Basic electronic components

Electronic circuits are usually made up of 5 basic components. They are resistors, capacitors, inductors, tube devices and semiconductor devices. Tube devices and semiconductor devices are active electronic components since they require power for their functioning. Resistors, capacitors and inductors do not require power for their functioning and hence are known as passive components. Examples of tube devices are vacuum diode, triode, tetrode and pentode. Examples of semiconductor devices are diodes, transistor, FET etc. A resistor is a two terminal electronic component which opposes current flow through it, resulting in a voltage drop. Colour code scripted in the resistor by the manufacturer help to calculate the resistance (in ohms) of the resistor. It is widely used in electronic circuits where potential drop has to occur. An electronic component which stores electrical charge is called capacitor. It comprises of closely placed conducting plates. Plates can be parallel, cylindrical or spherical. On the application of voltage, equal amount of opposite charges are developed on the two plates. Capacity of a capacitor is measured in Farads. Capacitor offer high resistance to DC current and low resistance to AC current. Coil shaped wires acts as inductors. Inductors offer high resistance to AC and low resistance to DC.