What is a zener diode?

[@Afrotechmods]

Interested in learning about wireless power? Subscribers can get up to 80% off Wireless Power to the People - Wireless Charging 101 on udemy using the coupon code "KZbin" www.udemy.com/wireless-power-to-the-people-wireless-charging-101/?couponCode=KZbin

[@greatscottlab]

Are you planning on doing a kickstarter for your Fartduino. It sounds promising ;-)

[@Afrotechmods]

GreatScott! I am launching it on Kickfarter!

[@TheBrightPixel]

Afrotechmods Much better than Stinky-gogo

[@ahmedelwan9129]

Afrotechmods hahahaha nice names

[@ozzie_goat]

The Bright Pixel What about Fartreon?

[@LNW54]

+Bogdi Gaming and More! you've taken that too far....

[@alico797]

This is the video that best explains the operation of zener diodes throughout KZbin!! ... THANK YOU SO MUCH!!

[@cbcdesign001]

We use Zener diodes a lot. 0.4W for reference and clamping circuits drawing up to a few milliamps and larger 1.3W versions for regulating rail voltages on comparator circuits with loads up to 50mA in some cases. Zeners only handle the surplus current in a circuit where the load at a given voltage is continuous. It is a very useful component.

[@mechguy83]

i hope you come back one day its been a few years hope your ok bud, btw you taught my 10 year alot she going to take an electronics course one day.

[@serenadawn111]

Thank you thank you thank you! I was not grasping Zener diodes in my Introduction to Electronics class at all! You've helped clarify ALOT!

[@darkside5770]

Hi

[@justadreamerforgood69]

@@darkside5770 Desperado

[@Azam94856]

the TL431 can be used as a programmable voltage regulator (reference). That means you can actually use a Voltage divider to get the output you want. I hope you make a small tutorial about the TL431 and its uses. great video thanks

[@PrinceWesterburg]

I'd heard of diode distortion in modern guitar amps but didn't know where to start - thanks so much! :o)

[@stemmaster1568]

I have a fartduino...however when I received it in the package it smelled a bit... off.

[@automationsolution]

lol

[@ChrisFredriksson]

Would you consider doing a followup to this video with more circuit "protection", with how to more completely protect an analog input from both negative and high voltage and high currents, for example from a magnet switch in an alarm system, which could be subject to sabotage of hundreds or thousands of volts/amps? How would you easily but very efficiently protect against that? Great video, as always, I love these! =)

[@douggale5962]

The description I've heard more often is, it is like a regular diode with a very low breakdown voltage, constructed in such a way as to allow the breakdown voltage to be exceeded without damage. I've wondered how accurate an analogy based description can be, though.

[@101AOK]

I like it...at 5min alligator clips on breadboard show previous "high voltage" or grounding experiments etc... NICE touch.

[@CPOST1CPOST1]

WOW, YOU REALLY MAKE A GREAT TUTORIAL... IF ONLY I HAD THESE VIDEOS IN MY EE CLASSES CIRCA 1976!

[@dont.ripfuller6587]

I'd be surprised if they even had normal diodes back then much less zenith's. Its amazing how much farthered we are the then back then, thinking about a black and white tv, kids idk how they enjoyed cartoons and probably explains that they were always taking drugs in the world.

[@MyVillageShow]

Your videos are very nice

[@Abdullahjimmy]

Really appreciated the video :) More easier to understand than what the proffesor said.

[@NigelAtkinson256]

One of my bikes, a1973 Norton Commando, orginally had a battery charging circuit involving a large (physically) ziner across the battery to prevent over charging. It used the large hunk of metal the foot peg was attached to in order to disapate the heat generated.

[@patrikjankovics2113]

Its actually used in LED power supplies, or everywhere where constant current is needed.I think there are a lot of circuit designs on the internet about it if you search for it.

[@mrflamewars]

Not really understanding or absorbing much of this but it's still really interesting to watch.

[@zedlepplin9450]

Very clear, this video an be my whole analog ckt lab report for zener diodes. Thank yousir!

[@mistaowickkuh6249]

A reliable variable power supply is quite a lot of work to design. It's a rabbit hole if you're doing it for the first time. Lots of things to learn. For easy solutions of a fixed voltage there are some simple voltage regulator ICs that work well though. Throw in a capacitor too and you can get a pretty stable dc out of the end. Higher power ones require cooling though. Also if you want to start from AC you usually have to take a few prerequisite steps too sadly.

[@nitro105]

Another great video, in one of them you mentioned that diodes don't always work well in parallel could you make a video to explain this? Alternators of high amp output frequently use multiple parallel diodes.

