Craft to Career: Engineering With Circuits: DIY Motor and Robotics Projects
The source powers the circuit It might come from a battery or from an electrical outlet The conductor passes the current between the different parts of the circuit Wire is often used as a conductor 6 The load is a device that consumes power Some circuits include resistors Resistors reduce the voltage in a circuit
THE BASICS WHAT ARE CIRCUITS Have you ever turned on your computer to play a game admired a holiday light display or watched a race car speed around a track You were seeing circuits at work Electricity is the hidden force behind all these events And circuits are the loops that make electronics possible Circuits allow electrons to flow freely through different connections Electrons are negatively charged and flow toward the positive end of the circuit These electrons carry energy as they flow This energy is called current When the energy from an electrical current is harnessed it can do work such as turning on a flashlight or powering a space telescope All circuits have three main parts These are a source a conductor and a load These components can be assembled in many ways to do many different things The load is the purpose of the circuit A circuit can have many loads When the load is a motor the circuit can power something that moves such as a car or a 7 fan When the load is a light bulb the circuit can light a dark room When the load is a combination of sensors and processors and motors you've got a robot In addition to the three main components a circuit may also have insulators These are nonconductive materials that protect the circuit For example copper wire is often coated in rubber or a heat resistant plastic This keeps the circuit from overheating the area around it A switch can be used to break a circuit turning it off
HISTORY OF CIRCUITS Humans have been aware of electricity and its power for thousands of years Ancient cultures were awed by the power of lightning to generate immense light and heat But they didn't understand the force behind this energy It wasn't until the 1600s that scientists began seriously studying electricity and how it could be used In 1800 Italian physicist Alessandro Volta invented the first electrical circuit using a simple battery made from stacks of metal Soon after British scientist Michael Faraday invented the first electric motor In 1879 American inventor Thomas Edison developed the first light bulb for common use As technology continued to improve 8 so did circuits By the mid 1900s most homes in the United States had electric power and circuits were powering computers rockets and other machines and devices With the invention of the personal computer in the 1970s technology became more accessible Students began learning computer science and robotics in school Computer companies started making products for beginners Much of this material was open source meaning anyone could use the computer code and hardware design freely This allowed many developers and creators to make and improve computer products
C11 D1 C8 C16 R13 L1 L2 R1 c2 p1 12011.12 spberry CIRCUITS TIMELINE 1800 Italian physicist Alessandro Volta invents the first electrical circuit and battery out of a stack of zinc and silver discs and salt water 1821 British scientist Michael Faraday invents the first electric motor 1882 Serbian American inventor Nikola Tesla discovers alternating current and builds the first AC motor a year later 1961 The first industrial robot called Unimate begins work at a General Motors factory 2012 The Raspberry Pi Foundation releases the first Raspberry Pi single board computer for commercial use 9 1802 British chemist Humphry Davy invents the first electric battery and light 1879 American inventor Thomas Edison invents and patents the first electric light bulb for common use 1945 A team of US Army engineers builds the first electronic programmable general purpose digital computer 1974 American company MITS creates the first personal computer 2018 A Florida man receives the first modular prosthetic limb a robotic arm he can control with his mind
