Basic Electronics for Tomorrow's Inventors: A Thames and Kosmos Book

Created in partnership with Thames & Kosmos, Basic Electronics for Tomorrow's Inventors introduces you to essential electronics concepts through fun, do-it-yourself projects. You'll get tips for setting up your home workbench, safely handling materials, and creating a variety of entertaining gadgets. All of the projects and experiments use inexpensive, readily available electronic components and different types of breadboard, which creates a plug-and-play environment for you to build electronic circuits--no soldering required!

Inside you'll find:

• Things You'll Need--lists of all the electronic components and equipment required for each experiment
• A Circuit Diagram--shows how each of the electronic components are connected to produce the experiment
• How the Circuit Works--identifies the building blocks used to make the circuit and helps you read circuit diagrams
• Breadboard Layout--close-up photographs that guide you in building each electronic circuit
• Time to Experiment--explains how to get your experiment working

Step-by-step projects include:

Phone experiments

• Make an LED light up
• Make an LED flash
• Create colors with an RGB LED
• Build a working telephone

• Create indicator lights
• Build a temperature sensor
• Make an electronic horn
• Set up a water sensor

• Design a basic alarm circuit
• Make a pressure-sensitive mat
• Create a touch-activated alarm
• Build an electronic security keypad
• Make a reading light that switches on when it goes dark

• Create a random number generator
• Flip an electronic coin
• Get ready for infrared target practice
• Build a sound-effects generator

Nick Dossis holds a Higher National Certificate in Electronic/Electrical Engineering. He is the author of several articles published in Everyday Practical Electronics EPE Magazine, a popular monthly publication for electronic hobbyists. Nick has been playing around with electronics for most of his life, originally encouraged by a grandfather who bought him his first crystal radio set when he was six. He continues to design electronic circuits and projects in his spare time. He is the author of Brilliant LED Projects: 20 Electronic Designs for Artists, Hobbyists, and Experimenters, also from McGraw-Hill.