The LED, or Light Emitting Diode, is my favourite electronic component. It converts electrical current into light. It is used in almost all modern lighting due to it's high efficiency in converting the electrical to light energy.
The LED is a diode which means it has the same properties as a diode.
- it has a voltage drop
- it only allows current to flow in one way
The voltage drop is dependant on the colour of the LED. The reason for this is that the colour is defined by the doping of the junction. Red LEDs have a voltage drop of around 2 volts where bright white LEDs are more around 4 volts.
Symbol
