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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