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Introduction: Fundamentals

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In order to fully understand how electronic circuits and components work, it is essential to have an effective grasp of the fundamental concepts of electricity and electric circuits.

To keep things simple, we have grouped all of these fundamental concepts into one section. If you have little previous knowledge of electricity you are advised to spend a little time exploring these concepts before moving on to the sections that follow.

In particular, our section on "fundamentals" is concerned with:

• The units and multiples used to express electrical quantities such as voltage, current, power and resistance
• The significance of the sine wave and the way in which we measure angles in electrical circuits
• The essential difference between electrical conductors and electrical insulators
• The concept of current flow and resistance
• The relationship between energy and power and some of the different manifestations of energy
• The nature of electric and magnetic fields and how they are generated
• The basic circuit connections - series and parallel circuits
• The difference between direct current and alternating current
• The nature of waveforms and signals
• The effect of alternating current when it is applied to simple circuits.

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