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Electronics — Circuits and Systems
Electronics — Circuits and Systems

Third Edition

Owen Bishop

Routledge
Taylor &. Francis Group

LONDON AND NEW YORK


First published by Newnes
This edition published 2011 by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Taylor & Francis Group,
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017, USA
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa b usiness
First published 1999
Reprinted 2000
Second edition 2003
Third edition 2007
Copyright © 1999, 2003. 2007, Owen Bishop.'
The right of Owen Bishop to be identified as the author of this work has been
asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system
or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publisher

Notice
No responsibility is assumed by the publisher for any injury and/or damage to persons
or property as a matter of products liability, negligence or otherwise, from any use
or operation of any methods, products, instructions or ideas contained in the material
herein. Because of rapid advances in the medical sciences, in particular, independent
verification of diagnoses and drug dosages should be made
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data


A catalog record of this book is available from the library of Congress

ISBN: 978 0 7506 8498 9


Contents

Preface vii
Practical circuits and systems viii
Conventions used in this book viii
Companion website viii

Part 1 - Circuits 1

1 Diodes 3
2 Transistor switches 9
3 Potential dividers 25
4 Capacitors 30
5 Using capacitors 41
6 Fields 51
7 Inductors 55
8 MOSFET amplifiers 63
9 BJT amplifiers 72
10 JFET amplifiers 86
11 Operational amplifiers 90
12 Applications of op amps 101
13 Active filters 116
14 Oscillators 124
15 Power amplifiers 127
16 Thyristors and Macs 136
17 Power supplies 147
18 Logical circuits 156
19 Logical operations 165
20 Logical combinations 176
21 Logical sequences 187
22 Counters and registers 196
23 Display devices 210
24 Converter circuits 216
25 Integrated circuite 225
Vi

Part 2 - Systems 229

26 Audio aand video systems 229


27 Noise 239
28 Telecommunications 245
29 Cable transmission 261
30 Optical transmission 268
31 Radio transmission 272
32 Instrumentation systems 286
33 Electronic control systems 294
34 Process control systems 300
35 Systems with faults 306

Part 3 - Microelectronic systems 313

36 Input and output 313


37 Processing 318
38 Programming 330
39 Programming languages 346
40 Neural networks 357

Supplements 363

A Useful information 363


Acknowledgements 369
B Answers to self-test questions 370

Index 371
vii

Preface
This book is written for a wide range of pre- The text has undergone a major revision to
degree courses in electronics. The contents have produce this third edition. Additions to the
been carefully matched to current UK syllabuses content include five new chapters. These cover
at Level 3 / A-level, but the topics covered, electrical and magnetic fields, diodes,
depth of coverage, and student activities have oscillators, integrated circuits, and industrial
been designed so that the resulting book will be process control systems. Several other chapters
a student-focused text suitable for the majority of have been expanded, to reflect the increasing
courses at pre-degree level around the world. importance of digital electronics and
The only prior knowledge assumed is basic microcontroller systems. All chapters have
maths and the equivalent of GCSE Double been updated where necessary, to keep pace
Award Science. with the many recent developments in
electronics.
The UK courses covered by this text are:
The 'On the Web' panels in many chapters are
BTEC National Engineering Pathways syllabus
a new feature of this edition. They are intended
(2007), Units 5 (Electrical and Electronic
for students to make use of the wealth of
Principles), 35 (Principles and Applications of
relevant information available from that
Electronic Devices and Circuits), 62
source. Also, this edition coincides with the
(Microprocessor Systems and Applications), and
launching of a companion website. This has a
the introductory stages of Units 51 (Industrial
Power Point presentation of illustrations from
Process Controllers), 60 (Principles and
the book for use by students and lecturers. It
Applications of Analogue Electronics), 68
has the answers to numeric questions and to all
(Principles and Applications of
the multiple choice questions. There are many
Microcontrollers), and 90 (Telecommunications
more of these in this edition. There are pages
Principles).
of worked examples and questions for those
A-level (AS and A2) specifications from AQA, who need extra support in maths.
OCRandWJEC.
The companion website also includes some
The book is essentially practical in its approach, novel features: a set of calculators for electronic
encouraging students to assemble and test real formulae, animated diagrams to show
circuits in the laboratory. In response to the electronic circuits in action, and series of
requirements of certain syllabuses, the book interactive worksheets, with answers.
shows how circuit behaviour may be studied
with a computer, using circuit simulator
software. Owen Bishop

