introduction to Electronic components
An electronic component is a basic electronic element usually packaged in
a discrete form with two or more connecting leads or metallic pads.
Components are intended to be connected together, usually by soldering to a
printed circuit board, to create an electronic circuit with a particular
function (for example an amplifier, radio receiver, or oscillator).
Components may be packaged singly (resistor, capacitor, transistor, diode
etc.) or in more or less complex groups as integrated circuits (operational
amplifier, resistor array, logic gate etc.)
Very often electronic components are mechanically stabilized, improved in
insulation properties and protected from environmental influence by being
enclosed in synthetic resin
Components may be Passive or Active:
Passive components are those that do not have gain or directionality. [1] In
the Electric industry they are called Electrical elements or electrical
components
Active components are those that have gain or directionality, in contrast to
passive components, which have neither. They include Semiconductors (Solid
State Devices) and Thermionic Valves (Vacuum Tubes)
Printed circuit board
In electronics, printed
circuit boards, or PCBs, are used to mechanically support and
electrically connect electronic components using conductive
pathways, or traces, etched from copper sheets laminated onto a
non-conductive substrate. Alternative names are printed wiring
board (PWB),and etched wiring board. Populating the board with
electronic components forms a printed circuit assembly (PCA),
also known as a printed circuit board assembly (PCBA).
PCBs are rugged, inexpensive, and can be highly reliable. They
require much more layout effort and higher initial cost than
either wire-wrapped or point-to-point constructed circuits, but
are much cheaper, faster, and consistent in high volume
production. Much of the electronics industry's PCB design,
assembly, and quality control needs are set by standards that
are published by the IPC organization.
Power sources
A power supply (sometimes called a power supply unit or PSU) is a device or system that supplies electrical or other types of energy to an output load or group of loads. The term is most commonly applied to electrical energy supplies, less often to mechanical ones, and rarely to others.