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<table style="width:100%" bgcolor="blue"><tr><td class="hdrl">&nbsp;Elliott Sound Products</td>
<td align="right" class="hdrr">Essential Electronic Formulae&nbsp;</td></tr></table><br />
<h1>The Formulae You Need To Work With Electronics</h1>
<div align="center" class="t_11">&copy; 2015, Rod Elliott (ESP)</div>
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<b>Contents</b>
<ul>
<li><a href="essential.htm#intro">Introduction</a>
<li><a href="essential.htm#s01">1 - Ohm's Law</a>
<li><a href="essential.htm#s02">2 - Capacitors</a>
<li><a href="essential.htm#s03">3 - Inductors</a>
<li><a href="essential.htm#s04">4 - Resonance &amp; Filters</a>
<li><a href="essential.htm#s05">5 - Power</a>
<li><a href="essential.htm#s06">6 - Power Factor</a>
<li><a href="essential.htm#s07">7 - Sound Pressure Level (SPL)</b></a>
</ul>
<hr /><a id="intro"></a><b>Introduction</b>
<p>There are quite a few formulae (or 'formulas' if you prefer) that are the building blocks of all electronics.&nbsp; I only intend to cover the basics, so you won't find the formulae for complex filters or anything else out of the ordinary.&nbsp; This info is covered in more detail in the beginner articles, but here I've concentrated on the basic formulae and nothing else.</p>
<p>Think of this short article as being the 'go-to' place to find the formula you need without much by way of illustration or extensive descriptive text.</p>
<p>In all cases below, resistance is in ohms, capacitance is in Farads and inductance is in Henrys.&nbsp; If you use megohms and microfarads the result will be the same, but is usually easier to calculate.&nbsp; If you use a scientific calculator (forget basic pocket calculators as they are useless), a microfarad is entered as 1<sup>E-6</sup>.&nbsp; A calculator that uses <i>engineering</i> mode is always better, because it will set all values to multiples of three, so you don't get 'awkward' values like (for example) 1.414<sup>E-4</sup>&nbsp; (141.4&micro; or 141.4<sup>E-6</sup>).&nbsp; Common engineering values are as follows&nbsp;...</p>
<blockquote>
<table>
<tr><td class="t_12" style="width:75px">Pico<td class="t_12">1<sup>E-12</sup>
<tr><td class="t_12">Nano<td class="t_12">1<sup>E-9</sup>
<tr><td class="t_12">Milli<td class="t_12">1<sup>E-3</sup>
<tr><td class="t_12">Units<td class="t_12">1
<tr><td class="t_12">Kilo<td class="t_12">1<sup>E3</sup>
<tr><td class="t_12">Mega<td class="t_12">1<sup>E6</sup>
<tr><td class="t_12">Giga<td class="t_12">1<sup>E9</sup>
<tr><td class="t_12">Tera<td class="t_12">1<sup>E12</sup>
</table>
</blockquote>
<p>The last two aren't common for most circuitry, but you may come across them in a few applications.</p>
<hr /><b>Numerators &amp; Denominators</b>
<p>These two terms often confuse people not used to working with maths.&nbsp; The numerator is the number at the <i>top</i> of an equation, and can be thought of as describing the number of parts described in the denominator (which is at the bottom).&nbsp; For example, the fraction 1/4 means that you have one of the four 'parts' - one quarter.&nbsp; The reciprocal is the decimal rendering of the fraction, in this case 0.25 or 250m (milli).&nbsp; Not all formulae describe fractions - especially those in electronics, where the goal is to find the <i>decimal</i> value.&nbsp; No-one wants to deal with 1/1,000,000 Farad capacitors - that's simply 1&micro;F.</p>
<p>The fraction X/Y means 'X pieces of a whole object that is divided into Y equally sized parts'.</p>
