In our session we learned about capacitors and worked on individual circuits. Capacitors are energy storing-discharging components that are used in virtually all circuit boards with a variety of uses from power stabilization to signal timing. They work by accumulating charge (electrons) on two very close but separate plates which creates an energy storing electric field between the two plates. We cut up a real capacitor and found the inside to have two long coiled up foils (plates) separated by thin paper. This effect, the build up of charge between objects, happens everyday in nature and is in-fact the cause of lightning!

Graham chose to work on a two-bit adder, a logic circuit that can add two two-bit numbers (so a maximum of 3+3=6). For such a simple task, the circuit to achieve it is actually quite complex. He will be finishing it next class. Tobias worked on a circuit with buttons and LEDs that could be played like a “light piano”.