 1020, 1030 and so onbecause for these values 10 is a very small difference, too small to benoticeable in most circuits and capacitors cannot be made with that accuracy.
Charge and Energy StoredThe amount of charge (symbol Q) stored by a capacitor is given by: Q = charge in coulombs (C)Charge, Q = C × V where: C = capacitance in farads (F) V = voltage in volts (V)When they store charge, capacitors are also storing energy:Energy, E = ½QV = ½CV² where E = energy in joules (J).Note that capacitors return their stored energy to the circuit. They do not useup electrical energy by converting it to heat as a resistor does. The energystored by a capacitor is much smaller than the energy stored by a battery sothey cannot be used as a practical source of energy for most purposes.Capacitive Reactance XcCapacitive reactance (symbol Xc) is a measure of a capacitors opposition to AC(alternating current). Like resistance it is measured in ohms, , but reactance is morecomplex than resistance because its value depends on the frequency (f) of the electricalsignal passing through the capacitor as well as on the capacitance, C. 1 Xc = reactance in ohms ( )Capacitive reactance, Xc = 2 fC where: f = frequency in hertz (Hz) C = capacitance in farads (F)The reactance Xc is large at low frequencies and small at high frequencies.For steady DC which is zero frequency, Xc is infinite (total opposition), hencethe rule that capacitors pass AC but block DC.For example a 1µF capacitor has a reactance of 3.2k for a 50Hz signal, butwhen the frequency is higher at 10kHz its reactance is only 16 .Note: the symbol Xc is used to distinguish capacitative reactance frominductive reactance XL which is a property of inductors. The distinction isimportant because XL increases with frequency (the opposite of Xc) and if
both XL and Xc are present in a circuit the combined reactance (X) isthe difference between them. For further information please see the pageon Impedance.Capacitors in Series and ParallelCombined capacitance 1 1 1 1(C) of C = C1 C2 C3 +capacitors connected + + ...in series:Combined capacitance(C) ofcapacitors connected C = C1 + C2 + C3 + ...in parallel:Two or more capacitors are rarelydeliberately connected in series in realcircuits, but it can be useful to connectcapacitors in parallel to obtain a verylarge capacitance, for example to smooth a power supply.Note that these equations are the opposite way round for resistors in seriesand parallel.Charging a capacitorThe capacitor (C) in the circuit diagram is being chargedfrom a supply voltage (Vs) with the current passingthrough a resistor (R). The voltage across the capacitor(Vc) is initially zero but it increases as the capacitorcharges. The capacitor is fully charged when Vc = Vs.The charging current (I) is determined by the voltageacross the resistor (Vs - Vc):Charging current, I = (Vs - Vc) / R (note that Vcis increasing)At first Vc = 0V so the initial current, Io = Vs / R
Vc increases as soon as charge (Q) starts to build up (Vc = Q/C), this reducesthe voltage across the resistor and therefore reduces the charging current.This means that the rate of charging becomes progressively slower. time constant is in seconds (s)time constant = R × C where: R = resistance in ohms ( ) C = capacitance in farads (F)For example:If R = 47k and C = 22µF, then the time constant, RC = 47k × 22µF = 1.0s.If R = 33k and C = 1µF, then the time constant, RC = 33k × 1µF = 33ms.A large time constant means the capacitor charges slowly. Note that the timeconstant is a property of the circuit containing the capacitance andresistance, it is not a property of acapacitor alone. Graphs showing the current and voltage for a capacitor charging time constant = RC
The time constant is the time taken for thecharging (or discharging) current (I) to fallto 1/e of its initial value (Io). e is the baseof natural logarithms, an important numberin mathematics (like ). e = 2.71828 (to 6significant figures) so we can roughly saythat the time constant is the time taken forthe current to fall to 1/3 of its initial value.After each time constant the current fallsby 1/e (about 1/3). After 5 timeconstants (5RC) the current has fallen toless than 1% of its initial value and we canreasonably say that the capacitor is fullycharged, but in fact the capacitor takes forever to charge fully!The bottom graph shows how the voltage (V) Time Voltage Chargeincreases as the capacitor charges. At first the voltagechanges rapidly because the current is large; but as 0RC 0.0V 0%the current decreases, the charge builds up moreslowly and the voltage increases more slowly. 1RC 5.7V 63%After 5 time constants (5RC) the capacitor is almost 2RC 7.8V 86%fully charged with its voltage almost equal to the supplyvoltage. We can reasonably say that the capacitor is 3RC 8.6V 95%fully charged after 5RC, although really chargingcontinues for ever (or until the circuit is changed). 4RC 8.8V 98% 5RC 8.9V 99%Discharging a capacitor Graphs showing the current and voltage for a capacitor discharging time constant = RC
The top graph shows how the current (I)decreases as the capacitor discharges.The initial current (Io) is determined by theinitial voltage across the capacitor (Vo)and resistance (R):Initial current, Io = Vo / R.Note that the current graphs are the sameshape for both charging and discharging acapacitor. This type of graph is anexample of exponential decay.The bottom graph shows how Time Voltage Chargethe voltage (V) decreases as the capacitordischarges. 0RC 9.0V 100%At first the current is large because the 1RC 3.3V 37%voltage is large, so charge is lost quicklyand the voltage decreases rapidly. As 2RC 1.2V 14%charge is lost the voltage is reducedmaking the current smaller so the rate of 3RC 0.4V 5%discharging becomes progressivelyslower. 4RC 0.2V 2%After 5 time constants (5RC) the voltage across the 5RC 0.1V 1%capacitor is almost zero and we can reasonably saythat the capacitor is fully discharged, although reallydischarging continues for ever (or until the circuit is changed).Uses of CapacitorsCapacitors are used for several purposes: • Timing - for example with a 555 timer IC controlling the charging and discharging. • Smoothing - for example in a power supply.
• Coupling - for example between stages of an audio system and to connect a loudspeaker. • Filtering - for example in the tone control of an audio system. • Tuning - for example in a radio system. • Storing energy - for example in a camera flash circuit.Capacitor Coupling(CR-coupling)Sections of electroniccircuits may be linked witha capacitor becausecapacitors passAC (changing) signalsbut block DC (steady)signals. This iscalled capacitorcoupling or CR-coupling.It is used between thestages of an audio systemto pass on the audio signal(AC) without any steadyvoltage (DC) which maybe present, for example toconnect a loudspeaker. Itis also used for the ACswitch setting onan oscilloscope.The precise behaviourof a capacitor couplingis determined by itstime constant (RC).Note that the resistance (R) may be inside the next circuit section rather thana separate resistor.For successful capacitor coupling in an audio system the signals must passthrough with little or no distortion. This is achieved if the time constant (RC) islarger than the time period (T) of the lowest frequency audio signals required(typically 20Hz, T = 50ms).
Output when RC >> TWhen the time constant is much larger than the time period of the input signalthe capacitor does not have sufficient time to significantly charge or discharge,so the signal passes through with negligible distortion.Output when RC = TWhen the time constant is equal to the time period you can see that thecapacitor has time to partly charge and discharge before the signal changes.As a result there is significant distortion of the signal as it passes through theCR-coupling. Notice how the sudden changes of the input signal pass straightthrough the capacitor to the output.Output when RC << TWhen the time constant is much smaller than the time period the capacitorhas time to fully charge or discharge after each sudden change in the inputsignal. Effectively only the sudden changes pass through to the output andthey appear as spikes, alternately positive and negative. This can be usefulin a system which must detect when a signal changes suddenly, but mustignore slow changes.