Although, there is a lot of new information in this lab I found much of the reading material very digestible to someone new to physical computation and circuits. I really appreciated analogy devices like the avalanche coming down the mountain to describe the relationship between voltage, current, and resistance.
Q: In a circuit there must be "a load to convert into some other form of energy" I am wondering what happens if you do not convert the electrical energy in a circuit. Is this a short circuit? Is there any value to electrical energy in isolation in human made systems or in nature (or must it always get converted to produce valuable output)?
My First attempt at setting up my breadboard involved a variation to the directions. Because the equipment station was out of DC power sources (I later discovered many alternative ways to power the system other than using a batter)I decided to try using a battery with alligator wires attached as the power source.
Image 1: Initial Breadboard set up using 9V battery and alligator wires
Image 2: First attempt powering LED
Image 3: LED connection with resistor
After setting up my breadboard I tried plugging in an LED light directly into the input and ground columns on the breadboard. To my dismay the light did not turn on. I also tried using a 4 band resistor (photo 3) to lower the power current going into LED light. To debug the set up I felt for heat being emitted from components. With no heat coming from the breadboard I determined that the power source was not hooked up correctly. I tried swapping out the alligator wires and llcd light to check for faulty equipment. I still have yet to go back and debug this set up. To Be Continued...
Q: Is it considered bad practice to directly put components into the ground and power strips (outer columns) of the breadboard?
Image 4: LED - She Works!
For the Multimeter lab I was able to get readings on my circuit however they didn't yet fully make sense to me. I need to go back and run the voltage calculations and make sure I understand the numbers coming out of the device.
Image 5: Collaborative Effort to get the Multimeter working with Jinny and Momo & power source from external device
When first trying to get my Aurdino working in my breadboard, Jinny pointed out that it wasn't pushed all the way into the breadboard. Note: Make sure all components are properly attached to the board.
Image 6: Working switch with LED
Image 6: Working switch with LED
Putting in my first switch was a very smooth experience. At first I did try connecting the LED input to the same side prong as the power input for the flat button switch which resulted in a constant flow of current to the LED lighting it. My next attempt resulted in changing the sides of the input for the LED and Switch so they were diagonal (see image 6).