Introduction
Hello, my name is Guu, and I am currently in the middle of training. I'm Guu, currently in the middle of a training course.
The other day, I recently learned about "Coil" (Figure 1).
A coil is a tube-like structure with conductors wound around it.
Some of you may have used coils in science experiments in elementary school.
Figure 1: Coil symbol
In the course of learning about such a relatively familiar component, the "coil," I have come across a question that I would like to summarize.
Coils can be combined with a power supply IC to increase (boost) or decrease (step-down) the voltage (voltage conversion).
An example of a voltage booster circuit is shown below (Figure 2).
Figure 2: Example of a voltage booster circuit
In this circuit, an input voltage of 1.5 V is boosted to about 5 V, which turns on the LED.
(The PULSE in the lower right is an oscillator, which can be used to make the LED blink.)
One question arises here.
How is it possible to "output a higher input voltage"?
Explanation
Coils have a slightly unusual property.
- When you try to make electricity flow, it keeps it from flowing.
- When you stop the flow of electricity, it tries to flow more.
I will explain what this means with the help of a diagram.
When electricity tries to flow
The "coil" interferes with the flow of electricity.
Energy accumulates in the coil.
When you stop the flow of electricity
The coil stops interfering with the flow of electricity, and the accumulated energy is thrown away.
The energy discarded at this time is not very large.
However, if this sequence of events is repeated over and over again at high speed by switching on and off the switch, the voltage will become higher and higher (boosted) with time, as shown in the figure below.
It is just like "every little dust up is a big pile of dust"!
Conclusion
Due to the slightly unusual nature of the coil, the input voltage can be made higher (boosted) by changing the switch on and off at high speed!
Guu's Musings
The voltage booster circuit in Figure 2 is a board we actually created during the training (Photo 1).
The wiring did not go well and I short-circuited it many times ((+_+)).
But in the end we succeeded, and I was very happy when the voltage was actually boosted from 1.5 V to 5 V...
Photo 1: Actual voltage booster circuit
Check out the "Magic of Coil - Voltage Boost" series!
Explains the principle of voltage booster using coils in an easy-to-understand manner!
Boosting Voltage Is there a limit to boosting voltage? We will approach the mystery!
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