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Episodes
- S1 E1 - Electricity and ElectronicsJune 26, 201435minWhat is the difference between electricity and electronics? Begin your study of modern electronics by examining this distinction, and observe how electronics use the basic properties of electric circuits in a more sophisticated way. Witness firsthand how resistance is described with Ohm's law, and learn how to measure electric power. #Science & MathematicsFree trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E2 - Circuits and SymbolsJune 26, 201433minMeet the battery! This lecture marks your introduction to circuit diagrams, displaying the interconnected assemblages of electronic components that make a circuit function. Learn how to decipher these drawings, and see how components assembled in series or in parallel may interact differently depending on their configuration.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E3 - Instruments and MeasurementJune 26, 201448minAs you grow familiar with physical properties of electric circuits, become acquainted with the instruments used to measure these quantities: voltmeters, ammeters, ohmmeters, multimeters, and the oscilloscope. See how each of these instruments interacts with a circuit to test circuit behavior or measure quantities that may vary over time.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E4 - AC versus DCJune 26, 201438minExamine the nuances of alternating and direct currents, see how transformers use electromagnetic induction to transform voltage levels in AC circuits, and observe the role of diodes and capacitors in regulating current. See how the DC power supplies that charge our cell phones are constructed so that they convert alternating to direct current.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E5 - Up the Treble, Down the Bass!June 26, 201434minFrom familiar audio equalizers we use to crank the bass or reduce hiss, to cell phone towers that need to separate calls coming in on adjacent channels, filtering electronic signals is often essential. Dive further into the critical role that capacitors play in electronic filters.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E6 - Semiconductors - The Miracle MaterialJune 26, 201436minSemiconductors make possible the transistors at the heart of electronics, including integrated circuits and computers. Learn how the atomic configuration of semiconductors makes them unique, and how engineers adjust their properties to make two types of semiconductors - P and N. Witness the critical role that PN-junctions play in semiconductor devices.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E7 - Transistors and How They WorkJune 26, 201435minTransistors in all forms fundamentally do the same thing: they allow one electronic circuit to control another. Review the concept of electronic control, and study field effect transistors (FETs) as well as bipolar junction transistors (BJTs). See how the bipolar junction transistor can be used as a simple switch.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E8 - Transistors as AmplifiersJune 26, 201437minDiscover how transistors can be used to increase voltage, current, or power of an electronic signal while faithfully reproducing the signal's time variation. See how biasing and load-line analysis play key roles in amplifiers, and help prevent distortion. Learn to design a simple one-transistor audio amplifier that increases the voltage of audio-frequency signals.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E9 - Building an Audio AmplifierJune 26, 201435minPut your knowledge to use by building a complete audio amplifier. First, create a two-stage amplifier, then add capacitors to increase the amplification, or gain. Add a power output stage to drive a loudspeaker. Finally, add a volume control. In addition, learn how biasing with diodes can eliminate a subtle form of distortion.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E10 - The Ideal AmplifierJune 26, 201438minLearn why large gain - infinite gain, in fact - as well as low output resistance and high input resistance are characteristics of the ideal amplifier. See how an integrated-circuit operational amplifier, or "op-amp," puts all these things together and also how the op-amp can be used as a simple comparator.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E11 - Feedback MagicJune 26, 201433minDefine what "feedback" means in electronics, and how it can be used in a circuit. Learn how negative feedback utilizes communication between the output and input of an amplifier, and how operational amplifiers use this phenomenon to create thought-controlled robotic arms, intelligent light bulbs, and optical tracking systems.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E12 - Electronic FeedbackJune 26, 201436minUnderstand the math behind two basic rules that allow op-amps to leverage the magic of negative feedback: no current flows into op-amp inputs, and with negative feedback, V+ = V -. See how these rules allow op-amps to tame near-infinite gain in a circuit down to the exact amplification you want.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E13 - Amplifier Circuits Using Op-AmpsJune 26, 201436minNow that the versatility of negative feedback has been demonstrated, adjust the strength of negative feedback in op-amp circuits to build amplifiers with whatever gain you choose. Create an amplifier that sums two or more inputs, see a circuit that converts current to voltage, and explore the design and operation of an op-amp-based light meter.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E14 - More Fun with Op-AmpsJune 26, 201435minExplore peak detectors that "remember" the maximum voltage reached, as well as Schmitt triggers whose output retain their value until the input changes sufficiently to "trigger" a change in the output. Use these concepts to design a practical circuit: an alarm to warn if your freezer's temperature has been above freezing.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E15 - Using Op-Amps with CapacitorsJune 26, 201436minBy introducing capacitors to op-amp circuits, you will see how feedback capacitors can be used to introduce time-dependent behavior such as gradual voltage increases, and to generate useful waveforms. Learn in the process how op-amp circuits with capacitors can perform the mathematical operation called integration.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E16 - Digital Versus AnalogJune 26, 201437minExplore the difference between the analog and digital realms. Learn how the two states "0" and "1" can be used to represent numbers or textual information. Enter the digital age with binary numbers and operations that are the basis of computer logic, and discover logic gates and their truth tables for common logical operators.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E17 - Electronics Goes DigitalJune 26, 201440minSee how distinctly different electrical circuits can implement basic logic operations, and how simple logic gates come together to form complex logic circuits, ultimately including computers. Return to transistors to see how both BJTs and MOSFETs are used to implement logic gates, the latter in an arrangement called Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS).Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E18 - Flip-Flop CircuitsJune 26, 201434minBy combining logic gates and positive feedback, obtain circuits with two stable states. These "flip-flop" circuits "remember" their current states until they are forced into the opposite state. Learn the inner workings of several types of flip-flops as they lay the foundations for memory circuits.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E19 - Shift and Divide - Your USB and Your WatchJune 26, 201438minLearn how electronic devices "talk" to each other by using flip-flops to send computer "words" one bit at a time, and observe how recipient devices reassemble incoming bits using serial-to-parallel conversions. See how Universal Serial Bus (USB) connections transmit communications between devices, and how the T flip-flop is utilized as a frequency divider in quartz watches.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E20 - Digital MemoryJune 26, 201438minExamine the circuits that enable your devices to "remember" everything from contact information to your browsing history to the keystrokes you type on your computer. Compare random-access memory versus sequential memory as well as volatile and non-volatile memory.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E21 - Digital CountersJune 26, 201439minFlip-flops can be connected together to create counting circuits. Examine the circuitry behind 2-bit, n-bit, and decade counters, then see how the interruption of a light beam can be used in conjunction with such a circuit to keep count of people walking by or products moving along an assembly line.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E22 - Digital to AnalogJune 26, 201436minBecause we live in an analog world - sound, time, temperature, speed, and light are all analog phenomena - it's important to be able to convert outputs of digital circuits into analog signals that we can perceive. Discover two digital-to-analog converters (DACs): weighted-resistor DACs, and the delta-sigma DACs that provide high-resolution audio for our smartphones and mp3 players.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E23 - Analog to DigitalJune 26, 201439minObserve how circuit designers have formulated a wide array of schemes for converting analog signals to digitally encoded information. See how flash converters, integrating converters, and feedback converters use very different methods to accomplish the same goal, and weigh the situational costs and benefits of each.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E24 - Your Future in ElectronicsJune 26, 201435minWith some final tips, an introduction to the microcontroller, and a demonstration of an amazing circuit aimed at improving the efficiency of photovoltaic panels, Professor Wolfson leaves you with an enhanced appreciation for the complexity of essential modern electronics. You are now well equipped to embark on your own journey through the fascinating world of electronics!Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
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