Thinking about components practically

Thread Starter

Cretin

Joined Dec 13, 2012
69
Basically what I'm asking is, when i see a resistor capacitor in parallel, or inductor resistor, or any particular mix mash of popular components what are the concepts that should be running through my brain in terms of application.

For example, when I see an RC parallel should i be thinking "there's going to be a delay of charge here, which means that these components are causing the light bulb to gradually turn on and off?"
 

MrChips

Joined Oct 2, 2009
30,711
I don't see circuits like that at all.
I see a circuit like a beautiful woman.
First I see the form and shape, style and dress, and the glow emanating from her face.
Then I see the details, her hair and eyes, nose and lips, her chin, neck and shoulders and ... I think I'll stop there.
 

#12

Joined Nov 30, 2010
18,224
When I look at a mystery board, I see functional groups.
Four 1N4000 series diodes means full wave rectifier. Nearby electrolytics are the filter. A transformer is both isolation and a voltage change. A row of TO-220 MOSFETs are a current booster. A tiny transformer with a picofarad range capacitor next to it is a high frequency processor.
 

praondevou

Joined Jul 9, 2011
2,942
I don't see circuits like that at all.
I see a circuit like a beautiful woman.
First I see the form and shape, style and dress, and the glow emanating from her face.
Then I see the details, her hair and eyes, nose and lips, her chin, neck and shoulders and ... I think I'll stop there.
Right when it comes to the important details you stop??!!

I mean... her smile of course.
 

SPQR

Joined Nov 4, 2011
379
From one noob to another,
This is one of those things that comes with experience.
The experts here could give a list of 1,000 things they look for in a new circuit.
You just need to start looking at circuits, understanding the simple ones, and gain experience.

But to continue in the same vein as the posts above - I'm a capacitor man - huge, monstrous 12,000 uF, 10,000V beauties!:D
 

tshuck

Joined Oct 18, 2012
3,534
Basically what I'm asking is, when i see a resistor capacitor in parallel, or inductor resistor, or any particular mix mash of popular components what are the concepts that should be running through my brain in terms of application.

For example, when I see an RC parallel should i be thinking "there's going to be a delay of charge here, which means that these components are causing the light bulb to gradually turn on and off?"
It depends on what the devices are. If you have a inductor in parallel with a capacitor, you should think, "This is a tuned response and will work best at a single frequency" as in a tank circuit or an oscillator.

If you see an inductor or a capacitor not in parallel, you should think there will be some sort of a frequency response that will attenuate some signals and pass others with little effect.

If you see some ICs, all bets are off!:p

Knowing what to look for in a circuit comes with time and exposure to the material, so don't fret about not knowing what a circuit does by simply looking at it.
 
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