F RONTLINE
INTRODUCING ELECTRONICS
How to demonstrate the wonderful
These simple demonstrations show how a transis-
tor works. By including the audience in the circuit
and by lighting LEDs, you can show the potential
of the simple transistor amplier. I also describe the
extension to two transistors the Darlington pair.
In 1956 the Nobel Prize for Physics was awarded
to Shockley, Bardeen and Brattain for their inven-
tion of the transistor. In 2000, Alferov, Kroemer
and Kilby were awarded the Nobel Prize for basic
work on information and communication technol-
ogy and the development of the integrated circuit
all work that would have been impossible with-
out the humble transistor.
The transistor has enabled the modern telecom-
munications revolution. However, as time goes by
it has almost become invisible within our high-tech
society and this ubiquitous invention is becoming
less appreciated and even misunderstood. I believe
that its important for people have to an idea of what
a transistor is, how it works and what it can do; and
to show that this wonderful device can be under-
stood in terms of relatively simple physics.
The transistor is an electronic device that trans-
forms small electrical currents (and voltages) into
larger copies of the original. It is what is known as
an amplier and it is said to have gain (magni- much thinner than the other two regions.
cation). The transistor has three wire connections.
These are called the emitter (E), the base (B) and
the collector (C) (gure 1). By wiring the device up
in combination with other simple components, an
amplier can easily be constructed. A typical tran-
sistor has a gain of about 100.
How the transistor works
The physical theory describing the transistor is com-
plex and involves understanding the movement of
electrons (and the absence of electrons holes) in
P- and/or N-doped semiconductor materials. Read-
able accounts of the theory can be found in various
sources (see Further information). Here is not a
detailed account of the theory but some simple exper-
iments that demonstrate the transistor working.
A diode is a two-wire electronic component that
only conducts electricity when connected the cor-
rect way round(i.e. with the potentials applied cor-
128 P H YS I C S E D U C AT I O N
Figure 1. The NPN
transistor: its effective
C E
B
circuit, symbol and
appearance.
C Components and parts
two NPN transistors
B (most will work, e.g.
BC109C)
LED (any will work)
E
PP3 9 V battery
560 resistor (any
wattage)
100000 (see note 4)
C
B wire for connections
E (crocodile clips are
(tab indicates E)
useful)
rectly). It comprises a P and N semiconductor junc-
tion. The transistor is a three-wire component com-
prising a sandwich of either PNP or NPN junctions.
Electrically it is as if the transistor is composed of
two diodes wired back to back (gure 1). The com-
mon middle region (the base, B) of the transistor is
The diodes are opposed to each other, so no cur-
rent would normally ow when a voltage is applied
between the emitter and the collector, EC (although
there may be a tiny leakage current). If a voltage is
applied across BE (B positive and E negative for an
NPN transistor), this junction will be forward biased
so a current will ow in this circuit.
However, because the base region is very thin
(and also because when it is wired up correctly the
collector is at a high potential and therefore attracts
electrons), as much as 99% of this current will ow
right across the base region to reach C. Thus the EC
circuit of the transistor has been made to conduct
by applying a current into B (set up by a small volt-
age across BC).
Now the current flowing from the emitter must
be equal to the sum of:
the 99% arriving at the collector;
the 1% that is left owing through the base.
March 2004
 F RONTLINE

amplifying action of the transistor

560 resistor LED
100 k LED

9 V battery C
560
finger +
Figure 2. B 9V
LED (above) LED,
resistor and E
C
battery in
560 + series. B
C
9V
finger E
B
Figure 3.
(left) simple
E
transistor Figure 4. Connecting two transistors in cascade
circuit. gives a Darlington pair transistor circuit.