<hr /><a id="s01"></a><b>1 - Ohm's Law</b>
<p>The most fundamental of all.&nbsp; R is resistance in ohms, V is voltage and I is current.</p>
<blockquote>
R = V / I<br />
V = R &times; I<br />
I = V / R
</blockquote>
<p>Hint: if R is in k&Omega; then the answer is in milliamps.&nbsp; 1V across 1k gives 1mA.</p>
<p>The total resistance with resistors in series is simply the sum of the resistors.&nbsp; 3 x 1k resistors in series is 3k.&nbsp; Parallel resistors are a bit trickier.&nbsp; However, if they're the same value it's easy - 3 &times; 1k resistors in parallel gives 1/3k, or 333.33&Omega;.</p>
<blockquote>
R = ( R1 &times; R2 ) / ( R1 + R2 ) ... or ...<br />
R = 1 / (( 1 / R1 ) + ( 1 / R2 ) + ( 1 / Rn )) &nbsp; &nbsp; (Rn is the n<sup>th</sup> parallel resistor)
</blockquote>
<p>Most calculators provide the reciprocal (1/X), and this makes the second equation much easier to use, and it works with multiple resistors.&nbsp; The first formula falls apart with three or more variables.&nbsp; Remember to include the outer set of brackets (ellipses) in the denominator - the bottom part of the equation.</p>
<hr /><a id="s02"></a><b>2 - Capacitive Reactance</b>
<p>You don't need it often, but determining capacitive reactance is fundamental to some circuits.&nbsp; Xc is reactance (impedance) in ohms, C is capacitance in Farads and f is frequency in Hz.&nbsp; Pi (<span class="times">&pi;</span>) is the standard constant of 3.141592654 (3.141 is close enough, and it's available from nearly all calculators).</p>
<blockquote>
Xc = 1 / ( 2<span class="times">&pi;</span> &times; C &times; f )<br />
C = 1 / ( 2<span class="times">&pi;</span> &times; Xc &times; f )<br />
f = 1 / ( 2<span class="times">&pi;</span> &times; Xc &times; C )
</blockquote>
<p>The total capacitance with caps in parallel is simply the sum of the capacitors.&nbsp; 3 x 10&micro;F caps in parallel is 30&micro;F.&nbsp; This time, series caps are a bit trickier.</p>
<blockquote>
C = ( C1 &times; C2 ) / ( C1 + C2 ) ... or ...<br />
R = 1 / (( 1 / C1 ) + ( 1 / CR2 ) + ( 1 / Cn )) &nbsp; &nbsp; (Cn is the n<sup>th</sup> parallel capacitor)
</blockquote>
<p>The same comments apply as shown for resistors.</p>
<hr /><a id="s03"></a><b>3 - Inductive Reactance</b>
<p>More common than capacitive reactance, and inductive reactance is often needed when coils are used.&nbsp; X<small>L</small> is reactance (impedance) in ohms, L is inductance in Henrys and f is frequency in Hz.</p>
<blockquote>
X<small>L</small> = 2<span class="times">&pi;</span> &times; L &times; f<br />
L = X<small>L</small> / ( 2<span class="times">&pi;</span> &times; f )<br />
f = X<small>L</small> / ( 2<span class="times">&pi;</span> &times; L )
</blockquote>
<p>The total inductance with coils in series is simply the sum of the inductors.&nbsp; 3 x 1H inductors in series is 3H.&nbsp; Parallel inductors are determined in the same way as resistors.</p>
<blockquote>
L = ( L1 &times; L2 ) / ( L1 + L2 ) ... or ...<br />
L = 1 / (( 1 / L1 ) + ( 1 / L2 ) + ( 1 / Ln )) &nbsp; &nbsp; (Ln is the n<sup>th</sup> parallel inductor)
</blockquote>
<hr /><a id="s04"></a><b>4 - Resonance &amp; Filters</b>
<p>Basic resistor/ capacitor (R/C) filters can be high or low pass.&nbsp; A high-pass filter is also called a differentiator, and a low-pass filter is an integrator.&nbsp; Only single pole (1st order or 6dB/ octave) networks are described here, and the formula is the same for high and low pass filters.&nbsp; Whether it is high or low pass depends on the way the two components are wired.</p>