The book is suitable for class use, and also for


self-instruction. The main text is backed u p by
boxed-off discussions and summaries, which the
student may read or ignore, as appropriate.
There are frequent 'Self Test' questions at the
side of the text with answers given in
Supplement B. Numeric answers to other
questions and answers to the multiple choice
questions are on the companion website.
viii

Practical circuits and systems Resistors are numbered, Rl, R2, and so on. The
resistance of a resistor Rl is represented by the
symbol R1. The same applies to capacitors (CI,
Circuit ideas
C2) and inductors (L1, L2).
As well as being a textbook, this is a
sourcebook of circuit ideas for laboratory work
and as the basis of practical electronic projects. Significant figures
When working the numerical problems in this
All circuits in this book have been tested on the
book, give the answers to three significant
workbench or on computer, using a circuit
figures unless otherwise indicated.
simulator. Almost all circuit diagrams are
complete with component values, so the
student will have no difficulty in building
Units in calculations
circuits that will work.
Usually the unite being used in a calculation
Testing circuits are obvious but, where they are not so obvious,
The circuit diagrams in this book provide full they are stated in square brackets. Sometimes
information about the types of components we show one unit divided by or multiplied by
used and their values. Try to assemble as many another.
as you can of these circuits and get them Example
working. Check that they behave in the same On p. 73, we state:
ways as described in the text. Try altering some
of the values slightly, predict what should R1 = 143/2.63 [V/µA] = 5.44 MO'
happen, and then test the circuit to check that A voltage measured in volte is being divided
it does. by a current measured in microamperes.
Mathematically, this equation should be
There are two ways of building a test circuit: written:
• Use a breadboarding system to build R1 = 143/(2.63 x 10-6) = 5.44 x 106
the circuit temporarily from individual
components or circuit modules. Set out in this form, the equation is difficult to
understand and to remember. To avoid this
• Use a computer to run a circuit simulator. problem we quote the units instead of powers
'Build' the circuit on the simulator, save it of 10. When the result is being worked out on
as a file, and then run tests on it. a calculator, it is easy to key in the values
(14.3, 2.63) and follow each by keypresses for
The simulator technique is usually quicker and 'EXP -6' or other exponents where required.
cheaper than breadboarding. It is easier to The result, in Engineering or Scientific
modify the circuit, and quicker to run the teste format, tells us its units. In this example the
and to plot results. There is no danger of display shows 5.43726235706. We round this
accidentally burning out components. to 3 significant figures, '5.44', and the '06'
index informs us that the result is in
megohms.
Conwentions used in this book
Units are printed in roman type: V, A, s, S, µF. Companion website
Values are printed in italic (sloping) type:
Fixed values VCC' R1 The URL of the site is:
Varying values vGS/ gm, iD
Small changes in values vgs, id http://books.elsevier.com/companions/
9780750684989.
Part 1 Circuits

An electrical circuit is a pathway for the flow of electric current.

In a direct current (or DC) circuit, the current flows in one direction. It flows from a point in the
circuit that is at a high potential to a point in the circuit that is at a low potential. The circuit may be
simple loop (like the one shown here) or it may be a network of two or more branches.

