ELECTRONICS GLOSSARY
Summary of Key Terms
Ammeter - device used to measure current.
Amp - a unit of electrical current.
Analogue - a system where data is reprented as a continually varying voltage.
Asychronous - a method of parallel or serial data transmission that is not controlled by a set of timing signals.
Baud - serial transmission speed - usually measured in terms of bits per second.
Bistable - an electronic device that has two stable states.
Bus - a group of signal lines (two or more) used to carry data to various parts of a system.
Byte - 8 adjacent binary digits (bits) - each of which maybe a 0 or 1.
Capacitor - an electronic component that stores electrical energy in an electric field by accumulating charges on two closely spaced surfaces that are insulated from each other.
Conductor - a material that allows electricity to flow through it.
A/D convertor - a circuit that changes digital data into an analogue signal.
Diode - a semiconductor that allows current to flow in only one direction.
Discrete component - a single part of an electrical circuit with one dominant function such as a transitor or resistor.
Doping - the process of adding certain chemical elements to a semiconductor in order to change its electric conductivity.
Farad - a large unit of capacitance normally expressed in samller micro and nano units .
Gain - a ratio of a circuit output level to its input level.
Impedance - the opposition to alternating current presented by the combined effect of resistance and reactance in a circuit.
Insulator - a material that resists the flow of current.
Monostable - a circuit with two states of which only one is stable.
Multiplexer - a device which enables more than one data stream to be sent down a single transmission line.
Negative feedback - is where part of the output of a device is returned to the input to counter to affect its gain.
Parity - a method of detecting errors in data transmissions.
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