Passive Components

Electronic components are categorized as active or passive depending on the functions, they are able to perform. In a nutshell, active components can, generally speaking, inject power into a circuit and are capable of electrically controlling and amplifying the flow of electrical current, whereas passive components cannot.

Unlike active components, passive components either consume or store energy. A simple way to test whether a component is active or not is to measure the difference between its input and output signals. If there is a decline in power, the component is passive. If the signal is amplified, it is active.
All electronic circuits must contain at least one active component, and most electronic devices contain both active and passive components

Passive components can influence the flow of electricity running through them. For example, they can resist its flow, store energy for later use, or produce inductance. However, they cannot control or amplify electricity themselves.

Generally, passive components are not able to increase the power of a signal nor are they able to amplify it. However, they can increase current or voltage by an LC circuit that stores electrical energy from resonant frequencies or by a transformer that acts as an electrical isolator

Passive components can influence the flow of electricity running through them. For example, they can resist its flow, store energy for later use, or produce inductance. However, they cannot control or amplify electricity themselves

Gallon Electric can be your trusted supplier for active components because of its best price & quality and we are also committed to ensuring better technical support for you.

The most common components and their functions:

• Resistor: Resists the flow of electrical current in a circuit; used to lower voltage
• Capacitor: Stores electrical energy electrostatically in an electric field (known as ‘charging’), and can release it later when needed
• Inductor: Stores electrical energy in a magnetic field; allows direct current (DC) to flow through it, but not alternating current (AC)
• Transducer: Converts an input signal from one type of energy into another type; sensors are a type of transducer that converts physical action/input into an electrical signal

An electronic circuit that is composed of just passive components is called a passive circuit.

Passive components can be divided into two types:

• Lossy or dissipative: Does not have the capacity to absorb power from an external circuit over a period of time. A classic example would be a resistor.
• Lossless: Does not have an input or output net power flow. This type includes components such as inductors, capacitors, transformers, and gyrators

The majority of passive components that have two terminals are usually defined as a two-port parameter, which is an electric circuit or module that has two pairs of terminals linked together by an electric network. Two-port parameters comply with the standards of reciprocity. A two-port network would be a transistor, electronic filters, or impedance matching networks. A transducer or switch would not be a two-port parameter because it is a closed system. Although active components typically have more than two terminals, they are not classified as a two-port parameter because they lack the properties.

Passive components that use circuit architecture would include inductors, resistors, voltage, and current sources, capacitors, and transformers. Likewise, the passive filter is comprised of four elementary linear elements that include an inductor, capacitor, resistor, and transformer. Some high-tech passive filters can have non-linear elements like a transmission line

Passive Components

A passive component is an electronic component that can only receive energy, which it can either dissipate, absorb, or store in an electric field or a magnetic field. Passive elements do not need any form of electrical power to operate.

Gallon Electric can be your trusted supplier for active components because of its best price & quality and we are also committed to ensuring better technical support for you.

As the name ‘passive’ suggests – passive devices do not provide gain or amplification. Passive components cannot amplify, oscillate, or generate an electrical signal.

Common examples of passive components include:

• Resistors
• Inductors
• Capacitors
• Transformers

In both electrical circuit theory and circuit analysis passive devices are generally called electrical elements so let us take a brief look at three of the most common basic passive electrical elements namely,

• Resistance,
• Capacitance and
• Inductance

Resistance

The resistor is a passive component that opposes the flow of electrical current through it. The amount of opposition to the flow of current is called the resistance of the resistor and is denoted by the symbol “R“. Resistance is a measure of how easily or how difficult electrons can flow through a particular path in an electrical circuit and is expressed as a value in units called Ohms.

One Ohm is the value of resistance that arises when a current of one ampere flows through a resistor that has one volt across its terminals. Then the resistance of a resistor can be defined in terms of the voltage drop across the resistor and the current flowing through the resistor as related by Ohm’s law:

Resistor

Where: R is the resistance, V is the voltage across the resistor, and I is the current flowing through the resistor. This relationship between the voltage and current called the V-I relationship in a resistor is linear in both DC and AC circuits.

The power absorbed by a resistor is represented by :

An ideal resistor will dissipate electrical energy without storing it as an electric charge or as magnetic energy.

Inductance

Inductance which has the symbol “L” and is measured in Henries (H), is the element used for the storage of energy in the form of an electromagnetic field. Electromagnetic energy is stored within the turns of a coil as long as time-varying current i(t) keeps flowing through the inductor. Self-inductance, L is the property of an inductor that opposes any changes in the current as defined by the constant of proportionality with the voltage generated in the coil being proportional to the rate of change of current flowing through it with respect to time.

Inductor

An inductor is another passive device that can store or deliver energy but cannot generate it. An ideal inductor is lossless, meaning that it can store energy indefinitely as no energy is lost as heat. Inductors present a low impedance path to DC current and a high impedance path to AC current. The impedance of an inductor called inductive reactance varies with frequency and in an ideal inductor, the current of the AC sine wave lags the voltage by 90o.

Then we can define inductance, L as the measure of an inductor’s “resistance” to the change of current with the larger the value of L, the lower the rate of change of current. Like resistance, inductance is always a positive value.

Capacitance

Our final passive device is the capacitor. Unlike the inductor which stores its energy magnetically, a capacitor stores its energy electrostatically as a charge across its plates.

A capacitor is made up of two or more conducting plates that are separated by a dielectric material. Capacitance, “C” is the property of a capacitor that opposes any changes in the voltage across it as defined by the constant of proportionality as the current flowing through it is proportional to the rate of change of voltage across it with respect to time.

Capacitor

The capacitance of a parallel plate capacitor is the ratio of the amount of charge, Q stored on its plates to the voltage, V across its plates and is measured in Farads, symbol (C), ie, C=Q/V. Capacitors present a low impedance path to AC signals but will block DC.

The impedance of a capacitor called capacitive reactance varies with frequency and in an ideal capacitor, the voltage of the AC sine wave lags the current by 90o. Like resistance, capacitance is always a positive value.

Transformers

A transformer is also a passive electronic component. Although this can seem surprising since transformers are often used to raise voltage levels – remember that power is kept constant.

When transformers step up (or step down) voltage, power and energy remain the same on the primary and secondary side. As energy is not actually being amplified – a transformer is classified as a passive element

What to expect from Gallon Electric?

Passive components can be used individually or connected together within a circuit, either in a series or in a parallel combination to control complex circuits or signals, produce a phase shift to the signal or to provide some form of feedback but they cannot multiply a signal by more than one because they have no power gain. In fact, passive devices consume power within an electrical or electronic circuit as they act like attenuators, unlike active elements that generate or provide power to a circuit.

With all the risk awaiting you when purchasing Passive devices related to electronic components globally, you definitely want to contract with a genuine and trusted wholesaler that will help you place orders and see your order delivered. That is exactly what Gallon Electric offers you.

Gallon Electric can be your trusted supplier for Passive components because of its best price & quality and we are also committed to ensuring better technical support for you.

Gallon Electric is committed to providing customers with authorized genuine components with the least risk of counterfeit. We can provide full traceability on the commercial components sold. From sales to shipping Gallon Electric is committed to meeting your requirements for the right product, on time

Gallon Electric can be your trusted supplier for buying electric components because of its best price & quality and we are also committed to ensuring better technical support for you. Gallon Electric commits to quality products, high service, and timely delivery to our customers.