[@maxxiang8746]

really late but basically, diodes don't have a linear voltage to current curve like a resistor, and if the voltage is above its forward voltage, the current will increase dramatically if not limited. each diode is slightly different, so if more than one diode is used in parallel, one will likely end up overheating while the others do not heat up at all. I'm not sure why some devices still do that though

[@ArthurSeijiNishikawa]

Clarence Zener was a remarkable scientist. Besides discovering the Zener effect, that lead to the development of the Zener diode, he did quite a lot of discoveries in metallurgy (my field of study).

[@BrianMann216]

I am working on fuel injection circuit (12v 2.1ohm solenoid) trying to protect 555 timer / arduino driver. Thanks for this help.

[@CoolDudeClem]

Great tutorial, I'll be looking out for the "fartduino"! On a more serious note I know you can add a transistor to the zener circuit when more power is needed. The collector goes to +, the base connects to where the resistor and zener meet, and the load connects to the emitter and ground, that kind of circuit has been around for years.

[@Afrotechmods]

CoolDudeClem Yes that's a very common way to make a linear regulator!

[@power-max]

CoolDudeClem Yup! To achieve better _load regulation_, (lower the apparent output impedance) then use a transistor with a high gain, because when you use a BJT as an emitter-follower like you describe, you create effectively a feedback loop within the transistor, and higher gain is like a higher 'P' factor, so better regulation. You can use a darlington to further improve load regulation, but the disadvantage is that the "dropout voltage" will be considerably higher. If instead you use the complementary darlington pair, you will get the advantages of a low Vbe saturation voltage (which is the main culprit for dropout voltage) as well as additional gain, and better line regulation! :D I actually use this set up a lot when I cannot find a suitable regulator in my junk bin! However, if you are simply using resistors to bias the zeners instead of a proper current source, then the current through the zeners will be proportional to the input voltage, and since the zener voltage changes a bit with respect to that current, the overall line regulation will be pretty crap, but good enough for most non-critical things. You can actually use a small regulator as a voltage reference to replace the zener diodes and improve performance.

[@zezeA380]

Thanks for uploading the tutorial I have asked for!

[@eugenepohjola258]

Howdy. Nice. An idea is to use zener diodes to kill switch on / off spikes. The approach is good but zener diodes are too slow to work as spike killers. Varistor resistors are a much better choice. Regards.

[@calogiga]

Terrific ! This is very well explained ! I understand for the first time the Zener diode. Thanks !!!!

[@8bits59]

THANK YOU I HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR THIS FOR FOREVER

[@Braeden123698745]

I found you from your transistor video, and I'm so happy to see you have other fantastic tutorials You're channel is exactly what I was looking for.

[@OrbitalSaucer]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but this phenomenon is technically referred to as compression in audio, not distortion. Distortion happens with compression (along with practically any other signal processing regime), but sawing off peaks is pretty clearly in the domain of compression.

[@altimmons]

That’s exactly what distortion is. Cutting the peaks means that the signals line up way more often producing lots of harmonics. (They only have to align in the x dimension.) not x and y-amplitude. Compression is the opposite, you take the small peaks and amplify them to reach the top of some range (the compression ratio). This makes quiet sounds louder.

[@captainpumpkinhead1512]

So then, are there zener transistors you could buy? This would be super useful in a transistor package!

[@kevinbowker2385]

Thank you. As always, very interesting and informative.

[@KevinDay]

You could have mentioned that you can use a power transistor in the common collector or "emitter follower" configuration to buffer the voltage and provide more current. This would have helped me a while back...

[@alejandroperez5368]

How dare you speak like that to him?

[@larrydixon6021]

The best electronics videos out there keep up the good work

[@012MIS]

you can reverse bias any diode, it's just that zener diodes are designed to survive that

[@1984revision]

Thank you for the clarification. The question on my mind: is it ok to use Zener Diode as a rectifier diode? I wasn't aware until I learn of your demonstration.

[@ewhartiii]

In the late 80s and early 90s I worked rebuilding alternators and starters. In the mid 80s GM started making the CS series of alternators, which used 28 V Avalanche (Zener) diodes for the rectifiers. I believe this was to protect the electronics in the ECU from voltage spikes. These alternators were rated up to 120 A @ 12 V. I actually mounted a 120 A GM alternator in place of a 60 A Ford alternator on a 1983 LTD. I modified the GM alternator to use a heavy duty Ford external regulator, and used to jump start semis with it. edit: Oops, I forgot to answer your question. As long as the Zeners are rated to handle the anticipated current and voltage, they will work fine.

