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An electronic device that supplies electrical energy to a load. It can be AC or DC input. Typically DC output.

A device which includes a central processing unit (CPU), memory, and (generally) an assortment of I/O peripherals (UART, ADC, DAC, general-purpose I/O, I2C, etc.) in a tightly-coupled standalone packa…

Be sure to use the Arduino Stack Exchange for questions that are more Arduino and less electronics.

Questions relating to the construction and applications of operational amplifiers, which are DC-coupled, high-gain electronic voltage amplifiers with a differential input and, usually, a single-ended …

Voltage, otherwise known as electrical potential difference (denoted ∆V and measured in volts) is the difference in electric potential between two points (adapted from Wikipedia). Voltage can be const…

Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistor, a type of field-effect transistor (FET). MOSFETs have an insulated gate, the voltage of which determines the conductivity of the device. This can …

Electric power is the rate at which electrical energy is transferred by an electric circuit. The SI unit of power is the watt (one joule per second). Use this tag where power is a primary concern for …

A transistor is a semiconductor device that can amplify signals and switch power. The types that are used most are BJT (Bipolar Junction Transistor), UJT (Unijunction Transistor), and MOSFET (FET, for…

Circuit (Network) analysis is the process of finding the voltages across, and the currents through, every component in the network. Consider using in conjunction with tags for the particular analysis …

PCB is the acronym to Printed Circuit Board. A PCB is a carrier for the circuit's components and their electrical connections.

Flow of electric charge - typically movement of charge carriers, such as electrons. Measured in amperes (A).

A fundamental electronic component that stores energy in an electric field, commonly used in filtering applications.

An LED is a light-emitting diode. Lighting an LED is considered the "Hello world" of a circuit design, and it can be as simple as using a series resistor, or it can get more complicated, involving PWM…

An electric battery is a device consisting of one or more electrochemical cells that convert stored chemical energy into electrical energy. Connecting a battery's negative to another's positive is a w…

About designing the boards which carry the components of an electronic circuit, including placement of parts and routing of traces. For questions about getting them built instead use PCB-fabrication. …

An amplifier can be used to adapt the range of a signal to a requirement, to make it more robust for transmission, or to satisfy interface requirements (like input/output impedance).

Digital electronics treats discrete signals, unlike analog electronics which treats continuous signals. Digital logic is used to perform arithmetic operations with electric signals and constitutes the…

The process of creating a circuit to accomplish a particular task. When designing a circuit, one should consider how it should work, the target specifications, efficiency, cost effectiveness, code com…

A resistor obeys Ohm's law (\$\small V=I\cdot R\$); the current through it is equal to the voltage across it divided by the resistance (equivalently \$I=\frac{V}{R}\$).

Short for Radio Frequency, i.e. frequencies at which radiation (intentional or not) plays a role. Typically associated with wireless communications, but also relevant for high-speed PCB design.

Diodes are semiconductor components made from a P-type (or metal in Schottky diodes) and N-type material (usually silicon, but germanium, selenium, and gallium arsenide can also be used), that allow c…

Analog circuits have a range of voltages, rather than just two as in digital logic.

A transformer couples two or more AC signals through a magnetic field. Often used as galvanic isolation and to transform one AC voltage to another.

The STM32 is the third ARM family by STMicroelectronics. It follows their earlier STR9 family based on the ARM9E core, and STR7 family based on the ARM7TDMI core. The STM32 is based on the ARM Cortex-…

USB is Universal Serial Bus. If your question relates to a specific chip, please mention it in your question.

Refers to the conversion of electric power by using solid state components such as semiconductors. Can also generally apply to the field of electrical engineering which works with power electronics.

Devices to interrupt or route a signal or power one of several ways.

AC stands for Alternating Current. It usually applies to voltages with >100 V RMS, but can also be used for other AC voltages, like 24 V industrial AC power.

An electrical actuator that converts electrical energy into rotational motion or sustained linear motion (linear motor). If the specific type of motor is known, it is helpful to use or add a more spec…

A voltage regulator is an analog circuit that produces a stable output voltage that doesn't vary with input voltage or load changes. Switching regulators are much more efficient than linear ones.

Questions about designing electronics for measuring, processing, and amplifying audio signals.

A relay is an electrically controlled switch. Electromechanical relays use an electromagnet to activate mechanical contacts, solid-state relays use semiconductor switches.

An integrated circuit (IC) is an electronic circuit built onto a single plate of a semiconductor material, normally silicon. Modern ICs may contain billions of transistors and they have played a major…

A switch-mode power supply (SMPS) switches been fully-on and fully-off states quickly to maintain voltage regulation. They offer lower power dissipation and run cooler than linear regulators that cont…

Identify chips, connectors, cables, and other components from markings, photographs, and descriptions of the surrounding circuitry or equipment.

Sensors convert a physical quantity (e.g. temperature, pressure) into an electrical signal.