Experiment #14: the current amplifier – Elenco Electronic Playground 50-in-1 Experiments User Manual
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Connect the wires according to the Wiring Checklist and
press the switch. LED 1 in the collector path is brighter
than LED 2 in the base path because the base current is
amplified by the transistor. The current gain of a
transistor varies anywhere from 10 to 1000 depending on
the type of transistor, the ones in your Electronic
Playground have a gain of about 200.
Note that the battery voltage and circuit resistance will
limit the current gain. For example, if you replace the
1K
Ω in this circuit with a 33KΩ then the current gain will
only be about 3. The circuit resistances, not transistor
itself, are limiting the current and the transistor is said to
be saturated.
EXPERIMENT #14: The Current Amplifier
Wiring Checklist:
o 27-to-56
o 52-to-55-to-41
o 40-to-1
o 2-to-16
o 17-to-26
o 15-to-4
o 3-to-51
Schematic