Prototyping

A breadboard is a reusable platform used for building and testing electronic circuits without soldering. It consists of a grid of interconnected holes (pins) where electronic components and wires can be inserted and easily rearranged. This allows for quick prototyping and experimentation with circuits.

On the image above you can see how the pins are connected via metal stripes inside the breadboard. Always keep this structure in mind when prototyping! There are four long vertical lines with each 30 pins that are interconnected, usually used for Power (red + line) and Ground (blue - line). Each horizontal row connects five pins.

For example: Pin 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e are connected. If you push in a wire to 1a and 1e it is the same as if you would hold them together by hand, they are now touching each other.

You decide where and what you connect to which pins. There is no voltage connected as long as you haven't connected anything.

The example below shows a prototyping of two circuits that light up an LED when the push button is pressed. Both circuits do the same.

More information: https://makeabilitylab.github.io/physcomp/electronics/breadboards.html