This notation is designed to be relatively easy to write. This is achieved by not drawing ultra complex ASCII art boxes of every component. It would be slightly more readable if we did that, but prioritizing the writer here.
Two wires are only joined if but the following are:
+
is given. E.g. the following two wires are not joined: |
--|--
|
|
--+--
|
Simple symmetric components:
-
,+
and|
: wireAC
: AC source. Parameters:e.g.:If only one side is given, the other is assumed to be at a groundAC_1Hz_2V
G
.C
: capacitorG
: ground. Often used together withDC
, e.g.:means applying a voltage of 10 V across a 10 Ohm resistor, which would lead to a current of 1 ADC_10---R_10---G
L
: inductorMICROPHONE
. As a multi-letter symmetric component, you can connect the two wires anywhere, e.g.or:---MICROPHONE---
| MICROPHONE |
SPEAKER
R
: resistorSQUID
: SQUID deviceX
: Josephson junction
Asymmetric components have multiple letters indicating different ports. The capital letter indicates the device, and lower case letters the ports. The wires then go into the ports:
D
: diodeSample usage in a circuit:a
: anode (where electrons can come in from)c
: cathode
Can also be used vertically like aany other circuit:--aDc--
We can also change the port order, the device is still the same due to capital| a D c |
D
:--cDa-- | Dac-- | Dca-- | --caD
DC
DC source. Ports:E.g. a 10 V source with a 10 Ohm resistor would be:p
: positiven
: negative
If only one side is given, the other is assumed to be at a the ground+---pDC_10_n---+ | | +----R_10------+
G
. We can also omitp
andm
in that case and assume thatp
is the one used, e.g. the above would be equivalent to:If the voltage is not given, it is assumed to be a potentiometer.DC_10---R_10---G
T
: transistor. The ports aresgTd
:Sample usage in a circuit:s
: sourceg
: gated
: gate
All the following are also equivalent:---+ | --sgTd--
| g --sTd-- | --Tsgd-- |
I
: electric current source. Ports:
Numbers characterizing components are put just next to each component with an underscore. When there is only one parameter, standard units are assumed, e.g.:means:Micro is denoted as
+-----+
| |
C_1p R_2k
| |
+-----+
u
.The first diodes. These were apparently incredibly unreliable, especially for portable radios, as you had to randomly search for the best contact point you could find in a random polycrystalline material!!
And also quality was highly dependant on where the material was sourced from as that affected the impurities present in the material. Later this was understood to be an issue of doping.
It was so unreliable that vacuum tube diodes overtook them in many applications, even though crystal detectors are actually semiconductor diodes, which eventually won over!
For a long time, before artificial semiconductors kicked in, people just didn't know the underlying physical working principle of these detectors. What I cannot create, I do not understand basically.
They were superseded by transistor radios, which were much more reliable, portable and could amplify the signal received.
How a Crystal radio Works by RimstarOrg
. Source. Bibliography:
Diodes Explained by The Engineering Mindset (2020)
Source. Good video:- youtu.be/Fwj_d3uO5g8?t=153 how it works
- youtu.be/Fwj_d3uO5g8?t=514 applications:
- protection against accidental battery inversion
- rectifiers, notably mentions a diode bridge