[@sob0o]

this guy knows what he talks about .

[@cjdelphi]

As a fun thing to look at and explore for a future video is the joule thief and how it's able to light an led from a battery considerd flat/dead :)

[@hazzardstar]

Awsome explanation your videos continue to help me a tonne with electronics

[@AnalogDude_]

we want more Afrotechmods : )

[@profounddevices]

i think it would be better discussing biasing voltage and reverse breakdown voltage. all diodes have these properties, just zener diodes have them controlled to lower specified values

[@robertsparkman8516]

In college I was taught to say zen-er not zeener. I'm the only one I know who says it that way. I'm looking for a video on it's development where Robert Zener is referenced or interviewed. I was also taught pie-ee-zoh, same deal,lol.

[@cbcdesign001]

No you are not the only one. It is pronounced zener, similar to never.

[@markfinn825]

What about a relay with a big electromagnet that turns on with only (for example) a small amount of electricity? All the extra electricity is converted to magnetism. The common and normally open contacts bring in whatever voltage you need (as long as the source can supply the needed current its good ). It may not be fancy but it is a beginning.

[@RollerBGM]

Misleading, regular diodes can also conduct in reverse bias, this is known as avalanche breakdown. Which is also the same mechanism for reverse bias conduction in zener diodes. The only difference is that zeners are engineered to breakdown at a lower voltage on purpose.

[@felicciasc]

BGM ya, but they're not designed to carry in reverse. The magic smoke comes out

[@reactor1system]

Very informative video as always. Can you make a tutorial on making short-range radio transmitters? Would be cool to learn how to transmit digital data with radio. I know there are already modules like zigbee but it would be awesome to make a crude DIY digital transmitter.

[@Ash99Ob]

شكراً لكم على الترجمة Thanks for translation

[@cat-lw6kq]

that symbol is seldom used in service manuals, I don't know why. used to work in a repair shop. of course you can tell by looking at them the no. on it or the color they are different.

[@rawmoo1990]

Thank you for these videos, once I'll make a donation once I start applying this knowledge to my bank account.

[@aajjeee]

thats exaclty what i was missing for my analogy of subway trams and ac current

[@pseudotronics]

I think you mean clipper. In a clamper the swing of the input has to match the swing of the output.

[@guitarguy3688]

Make a video on logic gates & also on photodiode please

[@deyontecoleman2163]

I'm adding LEDs to my model city, but my primary voltage is 12v ac phase to ground. I need 5v to power the LEDs without burning them out

[@deyontecoleman2163]

@colinmitchell7760 Thank you. Will that work with 17V ac as well? I upgraded my grid to 30Y/17V. I can use the same thing, right?

[@agenericaccount3935]

We used to use these as a very cheap and dirty method to trick the ECU's on MAP equipped turbo cars. Nifty to see the science behind how they work.

[@bayviewboom4468]

"When the input voltage is minus-10V, there's enough voltage to forward bias the zener diode." -- Confusing. Doesn't it need a positive voltage?

[@Brokkoli7hun]

Hi, I'm designing a simple radiation detector. The GM tube requires 400VDC. I found a nice plan for the step-up itself, but it still needs some kind of feedback, so when the output reaches the desired voltage, a transistor would pull the base of the oscillator transistor to ground. The best idea seemed to be using a 400V zener diode, but the store I oder from only sells 100V zeners... So my question is the following: Is there an alternative - apart from putting 4 in series - to make the feedback?

[@austin3013]

Fartduino! lol how is that trademarked XD

[@CurtisEFlush5962]

BigShack By the power of his keyboard

[@marcfoster715]

Along with the Strawberry Rho®, I guess.

[@user-mp3eq6ir5b]

Unicode, I guess... I've already Trademarked "New Age" a couple times, but it never made me any money...

[@nehachandel4686]

hey.. i am about to start up with some project... i am an electronics engineer.. your videos are great help. please get back to me if i need some help.

[@nikhil_06_]

It would've been great....If you had also explained how zener diode works on the atomic level But anyways a great video!

[@draftartmart8069]

Hey afrotechmods Great video but could you tell me how to use a 15v zener to reduce 40v to 15v for my MOSFET

[@nidalshehadeh6001]

I am working on a small weather emergency broadcast radio with a lot of static in it looking inside it I found a broken zener diode. on the printed circuit board it says 3.9 volt ZD 3 do I need to concern myself with more than 3.9 volt ? is there different amperage on a 3.9v zener diode ? the glass is broken and I could hardly read what it says on it. thank you and have a good day

[@janussQv]

I was planning to make an oscilloscope "divider" for a mobile phone oscilloscope. Placing two 2v2 zeners, to clamp voltage to a safe limit, not to burn down the mic input. Does this sound like the correct way to do it? Of course voltage would be dropped with a resistor voltage divider first and zeners would be used just as extra protection.

