This notation is designed to be relatively easy to write. This is achieved by not drawing ultra complex ASCII art boxes of every component. It would be slightly more readable if we did that, but prioritizing the writer here.
Two wires are only joined if but the following are:
+
is given. E.g. the following two wires are not joined: |
--|--
|
|
--+--
|
Simple symmetric components:
-
,+
and|
: wireAC
: AC source. Parameters:e.g.:Hz
: frequencyV
: peak voltage
If only one side is given, the other is assumed to be at a groundAC_1Hz_2V
G
.C
: capacitorG
: ground. Often used together withDC
, e.g.:means applying a voltage of 10 V across a 10 Ohm resistor, which would lead to a current of 1 ADC_10---R_10---G
L
: inductorMICROPHONE
. As a multi-letter symmetric component, you can connect the two wires anywhere, e.g.or:---MICROPHONE---
| MICROPHONE |
SPEAKER
R
: resistorSQUID
: SQUID deviceX
: Josephson junction
Asymmetric components have multiple letters indicating different ports. The capital letter indicates the device, and lower case letters the ports. The wires then go into the ports:
D
: diodeSample usage in a circuit:a
: anode (where electrons can come in from)c
: cathode
Can also be used vertically like aany other circuit:--aDc--
We can also change the port order, the device is still the same due to capital| a D c |
D
:--cDa-- | Dac-- | Dca-- | --caD
DC
DC source. Ports:E.g. a 10 V source with a 10 Ohm resistor would be:p
: positiven
: negative
If only one side is given, the other is assumed to be at a the ground+---pDC_10_n---+ | | +----R_10------+
G
. We can also omitp
andm
in that case and assume thatp
is the one used, e.g. the above would be equivalent to:If the voltage is not given, it is assumed to be a potentiometer.DC_10---R_10---G
T
: transistor. The ports aresgTd
:Sample usage in a circuit:s
: sourceg
: gated
: gate
All the following are also equivalent:---+ | --sgTd--
| g --sTd-- | --Tsgd-- |
I
: electric current source. Ports:s
: electron sourced
: electron destination
V
: Voltmeter. Ports:If we don't need to specify explicit positive and negative sides, we can just use:p
: positiven
: negative
without any ports. This is notably often the case for AC circuits.---V---
Optionaly, we can also add the sides as in:
Numbers characterizing components are put just next to each component with an underscore. When there is only one parameter, standard units are assumed, e.g.:means:Micro is denoted as
+-----+
| |
C_1p R_2k
| |
+-----+
- a capacitor with 1 pico Faraday
- a resistor with 2 k Ohms
u
.Wires can just freely come in and out of specs of a component, they are then just connected to the component, e.g.:means applying a voltage of 10 V across a 10 Ohm resistor, which would lead to a current of 1 A
DC_10---R_10---G
If a component has more than two parameters, units are used to distinguish them when possible, e.g.:means an AC source with:
AC_1kV_2MHz
- 1 kV voltage
- 1 MHz frequency