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Q. Video on Electronics Basics?

I give up trying to learn about Electronics through the numerous books I've purchased over the years.

In fact, someone on ebay has the same question I've posted here. They are wanting to find an animated video for sale, that shows electronics as active liquid type animations to show the path of electrons, etc.

That same format could be used for anything, to show how transistors and diodes work, etc.

But, there are few components in electronics, but an untold number of ways to combine things to make usefull electronics projects, kits and things.

It's that kind of animated format for teaching the basics that I seek.

Ohm's Law? Is that for accident victims? It may as well be, because I don't give a damn about it. I'm not going to invent or introduce anything new to the field of Electronics. I just want to know from the media example explained what happens inside a circuit. But I want a video that will show many examples of such operations in circuits, so I can maybe come up with some things I'd like to tinker with.

If you know, please help.

Reply to
George C.
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snipped-for-privacy@mailcity.com (George C.) wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@news.west.earthlink.net:

If you don't give a damn about Ohm's Law, one of the simplest of all time, then I doubt anyone can help you.

START there. Seriously. If you want to analogise with water, try this: Volts is pressure forcing a current (amps) through a resistance (ohms). Without trying to understand the basis of current flow, no video will make you understand, it might make you think you do, but that won't help.

Get a 6 volt battery, a 6 volt bulb, and one of those cheap wirewound volume controls designed to directly be fitted in a small loudspeaker box. Once you see that changing the bulb's brightness, you'll have something to go on. You won't have to experiment much to get the grasp you're looking for, but if you don't try at least some hands-on effort you'll never get a feeling for it, it will always feel intangible, unbeleivable, if you don't do this.

Reply to
Lostgallifreyan

HowStuffWorks.com

Reply to
Homer J Simpson

I can't get Ohm's law, because I always end up asking myself "Ok, so what's the pont.?" Again, I don't plan to re-invent Electronics. I just want to tinker in a relatively safe way, without blowing up too many components.

I do like your battery, bulb, and volume control experiment below. But, isn't that the same thing as a normal light dimmer switch? Also, what would be the point in that? Could you draw me a circuit of what your prescribed test would entail?

What I know about Electronics wouldn't fill a thimble.

Reply to
George C.

snipped-for-privacy@mailcity.com (George C.) wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@news.west.earthlink.net:

Dimmer switches are more complex, they cut a regular part of each AC wave into chunks of variable length in time. By this complexity, they manage to switch on and off faster than we can see it happening, which doesn't waste heat the way resistors do. Remember, resistance takes work to overcome. Work always results in heat loss as final product. Lost heat is expensive, as you know, a kettle takes more money to run than a lightbulb or a radio. This is the point of Ohm's Law, it helps you to work out the balance of energy in a circuit, and to work out how to get the most use out of it before it becomes waste heat.

No-one's born with it. :) Having no preconceptions can be a good thing, better than having bad ideas to start with.

Reply to
Lostgallifreyan

The point is that for most metals the function V/I is approximately linear over normal temperature ranges. Contemplate what would happen if it was a reciprocal or squared function.

Reply to
Homer J Simpson

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