Introduction to AC Circuits

Resistor

Capacitor

Inductor
 Resistor
• A resistor is a passive two-terminal electrical
component that implements electrical
resistance as a circuit element.

• In electronic circuits, resistors are used to

reduce current flow, adjust signal levels, to
divide voltages, bias active elements, and
terminate transmission lines, among other
uses.
 Resistance
• Resistance is an electrical quantity that
measures how the device or material reduces
the electric current flow through it.

• The resistance is measured in units of ohms

(Ω).

• If we make an analogy to water flow in pipes,

the resistance is bigger when the pipe is
thinner, so the water flow is decreased.
 How Resistors are made
• These resistors are made from small rods of
ceramic coated with metal such as a nickel
alloy or a metal oxide such as tin oxide.

• The value of resistance is controlled firstly by

the thickness of the coating layer; the thicker
the layer, the lower the value of resistance.
 Capacitor
• A capacitor (originally known as a condenser)
is a passive two-terminal electrical component
used to temporarily store electrical energy in
an electric field. ...

• Unlike a resistor, an ideal capacitor does not

dissipate energy. Instead, a capacitor stores
energy in the form of an electrostatic field
between its plates.
 Function of a Capacitor
• Its function is to store the electrical energy
and give this energy again to the circuit when
necessary.

• In other words, it charges and discharges the

electric charge stored in it.

• Besides this, the function of a capacitor is it

blocks the flow of DC and permits the flow of
AC.
 How Capacitor is made
• capacitor sandwich: two metal plates
separated by an insulating dielectric.

• The dielectric can be made out of all sorts of

insulating materials: paper, glass, rubber,
ceramic, plastic, or anything that will impede
the flow of current.
 How Capacitor stores Energy
• The electric field holds potential energy.

• When a load (resistor or a motor) is attached

to the plates of the capacitor, it discharges the
charge and converts the potential energy
stored in the electric field, into electric energy
that drives electrons through the resistor or
motor.
 Testing Capacitor
• To test the capacitor with a multimeter, set
the meter to read in the high ohms range,
somewhere above 10k and 1m ohms.

• Touch the meter leads to the corresponding

leads on the capacitor, red to positive and
black to negative.

• The meter should start at zero and then

moving slowly toward infinity.
 Inductor
• An inductor is a passive electronic component
that stores energy in the form of a magnetic
field.

• In its simplest form, an inductor consists of a

wire loop or coil.
 Unit of Inductor
• The unit for inductance is the henry (H),
named after Joseph Henry, an American
physicist who discovered inductance
independently at about the same time as
English physicist Michael Faraday.

• One henry is the amount of inductance that is

required to induce one volt of electromotive
force when the current is changing at one
ampere per second.
 Inductance
• If a changing flux is linked with a coil of a
conductor there would be an emf induced in
it.

• The property of the coil of inducing emf due

to the changing flux linked with it is known as
inductance of the coil.
 Inductance
• Due to this property all electrical coil can be
referred as inductor.

• In other way, an inductor can be defined as an

energy storage device which stores energy in
form of magnetic field.
 Inductance
• The inductance is directly proportional to the
number of turns in the coil.

• Inductance also depends on the radius of the

coil and on the type of material around which
the coil is wound.
 Application of Inductor
• One important application of inductors in
active circuits is that they tend to block high-
frequency signals while letting lower-
frequency oscillations pass.
• Note that this is the opposite function of
capacitors.
• Combining the two components in a circuit
can selectively filter or generate oscillations of
almost any desired frequency.