So the base current is small only 1% or so. How-
ever, as we have seen, the collector current cant
exist without the little base current, so the base cur-
rent effectively controls the collector current. The
collector current is a larger copy of the base signal,
so we nd that the transistor produces a current gain.
Gains of 100200 are typical for a transistor. Usu-
ally the EC part of the circuit is used as the output
and the base is used as the input to the amplier.
The EB circuit is low voltage and low current
while the EC part is at a much higher potential and
higher current.
Power=voltagecurrent
so we must have a higher power in EC and a power
gain must be possible with such a simple circuit. Of
course, the transistor does not amplify this small
base signal by magic the extra power is derived
from the supply that is driving the transistor cir-
cuitry. The transistor needs a battery, or other sup-
ply, to work its magic.
Experiment 1: a simple series circuit
Connect in series a 9 V battery, an LED and a 560
resistor (figure 2). The LED should light if con-
nected correctly (reverse the LED connections if
nothing happens). The LED needs about 3 V at
10 mA to light and this can be achieved by putting
an appropriate size of resistor in the circuit:
R= V/I=(9 3) V/0.01 A=600 .
NB: actually we use a 560 resistor in these
experiments because it is an easily obtained pre-
ferred value that is close enough to 600 to work.
Experiment 2: a human series circuit
Read note 1 before you start this experiment.
Disconnect the lead to the positive battery termi-
nal. Place a nger of one hand onto the positive 9 V
battery terminal and a finger of the other hand to
make a connection with the free lead. Now we have
a series circuit as before but with the additional
resistance of your body.
The resistance of the human body is complicated
and will depend on the voltage applied and, more
importantly, the contact resistance between the skin
and the wire connections (see note 2). The body can
present a range of resistance between 10 000 and
1 000 000 . For the purposes of this experiment,
lets say its 50 000 .

March 2004 P H YS I C S E D U C AT I O N 129

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x
We now get:
I=V/R=(9 3)/50 000 ~0.0001 A~0.1 mA
which we see is about 1% of the current needed to
light the LED (~10 mA), so nothing happens.
Experiment 3: the transistor amplifier
We have heard that a transistor can amplify by about
100 times, so we can make use of this to boost the
signal from the small current owing through your
body so that it can light an LED.
Carefully wire up the simple transistor circuit
shown in gure 3. When one nger on one of your
hands is placed on the positive battery terminal and
a nger on your other hand is connected to the base
connection of the transistor, a tiny current (of a mag-
nitude that we have just calculated, ~ 0.1 mA) ows
into the BE circuit of the transistor. Owing to the
gain of the transistor this sets up a CE current (where
the LED is connected) of roughly 100 times this:
0.0001 A100 =0.01 A=10 mA
so the LED lights up.
Experiment 4: the Darlington pair
So what will happen if we connect two transistors
in cascade (one feeding the other) within the cir-
cuit? This is indeed possible and is known as the
Darlington pair (gure 4). Ask your students what
they think the total gain of such a system will be.
For example, will it be 2 100 = 200 times or
100 100 = 10 000 times (see note 4).
Get your class to form a series chain, all holding
hands, with one hand from the rst person and one
hand from the last person making the connection
between the positive 9 V battery connection and the
base of the Darlington pair (see note 4).
I have found these little demonstrations to be
effective in showing the action of a transistor. You
need to make sure that the students understand that,
for safety reasons, the experiments must only be
undertaken using batteries (see note 1). In these
very simple experiments we have used the transis-
tor as an amplifying switch. To amplify more sub-
tly changing signals (rather than ones that simply
go ON or OFF), such as audio or radio signals, you
130 P H YS I C S E D U C AT I O N
Notes
1. The human body is used in these experiments,
so electrical shock hazards need to be considered.
With a 9 V PP3 battery these experiments are com-
pletely safe. The experiments must only be car-
ried out with batteries. A mains power supply or
battery eliminator should never be used.
2. The human body is not like a standard resistor.
Most important is the contact resistance to the skin,
and this will depend on the moisture present (i.e.
sweat, etc) . If your audience is particularly cool
(or perhaps it is not a very humid day) then the
contact resistance can be reduced (and these experi-
ments improved) by slightly wetting the fingers
(with tap water or saliva).
3. For several years I have run Christmas LED
workshops for young children. The idea is to teach
them about components, series and parallel cir-
cuits, and the wiring of LEDs, etc. We wire up
between four and six LEDs and the children dec-
orate homemade cards and Christmas trees. The
transistor demo started as a part of this workshop.
4. The demonstrator should be aware that if the
positive supply directly touches the base, and there
is a short to the positive supply, the current that
passes will damage the transistor(s). In the Dar-
lington pair circuit, for example, a 100 k resis-
tor should be placed in series with the base circuit
to limit current (the resistor will hardly affect the
function of the circuit because the gain is so high
around 100100 =10 000) .
5. Practical uses for such a circuit could include a
simple transistor tester, a damp detector when prob-
ing walls in old houses or a light switch for an LED
torch (that only lights when the torch is held), etc.
will need to bias the transistor so that a linear
(lower distortion) amplification can take place.
These next important steps are not dealt with here
but details of what to do next can be found in the
resources listed in Further information.
Acknowledgments
I should like to thank the many students who have
helped in these demonstrations; to dedicate this arti-
cle to the memory of Jan Meering, who worked at
March 2004

