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Diode info: Diodes have a voltage drop (due to resistance usually around 0.72V). This particular Light Emitting Diode (LED) requires 2V (volts) and 20mA (milli-Amps) to have it run efficiently. Don't worry about the math behind it right now, just that i requires 2V and 20mA to run. Also, diodes only allow voltage to pass through one way, but not back the other. The big triangle is the Anode, which is there the voltage enters. The horizontal line at the front is called the Cathode, which is where the voltage exits, but cannot enter back in (as seen in the AC circuit).
Top Circuit: 1v= not enough current to get the diode on.
Second circuit: 2v=20mA, allowing the diode to turn on.
Third circuit: Over voltage creates an over current, which leads to the destruction of a component.
Fourth circuit: The importance of resistors. Using ohms law, we can see that adding a resistor lowers the current, which now safely turns on the diode. The resistor acts as a buffer. Changing the value will change the voltage/current.
Fifth circuit: This shows AC (Alternating current) running through the diode, which only turns it on for a brief second when the AC reaches the peak voltage. This AC source has an amplitude of 2v. 2v top peak, -2v bottom peak.
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