Originally posted by KingofthieF
thanks smithy~
i'm just really confused over these points:
1. The Emitter/Collector voltage does not affect the emitter/collector. It is a violation of ohm's law and an example of "constant current power supply".
2. What does it mean by current amplifier? Is it the emitter/base current or the emitter/collector current amplified? But isn't the current in series circuit constant through out??
ps all the textbook sort of skip the detail and just talk about the result.. which is really werid... all textbook...
Ok, ok- i'm not sure whether you were quoting me, but i'll try again.
There are 3 leads on a transistor. The middle one is usually the base- this is the lead that applies a current to the n or p type silicon in the middle of the sandwich of silicon. (which is the same as the "Grid" in a thermionic device.
If a small varying signal is connected to the base lead, it causes the n or p type silicon in the middle of the sandwich to "switch" according to the amount of current supplied at the base.
Now, if a larger current is placed at either the collector of a transistor, waiting to flow through the transistor. The switching which is done by the base allows this larger current "waiting" at the emmitter, and as the middle part of the silicon wafer is switched by the base, it allows current to flow in accordance with how much current is at the base.
Because of this, the larger current applied is made to flow in the same way that the signal at the base is oscillating.
Quoting Oxford university press Physics in context- "Small currents applied at the base produce large variations in the current flowing between the emitter and collector."
So basically, it is not the same signal- it is simply a way of turning a larger current applied to one part of the transistor into the waveform or variance that is applied at the base.
I don't know how basic this is- our class didn't actually even learn the names of the different leads- i'm just a bit of an electronics buff.