x
the Angmering School, West Sussex; and to thank
The National Endowment for Science Technology
and the Arts for support.
Further information
Physics of the transistor:
Rubaroe G T 1988 Essential Theory for the
Electronics Hobbyist (London: Bernard Babani)
ISBN 0 900162 69 4
Wilson F A 1989 From Atoms to Amperes
(London: Bernard Babani) ISBN 0 85934 199 2
Eisberg R and Resnick R 1985 Quantum Physics
(London: Wiley) ISBN 0 471 87373 X
ELECTROSTATIC FORCES
Attraction and repulsion: two
electrostatic experiments in one
While teaching basic electromagnetism recently, an
extension of an age-old electrostatics demonstra-
tion became apparent. In this particular version, both
electrostatic attraction and repulsion are illustrated.
The latter involves the interaction of two charged
regions and the former involves the interaction of
a charged region and an electrically polarized region.
Particularly interesting is that both effects can be
demonstrated repeatedly once two electrically insu-
lating rubber rods have been prepared.
To perform the demonstrations, suspend a hard
rubber rod about its centre of mass so that it is free
to rotate. Charge one half of the rod along its length
by rubbing it vigorously with a piece of fur or other
suitable material. In addition, prepare a second
(hand-held) rod in the same fashion so that the por-
tion of the rod away from the hand also attains a net
negative charge.
Place the charged end of the hand-held rod along-
side the charged end of the suspended rod (see g-
ure, top). As expected, the rods repel each other
owing to the fact that the interacting regions of the
rods have the same net charge as a result of being
prepared in similar ways.
Next, place the charged end of the hand-held rod
alongside the uncharged end of the suspended rod
(see gure, bottom) and watch to see what happens.
March 2004
F RONTLINE
The 1956 Nobel Prize for Physics, for their
researches on semiconductors and their
discovery of the transistor effect:
www.nobel.se/physics/laureates/1956/index.html
The 2000 Nobel Prize for Physics: for basic work
on information and communication technology:
www.nobel.se/physics/laureates/2000/index.html
The CSC Christmas LED Workshop:
www.creative-science.org.uk/workshops/
xmasled/led.html
Jonathan Hare, The Creative Science Centre,
Sussex University, www.creative-science.org.uk
repulsion
attraction
+ ++ + ++ +
Opposites attract: two half-charged rods can be
used to illustrate both repulsion and attraction.
In this case the two rods attract each other. Here the
charged end of the hand-held rod causes polarization
of the uncharged end of the suspended rod, thereby
inducing the opposite charge on its nearest surface.
Thus the excess charge on the hand-held rod and
the induced charge on the suspended rod exhibit
electrostatic attraction.
These demonstrations work equally well with
other materials and are good for challenging stu-
dents to explain what is happening.
The following suggestions are also offered for the
classroom setting:
Before charging them, show that the rods
exhibit no discernible forces on each other.
Maintain the hand-held rod alongside the
suspended rod once it begins to move. This
results in more rapid motion, thus clearly
P H YS I C S E D U C AT I O N 131