Free Expert Guides on Power Systems, Circuit Design & Electrical Troubleshooting

What is a Ballast Resistor?A ballast resistor is defined as a resistor inserted into a circuit to minimize current. Ballast resistors also help to avoid over-current faults in a circuit. An “electric ballast” is a more general term used to refer to an electrical device used to maintain a circuit’s stability by limiting the value of current and voltage. Electric ballasts can be resistors, capacitors, inductors, or a combination of these.Ballast resistors are able to change resistance with the cur

What is an Electrical Resistor?A resistor (also known as an electrical resistor) is defined as a two-terminal passive electrical element that provides electrical resistance to current flow. Resistance is a measure of the opposition to the flow of current in a resistor. The larger a resistor’s resistance, the greater the barrier against the flow of current. There are many different types of resistors, such as a thermistor.In an electrical and electronic circuit, the primary function of a resistor

What is a Shunt Resistor?A shunt resistor (or shunt) is defined as a device that creates a low resistance path to force most of the electric current through the circuit to flow through this path. In most cases, a shunt resistor is made up of a material having a low-temperature coefficient of resistance, giving it a very low resistance over a wide temperature range.Shunt resistors are commonly used in current measuring devices called “ammeters”. In an ammeter, the shunt resistance is connected in

What is a Pull-Down Resistor?A pull-down resistor is used in electronic logic circuits to ensure a known state for a signal. It is usually used in combination with transistors and switches to ensure the voltage between ground and Vcc is actively controlled when the switch is open (similar to a pull-up resistor).This can sound confusing at first, so let’s go into an example.A digital circuit has three input logic states; High (1), Low (0), and floating (undefined). But the digital circuit only op

A carbon composition resistor is a type of fixed resistor that limits or reduces the electric current in a circuit. It is made of a solid cylindrical body of carbon or graphite powder mixed with a binder, such as clay or resin. The carbon powder acts as a conductor, while the binder acts as an insulator. The resistor has two metal leads or caps attached to its ends, which connect it to the circuit. Carbon composition resistors were widely used in the past, but they are now replaced by other type

What is a Light Dependent Resistor?A light-dependent resistor is defined as a device whose resistance decreases with increasing light intensity and increases with decreasing light intensity. The resistance of an LDR can range from a few ohms to several megaohms, depending on the type and quality of the material used and the ambient temperature.The symbol for a light-dependent resistor is shown below. The arrow indicates the direction of light falling on it. How Does a Light-Dependent Resistor W

What is Voltage Drop?Voltage drop is the decrease of electrical potential along the path of a current flowing in an electrical circuit. Or more simply, a “drop in voltage”. Voltage drops occur due to the internal resistance of the source, passive elements, across conductors, across contacts, and across connectors are undesirable because some of the energy supplied is dissipated.The voltage drop across an electrical load is proportional to the power available to be converted in that load to some

A sensor is an electrical device that detects and responds to a certain sort of signal, such as optical or electrical. The use of sensor methods in voltage (or)current measurement has become an excellent alternative for voltage and current measurement methods. Sensors provide many benefits over traditional techniques of measurement, including reduced size &weight, high safety, high precision, non-saturability, eco-friendliness, and so on. It is possible to combine current and voltage monitor

What is a UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply)?AnUninterruptible Power Supply(UPS) is defined as a piece of electrical equipment which can be used as an immediate power source to the connected load when there is a failure in the main input power source.In a UPS, the energy is generally stored in flywheels, batteries, or super capacitors. When compared to other immediate power supply system, UPS have the advantage of immediate protection against the input power interruptions.It has very short on-ba

AC (Alternating Current) is transformed into DC (Direct Current) using the rectifier circuit. Half-wave rectifiers, Full-wave rectifiers, and Bridge rectifiersare the three basic kinds of rectifiers. All of these rectifiers have the same primary purpose, which is to convert current, however they do not do so effectively while doing so.Both The bridge rectifier and The centre tapped full wave rectifierare effective converters.Electronic power sources have bridge rectifier circuits. In order to po