Friday, 29 March 2024, 4:15 PM
Site: edulabs.org academy
Course: Activity Examples (Activity Examples)
Glossary: Electronics (Mike Jaroch)
B

BACK RESISTANCE

The larger resistance value observed when you are checking the resistance of a
semiconductor [16].

BALANCED MIXER

A waveguide arrangement that resembles a T and uses crystals for coupling the
output to a balanced transformer [18].

BALANCED PHASE DETECTOR

A circuit that controls the oscillator frequency (afc) [17].

BAND-REJECT FILTER

A tuned circuit that does not pass a specified band of frequencies [9] [16].

BANDPASS FILTER

A filter that allows a narrow band of frequencies to pass through the circuit.
Rejects or attenuates frequencies that are either higher or lower than the desired band of frequencies [9]
[16].

BANDWIDTH

The difference between the highest usable frequency of a device (upper frequency limit) and the lowest usable frequency of the device (lower frequency limit) - measured at the half-power
points [8] [9] [12] [15].

BARRETTER

A type of bolometer characterized by an increase in resistance as the dissipated power rises [16].

BASE

The element in a transistor that controls the flow of current carriers [7]. (1) A reference value. (2) A number that is multiplied by itself as many times as indicated by an exponent. (3) Same as radix. (4) The region between the emitter and collector of a transistor that receives minority carriers injected from the emitter. It is the element that corresponds to the control grid
of an electron tube [13].

BASE-INJECTION MODULATOR

Similar to a control-grid modulator. The gain of a transistor is varied by changing the bias on its base [12].

BATTERY

A device for converting chemical energy into electrical energy [1].

BATTERY CAPACITY

The amount of energy available from a battery. Battery capacity is expressed in
ampere-hours [1].

BAUD

A measurement of speed based on the number of code elements or units per second [17].

BAY

Part of an antenna array [10].

BEAM

See LOBE [18].

BEAM-LEAD CHIP

Semiconductor chip with electrodes (leads) extended beyond the wafer [14].

BEAM-POWER TUBE

An electron tube in which the grids are aligned with the control grid. Special
beam-forming plates are used to concentrate the electron stream into a beam. Because of this action, the beam-power tube has high power-handling capabilities [6].

BEARING

An angular measurement of the direction of an object from a reference direction, such as true north [11].

BEARING RESOLUTION

Ability of a radar to distinguish between targets that are close together in
bearing [18].

BEAT FREQUENCIES

Difference and sum frequencies, which result from the combination of two
separate frequencies [18].

BEAT FREQUENCY

The difference between the oscillator frequency and the unknown audio frequency
[16].

BEAT-FREQUENCY OSCILLATOR

An additional oscillator used in a receiver when it is receiving a
cw signal. It provides an audible tone [17].

BEL

The unit that expresses the logarithmic ratio between the input and output of any given component, circuit, or system [16].

BETA

The ratio of a change in collector current to a corresponding change in base current when the collector voltage is constant in a common-emitter circuit [7].

BEVERAGE ANTENNA

A horizontal, long-wire antenna designed for reception and transmission of
low-frequency, vertically polarized ground waves [10].

BIAS

Difference of potential applied to a vacuum tube or transistor to establish a reference operating level [13].

BIAS CURRENT

Current that flows through the base-emitter junction of a transistor and is adjusted to set the operating point of the transistor [13].

BIDIRECTIONAL ARRAY

An array that radiates in opposite directions along the line of maximum
radiation [10].

BINARY

(1) A number system that uses a base, or radix, of 2. Two digits (1 and 0) are used in the binary system. (2) Pertaining to a characteristic that involves the selection, choice, or condition in which there are only two possibilities. (3) A bistable multivibrator (flip-flop) is one example of a binary device [13].

BINARY CODE

A method of representing two possible conditions (on or off, high or low, one or zero, the presence of a signal or absence of a signal). Electronic circuits designed to work in such a way that only two conditions are possible [13].

BINARY DIGIT

(1) A character that represents one of the two digits in the number system that has a radix of two. (2) Either of the digits 0 or 1 that may be used to represent the binary conditions of on or off [13].

