Lab 6 - Transistor Switching

1/15/19

Transistors! huh? Transistors! They are amazing. It is a gateway for electricity. I high current can be controlled with a small current applied to its base. It is very useful for controlling a motor with a signal voltage. This lab shows the current and voltage values of different parts of a transistor in and out of operation. Parts examined includes the Base, Emitter, and Collector. The collector leads towards the Power source. The base is the controlled gateway, and the Emitter is essentially the power output to the load. Notice the picture below is using a switch; the full source voltage is triggering the base to allow current to flow to the LED.

The NPN Transistor is going to be used the majority of the time in this course. There is a PNP transistor which is the same except that the Comitter sand emitter are switched. A transistor is great to control current over a relay because hardly any current is need to activate the base. Since it is electrical, there is minimal, if any, wear. It is a lot more dependable than a mechanical relay as there are no mechanical parts to wear out. A mere 1mA, in this lab, allowed an impressive 14.1mA to flow out.

Transistor Circuit in OFF position

Transistor Circuit in ON Position