Chapter II

Review of Related Literature

Light Emitting Diode

Electric Current

In order for the Source-and-Destination scheme to work, both would have to have an infinite capacity for electrons in order to sustain a
continuous flow! Using the marble-and-tube analogy, the marble source and marble destination buckets would have to be infinitely large to
contain enough marble capacity for a "flow" of marbles to be sustained.
The answer to this paradox is found in the concept of a circuit: a never-ending looped pathway for electrons. If we take a wire, or many wires
joined end-to-end, and loop it around so that it forms a continuous pathway, we have the means to support a uniform flow of electrons without
having to resort to infinite Sources and Destinations:
Each electron advancing clockwise in this circuit pushes on the one in front of it, which pushes on the one in front of it, and so on, and so on,
just like a hula-hoop filled with marbles. Now, we have the capability of supporting a continuous flow of electrons indefinitely without the need
for infinite electron supplies and dumps. All we need to maintain this flow is a continuous means of motivation for those electrons, which we'll
address in the next section of this chapter.
It must be realized that continuity is just as important in a circuit as it is in a straight piece of wire. Just as in the example with the straight
piece of wire between the electron Source and Destination, any break in this circuit will prevent electrons from flowing through it:
An important principle to realize here is that it doesn't matter where the break occurs. Any discontinuity in the circuit will prevent electron flow
throughout the entire circuit. Unless there is a continuous, unbroken loop of conductive material for electrons to flow through, a sustained flow
simply cannot be maintained.
An electric circuit is a path in which electrons from a voltage or current source flow. Electric current flows in a closed path called an electric circuit.
The point where those electrons enter an electrical circuit is called the "source" of electrons. The point where the electrons leave an electrical circuit is
called the "return" or "earth ground". The exit point is called the "return" because electrons always end up at the source when they complete the path of
an electrical circuit.
The part of an electrical circuit that is between the electrons' starting point and the point where they return to the source is called an electrical circuit's
"load". The load of an electrical circuit may be as simple as those that power electrical appliances like refrigerators, televisions, or lamps or more
complicated, such as the load on the output of a hydroelectricpower generating station.
Circuits use two forms of electrical power: alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC). AC often powers large appliances and motors and is
generated by power stations. DC powers battery operated vehicles and other machines and electronics. Converters can change AC to DC and vice
versa. High-voltage direct current transmission uses very big converters.
Electronic circuits usually use low voltage direct current sources. The load of an electronic circuit may be as simple as a few resistors, capacitors, and
a lamp, all connected together to create the flash in a digital camera. Or an electronic circuit can be complicated, connecting thousands of resistors,
capacitors, and transistors to create the microprocessors that make computers possible.

A battery is a device possessing a positive and a negative terminal.

Some process, usually a chemical reaction, takes place inside the
battery which causes positive charge to migrate towards the
positive terminal, and vice versa. This process continues until the
electric field set up between the two terminals is sufficiently strong
to inhibit any further charge migration.
An electric circuit is a conducting path, external to the battery,
which allows charge to flow from one terminal to the other. A simple
circuit might consist of a single strand of metal wire linking the
positive and negative terminals. A more realistic circuit possesses
multiple branch points, so that charge can take many different paths
between the two terminals
For an electric current to happen, there must be a circuit. A circuit is a closed
path or loop around which an electric current flows. A circuit is usually made
by linking electrical components together with pieces of wire cable. Thus, in a
flashlight, there is a simple circuit with a switch, a lamp, and a battery linked
together by a few short pieces of copper wire. When you turn the switch on,
electricity flows around the circuit. If there is a break anywhere in the circuit,
electricity cannot flow. If one of the wires is broken, for example, the lamp will
not light. Similarly, if the switch is turned off, no electricity can flow. This is why
a switch is sometimes called a circuit breaker.
You don't always need wires to make a circuit, however. There is a circuit
formed between a storm cloud and the Earth by the air in between. Normally
air does not conduct electricity. However, if there is a big enough electrical
charge in the cloud, it can create charged particles in the air
called ions (atoms that have lost or gained some electrons). The ions work
like an invisible cable linking the cloud above and the air below. Lightning
flows through the air between the ions.