New technologies seem to spring up every now and then. But no matter what type of technology they are, do you know that they are made up of electronic components that are used across industries? The electronics industry is an integral part of our modern lives. They are partly the reason living in this modern world has become easier and more comfortable.
From aviation to medical services and healthcare to the manufacturing of food and all other essentials, the electronics industry provides a wide range of applications that make everything simpler and easier to perform.
Below are the most common types of electronic components used in today’s electronic gadgets and power tools.
Circuit Breakers
These components protect the electrical circuits in a device. They prevent power overloads that may lead to short circuits and fires. Essentially, the breakers control the distribution of electricity by interrupting its flow. Circuit breakers are connected to the circuit boards, which house all the electrical wirings.
Some people may refer to circuit breakers as circuit boards but these two are not the same. While the breakers provide protection to the electronic wirings, the circuit boards are where the wires are connected with each other. They also contain other essential electric components, such as the capacitors and the resistors.
Printed circuit boards or PCBs are extremely useful to electronics. They are widely used across industries, including aviation, health and medical services, manufacturing, consumer electronics, and many more. The aviation and aerospace industries, for instance, are using high-quality aerospace PCBs to power their machines.
Fuse
This is a safety device used to protect the other electrical components from the damaging effects of excessive current. Made from low-resistance wires, fuses are used to close circuits. They are designed to melt when there is too much current flowing in the electrical wires. When they melt and the fuse blows, the current stops flowing through the components.
Transformer
Using the principles of electromagnetic induction, this passive electrical device transfers electrical energy from one circuit to another. Transformers are used to increase or reduce the voltage level in electronic circuits.
Transformers come in several types. These include power transformers, autotransformers, generator step-up transformers, and auxiliary transformers.
Battery
This electronic component is made up of a collection of cells that create a flow of electrons in a circuit. Batteries have three basic components, and these include the anode (-), the cathode (+), and the electrolyte. The electrolyte is the substance that reacts chemically when the anode and cathode are connected to a circuit.
Batteries provide back-up power to some types of electrical devices during a power outage. When used in homes, they are usually wired or connected to electrical appliances, allowing these mechanisms to still work despite the occurrence of power outages. Some batteries are designed to store wind and solar energies, which may be discharged when needed.
Batteries are used in a number of devices at home, including cellular phones, flashlights, remote controls, and handheld video game consoles to name a few. They are also used in hospital equipment, such as the ECG heart monitor, insulin pumps, and many more. They are even used in firefighting and military operations to power some of the devices they use in those fields.
Switch
This is a piece of physical circuitry device that controls the signal flow in an electronic circuit. This switch allows the connection in an electronic device to be opened or closed. When opened, electrical current is allowed to flow through the connecting wires. When closed, the circuit connection stops, and the electronic device will lose its power.
Relay
This electrical component is a switch that is used to convert small electrical stimuli into larger currents. It uses electromagnetism to perform the conversion. Sometimes, relays act as amplifiers to leverage weak inputs and turn them into stronger currents.
Microcontroller
This electrical component is used to power a singular function in a device. Microcontrollers are embedded in a system and they interpret the data they receive from the input/output peripherals of that system. The data received is by the microcontroller is stored in its memory, where it is accessed by the processor and then deciphered using the instructions stored in the program memory. Microcontrollers are usually found in office machines, vending machines, medical devices, mobile radio transceivers, home appliances, cars, and robots.
Electronic machines are sophisticated and some of them may require more components than other equipment depending on the industries where they are used. The advent of new technologies has also given way to newer types of electronic components that have their own essential uses in new technological devices.