Common Electronic Components Overview

Capacitor

Capacitors are used to store and release an electrical charge. They will block DC while passing AC. They are frequency-dependent devices, which means that their capacitive reactance, or "effective resistance" to AC increases as the frequency gets lower.

Bypass cap

A Bypass cap is a capacitor that is connected from the power supply to ground. It "bypasses" the AC signals to ground, while passing the DC supply through. This is used to make the DC supply rail "clean", or free from AC noise.

Resistor

A a circuit element that presents a resistance to the flow of electric current. A current flowing through a resistance will create a voltage drop across that resistance in accordance with Ohm's law.