What are electrical parts called?

An electrical component is the general term for any part of an electric circuit. This includes (but isn't limited to):

Phet Simulation

The University of Colorado has graciously allowed us to use the following Phet simulation. This simulation explores various electrical components and how they work together to make a circuit:

To learn more about the specifics of these and many other electrical components please see hyperphysics.

For Further Reading

Discrete device in an electronic system

Various electronic components, with a 15 cm ruler to scale.

An electronic component is any basic discrete electronic device or physical entity part of an electronic system used to affect electrons or their associated fields. Electronic components are mostly industrial products, available in a singular form and are not to be confused with electrical elements, which are conceptual abstractions representing idealized electronic components and elements. A datasheet for an electronic component is a technical document that provides detailed information about the component's specifications, characteristics, and performance.

Electronic components have a number of electrical terminals or leads. These leads connect to other electrical components, often over wire, to create an electronic circuit with a particular function (for example an amplifier, radio receiver, or oscillator). Basic electronic components may be packaged discretely, as arrays or networks of like components, or integrated inside of packages such as semiconductor integrated circuits, hybrid integrated circuits, or thick film devices. The following list of electronic components focuses on the discrete version of these components, treating such packages as components in their own right.

Classification

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Components can be classified as passive, active, or electromechanic. The strict physics definition treats passive components as ones that cannot supply energy themselves, whereas a battery would be seen as an active component since it truly acts as a source of energy.

However, electronic engineers who perform circuit analysis use a more restrictive definition of passivity. When only concerned with the energy of signals, it is convenient to ignore the so-called DC circuit and pretend that the power supplying components such as transistors or integrated circuits is absent (as if each such component had its own battery built in), though it may in reality be supplied by the DC circuit. Then, the analysis only concerns the AC circuit, an abstraction that ignores DC voltages and currents (and the power associated with them) present in the real-life circuit. This fiction, for instance, lets us view an oscillator as "producing energy" even though in reality the oscillator consumes even more energy from a DC power supply, which we have chosen to ignore. Under that restriction, we define the terms as used in circuit analysis as:

• Active components rely on a source of energy (usually from the DC circuit, which we have chosen to ignore) and usually can inject power into a circuit, though this is not part of the definition.[1] Active components include amplifying components such as transistors, triode vacuum tubes (valves), and tunnel diodes.
• Passive components cannot introduce net energy into the circuit. They also cannot rely on a source of power, except for what is available from the (AC) circuit they are connected to. As a consequence, they cannot amplify (increase the power of a signal), although they may increase a voltage or current (such as is done by a transformer or resonant circuit). Passive components include two-terminal components such as resistors, capacitors, inductors, and transformers.
• Electromechanical components can carry out electrical operations by using moving parts or by using electrical connections.

Most passive components with more than two terminals can be described in terms of two-port parameters that satisfy the principle of reciprocity—though there are rare exceptions.[2] In contrast, active components (with more than two terminals) generally lack that property.

Active components

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Semiconductors

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Transistors

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Transistors were considered the invention of the twentieth century that changed electronic circuits forever. A transistor is a semiconductor device used to amplify and switch electronic signals and electrical power.

Diodes

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Conduct electricity easily in one direction, among more specific behaviors.

Various examples of Light-emitting diodes

Integrated circuits

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Integrated Circuits can serve a variety of purposes, including acting as a timer, performing digital to analog conversion, performing amplification, or being used for logical operations.

Programmable devices

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Optoelectronic devices

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Display technologies

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Current:

Obsolete:

Vacuum tubes (valves)

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A vacuum tube is based on current conduction through a vacuum (see Vacuum tube).

Optical detectors or emitters

Discharge devices

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Obsolete:

Power sources

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Sources of electrical power:

Passive components

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Components incapable of controlling current by means of another electrical signal are called passive devices. Resistors, capacitors, inductors, and transformers are all considered passive devices.

Resistors

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SMD resistors on the backside of a PCB

Pass current in proportion to voltage (Ohm's law) and oppose current.

• Resistor – fixed value
  • Power resistor – larger to safely dissipate heat generated
  • SIP or DIP resistor network – array of resistors in one package
• Variable resistor
  • Rheostat – two-terminal variable resistor (often for high power)
  • Potentiometer – three-terminal variable resistor (variable voltage divider)
  • Trim pot – small potentiometer, usually for internal adjustments
  • Thermistor – thermally sensitive resistor whose prime function is to exhibit a large, predictable and precise change in electrical resistance when subjected to a corresponding change in body temperature.[5]
  • Humistor – humidity-varied resistor
  • Photoresistor
  • Memristor
  • Varistor, Voltage-dependent resistor, MOV – Passes current when excessive voltage is present
• Resistance wire, Nichrome wire – wire of high-resistance material, often used as a heating element
• Heater – heating element

Capacitors

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Some different capacitors for electronic equipment

Capacitors store and release electrical charge. They are used for filtering power supply lines, tuning resonant circuits, and for blocking DC voltages while passing AC signals, among numerous other uses.

Integrated passive devices

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Integrated passive devices are passive devices integrated within one distinct package. They take up less space than equivalent combinations of discrete components.

Magnetic (inductive) devices

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Electrical components that use magnetism in the storage and release of electrical charge through current:

Memristor

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Electrical components that pass charge in proportion to magnetism or magnetic flux, and have the ability to retain a previous resistive state, hence the name of Memory plus Resistor.

Networks

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Components that use more than one type of passive component:

• RC network – forms an RC circuit, used in snubbers
• LC Network – forms an LC circuit, used in tunable transformers and RFI filters.

Transducers, sensors, detectors

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1. Transducers generate physical effects when driven by an electrical signal, or vice versa.
2. Sensors (detectors) are transducers that react to environmental conditions by changing their electrical properties or generating an electrical signal.
3. The transducers listed here are single electronic components (as opposed to complete assemblies), and are passive (see Semiconductors and Tubes for active ones). Only the most common ones are listed here.

Antennas

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Antennas transmit or receive radio waves

Assemblies, modules

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Multiple electronic components assembled in a device that is in itself used as a component

Prototyping aids

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Electromechanical devices

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A quartz crystal (left) and a crystal oscillator

Piezoelectric devices, crystals, resonators

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Passive components that use piezoelectric effect:

• Components that use the effect to generate or filter high frequencies
  • Crystal – a ceramic crystal used to generate precise frequencies (See the Modules class below for complete oscillators)
  • Ceramic resonator – Is a ceramic crystal used to generate semi-precise frequencies
  • Ceramic filter – Is a ceramic crystal used to filter a band of frequencies such as in radio receivers
  • surface acoustic wave (SAW) filters
• Components that use the effect as mechanical transducers.
  • Ultrasonic motor – Electric motor that uses the piezoelectric effects
  • For piezo buzzers and microphones, see the Transducer class below

Microelectromechanical systems

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Terminals and connectors

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Devices to make electrical connection

Cable assemblies

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Electrical cables with connectors or terminals at their ends

2 different miniature pushbutton switches

Switches

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Components that can pass current ("closed") or break the current ("open"):

Protection devices

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Passive components that protect circuits from excessive currents or voltages:

Mechanical accessories

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Other

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Obsolete

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• Carbon amplifier (see Carbon microphones used as amplifiers)
• Carbon arc (negative resistance device)
• Dynamo (historic rf generator)
• Coherer

Standard symbols

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On a circuit diagram, electronic devices are represented by conventional symbols. Reference designators are applied to the symbols to identify the components.

See also

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References

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