25 lines
811 B
Markdown
25 lines
811 B
Markdown
---
|
|
tags:
|
|
- electronics
|
|
---
|
|
|
|
# LEDs
|
|
|
|
LED' stands for **Light Emitting Diode**, a [circuit]() component that emits
|
|
light. The symbol for an LED is displayed below:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A **diode** is a special kind of component that only permits current to flow
|
|
through it in one direction. To achieve this it has very low resistance in one
|
|
direction to allow current flow and high resistance in the other direction to
|
|
impede current flow. This feature of diodes is clearly represented in the
|
|
generic diode circuit symbol:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
An LED diode lights up when the right amount of current flows through it. A
|
|
standard LED has a maximum current of 20mA. An appropriate
|
|
[resistor](Resistance.md#resistors)
|
|
must therefore be added to the circuit to ensure the current doesn't exceed this
|
|
amount.
|