Teach Yourself Electricity

This app will help you learn the fundamentals of electricity and electronics without taking a formal course. It can serve as a do-it-yourself study guide or as a classroom text. This contains new material about switching power supplies, class-D amplifiers, lithium-polymer batteries, microcontrollers, and Arduino.

You’ll find a multiple-choice quiz at the end of every chapter. The quizzes are “open-book,” meaning that you may (and should) refer to the chapter text as you work out the answers. When you have finished a chapter, take the quiz, write down your answers, and then give your list of answers to a friend. Have the friend tell you your score, but not which questions you got wrong. That way, you can take the test again without bias.

When you reach the end of each section, you’ll encounter a multiple-choice test. A final exam concludes this course. The questions are a bit easier than the ones in the chapter-ending quizzes, but the tests are “closed-book.” Don’t refer back to the text as you take the part-ending tests or the final exam. For all 35 chapter-ending quizzes, all four tests, and the final exam, a satisfactory score is at least three-quarters of the answers correct.

Contents
-Preface
Part 1 Direct Current
1 Background Physics
-Atoms
-Protons, Neutrons, and Atomic Numbers
-Isotopes and Atomic Weights
-Electrons
-Ions
-Compounds
-Molecules
-Conductors
-Insulators
-Resistors
-Semiconductors
-Current
-Static Electricity
-Electromotive Force
-Non-Electrical Energy
-Quiz
2 Electrical Units
-The Volt
-Current Flow
-The Ampere
-Resistance and the Ohm
-Conductance and the Siemens
-Power and the Watt
-A Word about Notation
-Energy and the Watt-Hour
-Other Energy Units
-Alternating Current and the Hertz
-Rectification and Pulsating Direct Current
-Stay Safe!
-Magnetism
-Magnetic Units
-Quiz
3 Measuring Devices
-Electromagnetic Deflection
-Electrostatic Deflection
-Thermal Heating
-Ammeters
-Voltmeters
-Ohmmeters
-Multimeters
-FET Voltmeters
-Wattmeters
-Watt-Hour Meters
-Digital Readout Meters
-Frequency Counters
-Other Meter Types
-Quiz
4 Direct-Current Circuit Basics
-Schematic Symbols
-Schematic and Wiring Diagrams
-Circuit Simplification
-Ohm’s Law
-Current Calculations
-Voltage Calculations
-The Rule of Significant Figures
-Resistance Calculations
-Power Calculations
-Resistances in Series
-Resistances in Parallel
-Division of Power
-Resistances in Series-Parallel
-Quiz
5 Direct-Current Circuit Analysis
-Current through Series Resistances
-Voltages across Series Resistances
-Voltage across Parallel Resistances
-Currents through Parallel Resistances
-Power Distribution in Series Circuits
-Power Distribution in Parallel Circuits
-Kirchhoff’s First Law
-Kirchhoff’s Second Law
-Voltage Division
-Quiz
6 Resistors
-Purpose of the Resistor
-Fixed Resistors
-The Potentiometer
-The Decibel
-Resistor Specifications
-Quiz
7 Cells and Batteries
-Electrochemical Energy
-“Grocery Store” Cells and Batteries
-Miniature Cells and Batteries
-Lead-Acid Batteries
-Nickel-Based Cells and Batteries
-Photovoltaic Cells and Batteries
-Fuel Cells
-Quiz
8 Magnetism
-Geomagnetism
-Magnetic Force
-Magnetic Field Strength
-Electromagnets
-Magnetic Materials
-Magnetic Machines
-Quiz
Test: Part 1
Part 2 Alternating Current
9 Alternating-Current Basics
-Definition of AC
-Period and Frequency
-The Sine Wave
-Square Waves
-Sawtooth Waves
-Complex Waveforms
-Frequency Spectrum
-Fractions of a Cycle
-Expressions of Amplitude
-The Generator
-Why AC and Not DC?
-Quiz
10 Inductance
-The Property of Inductance
-The Unit of Inductance
-Inductors in Series
-Inductors in Parallel
-Interaction among Inductors
-Air-Core Coils
-Ferromagnetic Cores
-Transmission-Line Inductors
-Quiz