Chapter 5
Meeting Up with Resistance
IN THIS CHAPTER
Using resistance to your advantage
Varying the amount of resistance
Creating just the right amount of resistance
Realizing why LEDs need resistors
If you toss a marble into a sandbox, the marble won’t go very far. But if you toss a marble onto the surface of a large frozen lake, the marble will enjoy a nice little ride before it eventually comes to a stop. A mechanical force called friction stops that marble on either surface — it’s just that the sand provides more friction than the ice.
Resistance in electronics is a lot like friction in mechanical systems: It puts the brakes on electrons (those microscopic moving particles that make up electric current) as they move through materials.
In this chapter, you take a look at exactly what resistance is, where you can find resistance (everywhere), and how you can use it to your advantage by selecting resistors (components that provide controlled amounts of resistance) for your electronic circuits. Then you discover how to combine resistors to control current in your circuits. Next, ...
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