The start of digital electronics – a lead into transistors, FETs, ICs, logic gates and more…

To gain a good understanding of diodes and how they work read this wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diode#p….

“In electronics, a diode is a two-terminal electronic component with an asymmetric transfer characteristic, with low (ideally zero) resistance to current flow in one direction, and high (ideally infinite) resistance in the other. A semiconductor diode, the most common type today, is a crystalline piece of semiconductor material with a p-n junction connected to two electrical terminals.
Diodes were the first semiconductor electronic devices. The discovery of crystals’ rectifying abilities was made by German physicist Ferdinand Braun in 1874. The first semiconductor diodes, called cat’s whisker diodes, developed around 1906, were made of mineral crystals such as galena. Today most diodes are made of silicon, but other
semiconductors such as germanium are sometimes used.”

Items seen or mentioned in this video:

* Zener diode
* Semiconductor materials
* Light emitting diodes / LEDs
* Germanium
* Silicon
* p-n junction
* Schottky diode
* PIV – peak inverse voltage
* Full wave / have wave rectifier
* Forward bias
* Reverse bias
* Reverse breakdown
* Photodiode