**Understanding Circuits through the Hydraulic Analogy**

One of the best analogies to explain circuits is the hydraulic analogy. This comparison equates electricity flowing through a wire much like water flowing through a pipe. Any electrical component can be likened to something connected to the pipes, with water being able to flow into it and then back into the system. The components in question are:

* **Voltage**: Just as water has pressure that determines how much of it can move through the pipes in a certain amount of time, voltage is equivalent to the pressure of the water moving through the pipe. It's measured in volts.

* **Resistance**: Just like how anything that opposes the flow of current, resistance slows down or blocks the movement of water. Resistance can be thought of as the "dirt" on the inside of a pipe that makes it harder for water to flow through. Different materials have different levels of resistance, and the same principle applies to electrical components.

* **Current**: Current is equivalent to the volume of water in the pipes. Just as high currents mean more water moving at once, high currents mean that more electricity is being used by a component.

**The Components of a Circuit**

In addition to voltage, resistance, and current, there are several key components found in electronic circuits:

* **Transistors**: These three-terminal components can be used to amplify signals or as switches. They control the flow of electric current.

* **Resistors**: Resistors cause resistance to the flow of electricity, slowing it down or stopping it altogether. The color-coded bands on resistors provide a way to determine their level of resistance.

* **Capacitors**: Capacitors store charges for short periods, acting as temporary energy storage units.

* **Diodes**: Diodes only allow current to flow in one direction, making them ideal for rectification or voltage regulation tasks.

* **Integrated Circuits**: Integrated circuits contain multiple transistors and capacitors on a tiny piece of silicon, allowing for complex electronic circuits to be miniaturized into compact components.

**The Flow of Current**

A circuit is the flow of current from point A to point B, with electricity moving from positive to negative. When a lamp is plugged in, electricity flows into it through one prong and out through another. The electric bill reflects how much electricity was used by the bulb over time, measured in kilowatt-hours. Components within a circuit can be thought of as "loads" that use or convert some of the electricity flowing through them.

**A Closer Look at Electronic Components**

Electronic components are an integral part of any electronic circuit. Some common types include:

* **LEDs (Light-Emitting Diodes)**: LEDs emit light when current flows through them, making them ideal for display applications.

* **Wattage**: Wattage is the capacity of a component to handle the combination of voltage and current flowing through it. It's measured in watts.

