Voltage Regulator
Voltage regulators are components that converts a high input voltage, to a lower output voltage. This is useful for powering higher voltages while still outputting a lower voltage to keep the components (that require a lower voltage to function) to stay safe. In this experiment, I'll be using the LM7805 voltage regulator, along with smoothing capacitors to power an LED.
Figure 1: Voltage regulator pinout diagram
Source: 7805 Voltage Regulator IC Pin Diagram & Schematics (electronicsforu.com)
The Schematic
The image below shows the schematic of the circuit, which consists of a 100uF & 10uF smoothing capacitors. The output of the voltage regulator connects to an LED through a 330 Ohm resistor.
Figure 2: Schematic of the system
Testing
Figure 3 shows the testing of the system. When the circuit is powered though 12 Volts, the voltage regulator converts the voltage down to 5 Volts, which allows the LED to lit up without damaging the component. This shows that the conversion from a high voltage to a low voltage is behaving accordingly.