[@Crux161]

Mentioning some of the benefits (as you just did at the end) for a patreon subscription sounded really enticing,m! If I had the cash to spare, I'd love having advanced access to your videos lol :) most other people I've seen on KZbin just mention patreon, but they don't always mention the benefits of a subscription it seems.

[@dingski_diy]

hi, nice tut, can i use zener diode to clamp the voltage output to 5.1v 50ma from a 72v input?

[@RixtronixLAB]

Well done, nice video,thanks for sharing it with us :)

[@lightbulbgonewild3205]

Please come back 😭

[@billligon4005]

I am a Model railroading hobbyist. I want to use two white LED's in parallel, one is 'blinking LED' and the other a 'non-blinking' LED. When connected to a 9v battery they work perfectly simulating the headlight on a Steam locomotive - one headlight constantly on, the other blinking simulating (inexpensively) what is callled 'MARS' lighting. The problem is when connected to the DCC lighting circuit of the locomotive decoder and the loco starts to move the 'blinking LED' stops working. I was wondering if the Zener diode would make this circuit work as I previously described. DCC is 'square wave' DC circuit as I understand it? Any suggestions?

[@mdfahd1795]

your videos are so beneficial , thank you

[@zainmubarak8679]

your videos is great and very helpful.. thank you

[@AFrameproduction]

love your video on zener diode thanks

[@motek346]

Very nice and interesting videos! They are really helpful for electronic projects. How about a video about ground loops?

[@Forssa1]

"Just make sure you don't use them for anything high powered." **imagines you inserting a clip of some melting zeners** Doesn't do it. Disappoint!

[@Afrotechmods]

Forssa1 I uploaded those a few days ago!

[@bennievaneeden8625]

Afrotechmods will never miss an opportunity to melt stuff

[@jules2c]

Forssa1 I have used them on 3 phase static converter to prevent damaging voltage spikes that's high power, but I get what he means.

[@rich1051414]

+Forssa1 Grabbing a zener that has turned to molten glass is a pain you will never forget.

[@russefarmer]

i love these things because they fry very easily ;)

[@xerejuneseve6333]

Ad base of transistor betwen resistor and zener and you can take couple of A.

[@rampitup32]

This was really helpful. Thank you!

[@ChrisDIYerOklahoma]

Used to work on backswing diode thyristors...big ones. They don't work well when soaked in coolant. Haaa!

[@ethanrowlette9912]

HaY!!! I love this channel!!! Do you have any suggestions for me? I want to become nothing short of an electrical master. I have been learning here on KZbin it is very useful! especially considering I'm fairly lacking in financial endowment. Afrotechmods and GreatScott! and mjorton are the best sources I have found thus far. I would like to know if you have any recommendations if I was to seek formal education. Specifically: What would be my best choice to get a deep understanding of electrical and electronic workings and inner workings. I want to know everything! :D

[@LoganDark4357]

It's called... school....

[@yurigagarin4974]

I agree with you youtube is great for learning electronics 🇬🇧😎👍

[@chimeranzl9147]

When you say reverse biased, that current starts to flow in the opposite direction, do you mean from cathode to anode? (rather than the normal anode to cathode direction for fwd bias) So if you built a circuit specifically to utilize the reverse bias of a zener, you wire in the zener backwards so it starts conducting when it hits a certain threshold? So + to cathode and - to anode?

[@zeffur7]

Expensive oscope.... You own it or just using the one on cam??

[@jimadams2473]

Another excellent video. Thanks.

[@abdalrhmansy7707]

Can the zener diode be used at the end of the 12 V phone charger to regulate the output voltage and what is the highest ampere it can be allowed to pass through? Thank you.

[@user-ew8mx1vn5m]

You can shine a laser at a zener diode and you get a voltage reading

[@xmenxwk]

Why did you put 220Ohm resistor when using zener as voltage regulator ?

[@hughjanus6975]

I need one of these for a project so I bought two, and came here to see what the hell they actually were.

[@yeshecan7]

Afrotechmods......i have small diode like you show on the video....but my diode has writen code which is 23 on the first line on the second line OB or 0B......please can you tell me what does it mean? and what kind of diode it is? thank you.