The hydraulic analogy provides a useful framework for understanding how electricity works in electronic circuits. By recognizing the equivalent relationships between water flow and electric current, anyone can better grasp the fundamental principles behind circuit operation.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhey I'm Bob but I like to make stuff today I'm maker 101 we're going to talk about circuits now I don't want to talk about how to make circuits or how to wire anything or anything like that I just want to talk about what the circuit is one of the best analogies that I found to explain a circuit to somebody is something called the hydraulic analogy and basically that just equates electricity flowing through a wire much like water flowing through a pipe any electrical component is like something that's connected to the pipes water can flow into the component and then back into the system that component can do things to the water it can change the amount of water that's allowed to flow through or it can pressurize it so that it comes out faster than it came in or vice versa now there's three things you need to know before we move farther the first one is called voltage voltage is the pressure of the water moving through the pipe it's basically how much water can move through in a certain amount of time and it's measured in volts the next is resistance and that is anything that opposes the flow of current so if you have a two-inch pipe and then you made it go down to a one-inch pipe that's going to resist some of the water to flow through it would be the same if you had a really dirty pipe the dirt on the inside is going to make the opening a little bit smaller and resist some of the water that's trying to flow through and the last one is current and it's about the volume of water in the pipe you'll hear things about high current and low current and that's really about how much water is moving certain electrical components can only handle certain amounts of currents so imagine you had your kitchen sink and the normal amount of water that comes through it is low current now if you hooked up a fire hose to it that's high current and it's probably going to mess your sink up so you have to make sure you have the right kind of components for the right amount of current and current is measured in amps another term you'll hear a lot is watt or wattage like a 40 watt light bulb or a hundred watt speaker a watt is the capacity of a component to handle the combination of voltage and current together in fact it's a really simple formula wattage equals voltage times current so a 40 watt light bulb could be 4 volts times 10 amps or it could be 2 volts times 20 amps and that just means that your 40 watt light bulb can handle a lot of current at low pressure or a little current at high pressure so we've got voltage resistance and current so back to circuits a circuit is the flow of current from point A to point B from positive to negative so when you plug in a lamp the electricity comes in one prong through the lamp got the other prong so your electric bill reflects how much of the electricity that came into that lamp is turned into heat or light over time by the bulb and it's measured in kilowatt hours in fact the bulb is what's called a load in a circuit and that's anything in a circuit that turns some of the electricity into something else and to heat light sound motion so there's really not a whole lot of difference between how electricity flows through the wires in your house to how water flows to the pipes in your house there's a volume there's a pressure and there are things that slow it down or use it so let's take a look at some of the components so that you can recognize them when you see them in electronics projects this is a transistor it's a three terminal component it's usually used to amplify a signal but it can also be used as a switch this is a resistor it causes resistance to the flow of electricity you can tell the amount of resistance by decoding the colored bands on each one this is a capacitor it builds up in stores of charge for a short amount of time some capacitors do have a positive and negative lead so you have to make sure that you hook it up correctly a diode only lets current flow in one direction you may recognize this light-emitting diode or LED it just lights up when current passes through it last is the integrated circuit this is a collection of transistors and capacitors a bunch of other stuff it's down to a tiny piece of silicon you get to all those things by connecting to the external leads and the hole water flowing through a pipe thing is just one of the many different analogies that you could use to understand electricity so if you have another one that helps you better leave it in the comments because it may help somebody else I'll be back really soon with more projects and more maker 101 videos I have lots of other stuff for you to check out and make sure to find me on the social networks and ask me some questions show me some stuff you're working on thanks guys see you next timehey I'm Bob but I like to make stuff today I'm maker 101 we're going to talk about circuits now I don't want to talk about how to make circuits or how to wire anything or anything like that I just want to talk about what the circuit is one of the best analogies that I found to explain a circuit to somebody is something called the hydraulic analogy and basically that just equates electricity flowing through a wire much like water flowing through a pipe any electrical component is like something that's connected to the pipes water can flow into the component and then back into the system that component can do things to the water it can change the amount of water that's allowed to flow through or it can pressurize it so that it comes out faster than it came in or vice versa now there's three things you need to know before we move farther the first one is called voltage voltage is the pressure of the water moving through the pipe it's basically how much water can move through in a certain amount of time and it's measured in volts the next is resistance and that is anything that opposes the flow of current so if you have a two-inch pipe and then you made it go down to a one-inch pipe that's going to resist some of the water to flow through it would be the same if you had a really dirty pipe the dirt on the inside is going to make the opening a little bit smaller and resist some of the water that's trying to flow through and the last one is current and it's about the volume of water in the pipe you'll hear things about high current and low current and that's really about how much water is moving certain electrical components can only handle certain amounts of currents so imagine you had your kitchen sink and the normal amount of water that comes through it is low current now if you hooked up a fire hose to it that's high current and it's probably going to mess your sink up so you have to make sure you have the right kind of components for the right amount of current and current is measured in amps another term you'll hear a lot is watt or wattage like a 40 watt light bulb or a hundred watt speaker a watt is the capacity of a component to handle the combination of voltage and current together in fact it's a really simple formula wattage equals voltage times current so a 40 watt light bulb could be 4 volts times 10 amps or it could be 2 volts times 20 amps and that just means that your 40 watt light bulb can handle a lot of current at low pressure or a little current at high pressure so we've got voltage resistance and current so back to circuits a circuit is the flow of current from point A to point B from positive to negative so when you plug in a lamp the electricity comes in one prong through the lamp got the other prong so your electric bill reflects how much of the electricity that came into that lamp is turned into heat or light over time by the bulb and it's measured in kilowatt hours in fact the bulb is what's called a load in a circuit and that's anything in a circuit that turns some of the electricity into something else and to heat light sound motion so there's really not a whole lot of difference between how electricity flows through the wires in your house to how water flows to the pipes in your house there's a volume there's a pressure and there are things that slow it down or use it so let's take a look at some of the components so that you can recognize them when you see them in electronics projects this is a transistor it's a three terminal component it's usually used to amplify a signal but it can also be used as a switch this is a resistor it causes resistance to the flow of electricity you can tell the amount of resistance by decoding the colored bands on each one this is a capacitor it builds up in stores of charge for a short amount of time some capacitors do have a positive and negative lead so you have to make sure that you hook it up correctly a diode only lets current flow in one direction you may recognize this light-emitting diode or LED it just lights up when current passes through it last is the integrated circuit this is a collection of transistors and capacitors a bunch of other stuff it's down to a tiny piece of silicon you get to all those things by connecting to the external leads and the hole water flowing through a pipe thing is just one of the many different analogies that you could use to understand electricity so if you have another one that helps you better leave it in the comments because it may help somebody else I'll be back really soon with more projects and more maker 101 videos I have lots of other stuff for you to check out and make sure to find me on the social networks and ask me some questions show me some stuff you're working on thanks guys see you next time\n"