Piezoelectric actuators (benders, stacks, chips, etc.) are excellent fast and precise means for generation and control of micro, nano, and even atomic scale movement on millisecond and faster timescales. Unfortunately, they are also excellent ...
In recent EDN design ideas, we’ve seen thermostat designs that meld the functions of sensor and heater into a single device: FET, BJT, or even a simple length of fine gauge copper wire. A virtue inherent in thermostat designs that use a ...
Conventional thermostats are based on separate temperature sensor and heater devices with means for feedback between them. But in some recent EDN design ideas (DIs) we’ve seen thermostat designs that meld the functions of sensor and heater ...
The solar panels are operating at optimal parameters when they are at the perfect right angle to the sun. Unfortunately this is accomplished only if solar panels are rotated by the sun. This is the purpose of this diy solar tracker system or if you ...
“The unfortunate relationship between servo systems and oscillators is very apparent in thermal-control systems,” said Linear Technology's Jim Williams ( Reference 1 ). Although high-performance temperature control looks simple in ...
Streetlights, emergency lights, and security lights must automatically turn on when it gets dark. You base the control circuit on the resistance of a photoresistor or another LDR (light-dependent resistor) that varies with light intensity. An ...
If someone in your family has the habit of not completely closing a drawer or perhaps the food freezer’s door you’ll appreciate this design. It senses an ajar door and, if the situation isn’t corrected within 20 sec, sounds a ...
The MOSFET in Figure 1 is used as both a heater and a temperature sensor in a thermostatic circuit. Figure 1. Circuit diagram for using a MOSFET as a thermostatic heater. The circuit can be used as a tiny thermostat for some biological structures ...
Many electronic-control systems have digital outputs that use transistors. One method of improving the security in these outputs is to use an oscillating signal to represent a logic-high state instead of a fixed voltage level (Figure 1). This type ...
When applied to pharmaceuticals, the term “off-label” suggests the (frequently discovered) practical and beneficial uses for a drug that are different from the one it was originally developed for. This happens for electronic components ...