<blockquote>
f = 1 / ( 2<span class="times">&pi;</span> &times; R &times; C )<br />
R = 1 / ( 2<span class="times">&pi;</span> &times; f &times; C )<br />
C = 1 / ( 2<span class="times">&pi;</span> &times; f &times; R )
</blockquote>
<p>'f' is the -3dB frequency, and the output voltage is 0.707 (1/&radic;2) times the input voltage.&nbsp; With 1V input, there is 0.707V across the resistor <i>and</i> capacitor, and the output phase is shifted by 90&deg; with respect to the input.</p>
<p>R/C networks also have a time constant, which is usually only needed for timing circuits.&nbsp; Note that some filters may be described in terms of time constant rather than -3dB frequency (for example the RIAA vinyl disc replay EQ curve).</p>
<blockquote>
t = R &times; C<br />
R = t / C<br />
C = t / R<br />
f = 1 / ( 2<span class="times">&pi;</span> &times; t )
</blockquote>
<p>Inductor/ capacitor (L/C) filters are far more complex, and I will only provide the formulae for resonance.&nbsp; Q (quality factor), bandwidth and other parameters are not covered.&nbsp; L/C filters can be in series or parallel, but if we ignore the inductor's series resistance the formula is the same for both types.</p>
<blockquote>
f = 1 / ( 2<span class="times">&pi;</span> &times; &radic;( L &times; C ))<br />
L = 1 / ( 4 &times; <span class="times">&pi;</span> &sup2; &times; f &sup2; &times; C )<br />
C = 1 / ( 4 &times; <span class="times">&pi;</span> &sup2; &times; f &sup2; &times; L )
</blockquote>
<p>The impedance of a resonant filter depends on the topology.&nbsp; Theoretically 'ideal' series resonant filters have zero impedance at resonance, and parallel resonant circuits have an infinite impedance at resonance.&nbsp; All real-world filters will have series resistance which changes the behaviour, but only slightly in a well designed circuit with optimised components.</p>
<hr /><a id="s07"></a><b>7 - Sound Pressure Level (SPL)</b>
<center>
<table style="width:673px" border="1">
<colgroup span="2" style="width:50%"></colgroup>
<tr class="tbldark"><td><b>Continuous dB SPL</b><td><b>Maximum Exposure Time</b>
<tr><td>85</td><td>8 hours</td></tr>
<tr><td>88</td><td>4 hours</td></tr>
<tr><td>91</td><td>2 hours</td></tr>
<tr><td>94</td><td>1 hour</td></tr>
<tr><td>97</td><td>30 minutes</td></tr>
<tr><td>100</td><td>15 minutes</td></tr>
<tr><td>103</td><td>7.5 minutes</td></tr>
<tr><td>106</td><td>&lt; 4 minutes</td></tr>
<tr><td>109</td><td>&lt; 2minutes</td></tr>
<tr><td>112</td><td>~ 1 minute</td></tr>
<tr><td>115</td><td>~ 30 seconds</td></tr>
</table>
<span class="t-pic">Table 1 - Maximum Exposure to SPL</span>
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<tr><td class="t-wht"><a id="copyright"></a><b>Copyright Notice.</b> This article, including but not limited to all text and diagrams, is the intellectual property of Rod Elliott, and is &copy; 2015.&nbsp; Reproduction or re-publication by any means whatsoever, whether electronic, mechanical or electro- mechanical, is strictly prohibited under International Copyright laws.&nbsp; The author (Rod Elliott) grants the reader the right to use this information for personal use only, and further allows that one (1) copy may be made for reference.&nbsp; Commercial use is prohibited without express written authorisation from Rod Elliott.</td></tr>
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<div class="t-sml">Page published and copyright &copy; 30 May 2015.</div><br />
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