BINARY NOTATION

See BINARY NUMBER SYSTEM [13].

BINARY NUMBER SYSTEM

A number system using two digits, symbols, or characters (usually 1 and 0) [13].

BINARY POINT

The radix point that separates powers of two and fractional powers of two in a binary number [13].

BINARY-CODED

The state in which conditions are expressed by a series of binary digits (0's and 1's) [13].

BISTABLE

A device that is capable of assuming either one of two stable states [13].

BISTABLE MULTIVIBRATOR

A multivibrator that has two stable states. It remains in one of the
states until a trigger is applied. It then flips to the other stable state and remains there until another trigger is applied. Also referred to as a FLIP-FLOP [9] [13].

BLACK

The reference color of equipment that passes unclassified information. It normally refers to patch panels [17].

BLEEDER CURRENT

The current through a bleeder resistor. In a voltage divider, bleeder current is
usually determined by the 10 percent rule of thumb [1].

BLEEDER RESISTOR

A resistor used to draw a fixed current [1].

BLIP

See PIP [18].

BLOCK DIAGRAM

A diagram in which the major components of an equipment or a system are
represented by squares, rectangles, or other geometric figures, and the normal order of progression of a signal or current flow is represented by lines [4].

BLOCKED-GRID KEYING

A method of keying in which the bias is varied to turn plate current on and
off [12].

BLOCKING

A condition in an amplifier, caused by overdriving one or more stages, in which the amplifier is insensitive to small signals immediately after reception of a large signal [18].

BOLOMETER

A loading device that undergoes changes in resistance as changes in dissipated power occur [16].

BONDING WIRES

Fine wires connecting the bonding pads of the chip to the external leads of the
package [14].

BOOLEAN

(1) Pertaining to the process used in the algebra formulated by George Boole. (2) Pertaining to the operations of formal logic [13].

BOOLEAN ALGEBRA

A system of logic dealing with on-off circuit elements associated by such
operators as the AND, OR, NAND, NOR, and NOT functions [13].

BOOLEAN LOGIC

See BOOLEAN ALGEBRA [13].

BOUNDARY CONDITIONS

The two conditions that the E-field and H-field within a waveguide must
meet before energy will travel down the waveguide. The E-field must be perpendicular to the walls and the H-field must be in closed loops, parallel to the walls, and perpendicular to the E-field [11].

BRANCH

An individual current path in a parallel circuit [1] [4].

BREAK

In a switch, the number of breaks refers to the number of points at which the switch opens the circuit; for example, single break and double break [3].

BREAKDOWN

The phenomenon occurring in a reverse-biased semiconductor diode. The start of the phenomenon is observed as a transition from a high dynamic resistance to one of substantially lower dynamic resistance. This is done to boost the reverse current [7].

BRIGHTNESS CONTROL

The name given to the potentiometer used to vary the potential applied to the
control grid of a CRT [6].

BROADSIDE ARRAY

An array in which the direction of maximum radiation is perpendicular to the
plane containing the elements [10] [18].

BRUSHES

Sliding contacts, usually carbon, that make electrical connection to the rotating part of a motor or generator [5].

BUFFER

A voltage amplifier used between the oscillator and power amplifier [12].

BUFFER AMPLIFIER

An amplifier that isolates one circuit from another. It decreases the loading effect on an oscillator by reducing the interaction between the load and the oscillator [9] [18].

BUILT-IN TEST EQUIPMENT (BITE)

A permanently mounted device that is used expressly for testing an equipment or system [14].

BUNCHER CAVITY

The input resonant cavity in a conventional klystron oscillator [11].

BUNCHER GRID

In a velocity-modulated tube, the grid that concentrates the electrons in the electron beam into bunches [11].

BURNISHING TOOL

A tool used to clean and polish contacts on a relay [3].

BUS BAR

A heavy copper strap or bar used to connect several circuits together when a large current-carrying capacity is required [4].

BYPASS CAPACITOR

A capacitor used to transfer unwanted signals out of a circuit; for example,
coupling an unwanted signal to ground. Also called a DECOUPLING CAPACITOR [8].