[@vrushabhpatil8157]

Make a Video on How Microcontrollers works internally....?

[@JazzOcasterCovers]

I have 2 suspected bad zener diodes in a vintage Sony receiver with 3 leads - what the heck is that? Only 2 leads give a reading. Manufactures have 'replacements' that are typical 2 lead diodes - can they work to replace the 3 lead?

[@PCarew]

Not sure I completely understand the last part of your video. As the load current goes up, the voltage drop across the resistor goes up. This seems to have the biggest impact on the output voltage, not the zener. E.g. at 50mA, the voltage drop is 220*.05 = 11volts. If you have a 12v power source, then the voltage available at the output is a maximum of 1 volt, regardless of the zener presence. In other words, the bad voltage regugation is due to the inline resistor, not the zener.

[@silasfatchett5693]

The series resistor is chosen so that the zener is passing close to its maximum rated current (say 30mA) with no load. A load draws current which is diverted from the zener current so that the load current plus the zener current flowing in the series resistor remains almost the same at 30mA. The voltage across the zener changes only slightly as it passes less current so the current through the resistor and therefore the voltage across it also remain relatively constant. If the load draws more current than the 30mA maximum current set by the series resistor regulation ceases and the extra current is drawn through the series resistor causing the voltage across it to increase and the voltage at the cathode of the zener to fall.

[@MrLaTEchno]

In Holland we have a "free current of 5V" coming from the telephone line in.Is this when using it traceable ???by the company

[@ivanhuzjak9644]

Afrotechmods i saw one of your videos about speed control H-bridge. So i was thinking if you can build same think but for more power and amps. I builded fan from old motor for windscreen whipers and it is drowing around 5.5 amps on 7.2 v whit load (fan in this case).So can you build one or sand me schematics.

[@colinstu]

I wanted to hear what that new sin wave sounded like!

[@rdelectronics2790]

Good video!! Is avalanche diode the same like zener diode? Thanks

[@silasfatchett5693]

'Zener diodes' operate on two different principles, 'avalanche breakdown' which predominates above approx. 5.6V and below 5.6V by 'quantum tunneling' which is known as the 'Zener effect' after its discoverer, Clarence Melvin Zener.

[@chocolate_squiggle]

I'm confused where you start showing the oscilloscope - maybe starting with negative voltage is what confused me. Why does it produce -1 volt? Why not -9 volts? And you talk about some current flowing through the diode and some flowing from 'the output' - what is 'the output' ???

[@centaur1a]

Is there a discription on the diode to tell what the voltage are? So one could tell which is which?

[@Afrotechmods]

centaur1a You have to google the part number for the datasheet.

[@peshmadscientist1833]

1N47___ look up in nte cross ref. guide . 1N47, 1N52__ are zeners, sometimes just a letter then a voltage. eg. 5.1

[@rafaelmarroquin4429]

really great video thansk for share your knowledges.

[@rumblertag8933]

Who made the brand BEICH such a good brand

[@jeeplvr2000]

I'm trying to come up with a way to illuminate a green LED when my battery voltage reaches maximum charge. Could this be accomplished using a zener diode in series with the LED? Yes I'm a noob.

[@RedScaledKnight1]

+Chris Call With my limited understanding, I think it would. You might be able to patch the diode and the light between your charger and mains such that it completes through the light after the battery is charged.

[@mikedavidbeats2560]

I have a question. I am a complete noob to this and need help. I am making a flashlight that's input voltage is 8.2v from two 16340 3.7v high drain batteries in series. The current will be set to 4.94 amps using 12 7135 chips that are 380ma. I am using an LED that had a forward voltage of 6v. The driver is a direct drive so the 8.2v goes to the LED. The driver is a 3 to 4v driver with a zener diode to make it a 6v driver. How would you suggest to limit the output voltage to 6v to keep the LED safe? Thank you for your help

[@mikedavidbeats2560]

@colinmitchell7760 Well, hold your peace then because I have about 10 days of experience 🤣.

[@ronangsr]

him could you advuse me uf a zener diode of 4.7v will wirk in my situation. i have a set of leds ws2812 programmamable. but they have a mind of there own over 4.7v. can i use input of 5v - diode - led will this work ?

[@flowgangsemaudamartoz7062]

silicon diode is actually bill cipher from gravity falls.

[@sp3ctr418]

What advantages does this offer over a voltage divider circuit (swap the zener diode with another resistor)?

[@alejandroperez5368]

Voltage dividers don't provide any kind of regulation. Plus, they will heat up pretty quickly.

[@AndreClassicCuts]

Dope video bruh!