Merry Christmas Steemit! Its almost a New Year!
I hope you all had a good Christmas yesterday.
Today we will begin our first steps down the wonderful road of electronics. Maybe you've been down this path before and just want to refresh yourself. Maybe you've never been down this path, and your eager to take your first steps. Whatever the case, today I am your guide as we learn how electronics really work.

The first step to understanding electronics is understanding electricity and its properties. Electricity is "a form of energy resulting from the existence of charged particles (such as electrons or protons), either statically as an accumulation of charge or dynamically as a current." Basically what this means is that a) Electricity is energy. b) It can exist in two states, statically (think static electricity, like when you rub a balloon on your hair) or as current (like the outlets you use to charge your phone, the electricity flows in a current.)

Now many of you may have heard of various terms often used in electronics, like voltage or amps. These are very important terms to understand if your going to start working with electronics, so let us try to understand those concepts.

Voltage, Amps, and Ohms.

The way I learned this concept was through an analogy of a a set of pipes. Imagine you are trying to run a set of pipes in your own home, to carry water to a sink. If you turn the water on, there are several factors that relate directly to the flow of electricity in a circuit. First, note the pressure of the water as it coarses through the pipes. This is similar to voltage in a circuit, which in electronics is measured in volts. Often times you will see this represented in equations as the symbol V. As Im sure many of you already know, high voltage can be very dangerous. When working with high voltage circuits, be sure to wear heavy duty rubber gloves and use the tools neccessary to keep yourself from being shocked. At the very least, it is not fun to be shocked by this current, as I can testify from first hand experience. Now notice the speed of the water as it rushes through. This is similar to amps, often represented by the symbol A or I. Now resistance, which is measured in Ohms, can correlate to the pipe size. The smaller the pipe (greater the resistance), the less water (electricity) can flow through those pipes (or circuit). And vice versa. Ohms are usually represented by the symbol Ω. It is key that you understand these concepts in order to understand how electricity flows in a circuit. In your washing machine, smart phone, Xbox, computer, and all your other electronics, the wires form a circuit which, like little pipes, deliver energy to the sensors, screens, and other places the machine needs it to be to work. The final main unit used in electronics is the Watt (W), which measures the total work or power that these machines are capable of.

Often times it helps to imagine these as pipes carrying electricity to different parts of the circuit. The units I mentioned before can tell us different things about this electricity, and is key to eventually building your own circuits

Measuring Volts, Amps, and Ohms

If you want to get involved with electronics, a multi-meter is a MUST have.

A digital multimeter.

Multimeters can help you measure Volts, Amps, and Ohms. They can help you know if your circuit is working or broken, or help you avoid a nasty shock. They are a key tool in every hobbyist and engineers toolbox.

DC Circuit Theory

It can get very tedious measuring for resistance, and watts, and volts and amps. Sometimes, the unit your looking for cannot be measured. The good news is, you dont have know every unit. By knowing any two units, you can figure out the other two. Take a look:

In this diagram, it is shown how to calculate the value of another unit using the ones you already have. I stands for Amps, R for Ohms, P for Watts, and V for voltage.

Another reason this may be useful is if you are unable to test the circuit for a specific electrical unit. Take for example a common problem. Lets say you are looking online for a motor that generates 10W of electricity, but all the site is showing you is Voltage and amps. In this situation, you could simply multiply the given values(Voltage and Amps) to get the unknown (Watts).

It is invaluable to learn these equations. But if the pie chart is a little to hard on the eyes, maybe these triangle equations will make more sense.

Ohm's Law triangle:

V = Voltage, I = Amps, R = Ohms

Power triangle:

P = Watts, V = Voltage, I = Amps

If anyone still doesn't understand this, be sure to ask about it in the comments and I will be more than happy to explain in a different way or in better detail.

Series and Parallel Circuits

Another important fundamental concept to understand is the difference between a series and a parallel circuit, and their affect on the circuit in question.

Series (left) and parallel circuit

While looking around, I found this great explanation on the web. "A series circuit's principle characteristic is that it has only one path in which its current can flow. Opening or breaking a series circuit at any point causes the entire circuit to "open" or stop operating. For example, if even one of the light bulbs in an older-style string of Christmas tree lights burns out or is removed, the entire string becomes inoperable until the bulb is replaced."

Series circuits are used in a variety of situations and are very important. As states above, they have only one path the current can flow.

Parallel circuits on the other hand never have more than two sets of electrically common points. There are many paths for electrons to flow, and a constant voltage across all the components.

Well, I hope you enjoyed the beginning of this series, and I hope you understood everything. If not, please feel free to ask about it in the comments. I would be more than happy to explain in more detail. Keep in mind that even though these are fundamentals, these are not easy to learn. But with time and persistence, anyone can learn these. Stay tuned for next weeks post: Electronic components.
Cheers!
Max

Sources:
Make: Electronics
Wikipedia
All about Circuits
Electronics Tutorials