The circuit diagram (or schematic)

S1

B1
3V D1

R1

56
Explain the diagram:
B1 is a battery of 2 cells, total emf=3 volts (or 3 v)
S1 is a switch, single pole double throw (spdt).
D1 is a light-emitting diode (LED).
R1 is a resistor,resistance=56 ohms (or 56 )

some facts about the circuit


when the switch is closed,
current flows round the circuit
from the positive terminal of
the battery to the 0 v terminal
direction of flow
of the current
the two arrows in
S1 the symbol shows the
the diode symbol
switch S1 in its 'open'
the positive position. show the D1 is a
terminal of light-emitting diode
+ the battery a
Bl
3 V D1
A resistor the
The 0 v (or negative
current flow.in this k
or 'ground') terminal of Current can flow through
the battery is a source of circuit it limits the flow a diode in only one
electromotive foce (emf) reference point for direction, from anode (a)
of current so that the
to drive the current round measuring potential R1 not burn out to cathode (k). the symbol
the circuit LED does points the way
(voltages)

56

A conductor is a material in which electric current can flow. All metals are conductors. List the
conductors in this circuit An insulator (or non-conductor) is a material in which current can not
flow. List the insulators in this circuit (some answers on p. 370).

The diode Dl is made from a special kind of material called a semiconductor (see p. 3).

1
Electronics — Circuits ami Systems

An electric current is a flow of electrically In the circuit on p. 1, the battery is the source
charged particles. of electrical energy. There is a pd between its
terminals (see diagram below left), making
A current flows in a circuit if there is a current flow in the circuit. The electrical energy
potential difference (pd) between two points in from the battery is converted by the LED and
the circuit. A pd may be produced in many the resistor to other forms of energy (light and
different ways: heat, see diagram below right).

• chemical action: as in an electric cell. Taking the 0 V (or 'negative') terminal of the
• electricity generator: uses the energy of battery as the reference point, the other
burning fuel (coal, oil, gas). terminal is at 3 V. The wire and switch are very
• nuclear power station: uses heat from good conductors so the potential at the anode
nuclear reactions. of the LED (Dl) is also 3 V. There is a forward
• solar cells: use energy from sunlight voltage drop of about 2 V across a conducting
• wind farm: uses energy from wind. LED so the potential at its cathode is about 1V.

All of these convert one form of energy into There is a drop of 1 V across the resistor,
another form, electrical energy. bringing the potential down to 0 V.

Potential in the circuit Energy conversion in the circuit

current switch
switch
closed
closed
3V S1 3V
S1

B1 Currrent in all parts of the circuit is D1


D1 Resistor converts D1
1/56= 0.018 A=18 mA
3V electrical energy
to heat energy

0V
R1 1V R1

56 Battery converts 56 LED converts


chemical energy electrical energy
0V 1V to electrical energy. to light energy

The switch and connecting wire have very low resistance.


they convert a very small amount of electrical energy to heat energy

Each part of the circuit above has: Starting at the 0 V terminal of the battery and
• a current flowing through it, measured moving clockwise round the circuit there is a
in amperes (or amps for short). rise of potential across the battery. The
potential drops across Dl and Rl.
• a pd across i t measured in volts.
• a resistance to the flow of current, The total potential (or voltage) drop in a
measured in ohms. circuit equals the potential rise across the
These three quantities are related by this source of emf.
equation:
Self test
current = —pd———
resistance There are some questions about volts,
amps and ohms on p. 7 and on the
The equation expresses Ohm's Law (see companion website.
p. 363).

2
Diodes

1 Diodes
A diode is made from semiconducting current, I amps
materials. It has two terminals, called the mA
anode and the cathode. Current can flow easily
from anode to cathode.

pd, V volts
a
power
supply V
k

A Circuit for measuring the voltage-current


relationship of a forward biased diode.

The diode in the circuit above is connected.so


that current flows freely through it, from anode
(a) to cathode (k). It is said to be forward
biased.
Typical low-power diodes. The diode on the left
v and I
is a signal diode and the one on the right is a The V-I graph obtained
Zener diode. On both diodes the black band at
with this circuit is shown By convention, V is the symbol
one end indicates the cathode terminal
below. Its main feature is for the size of a voltage. I is the
symbol for the size of a
that no current flows current (p. 363)
though the diode until
Currentandvoltage the forward bias of more
man about 0.7 V. As the voltage is increased
When there is a voltage (a pd) across a resistor, above 0.7 V, the current increases, slowly at
the two quantities are related as in the equation first then more rapidly.
pd/current = resistance (see opposite). Ohm's
Law apples. I/A

This is not true for diodes. The circuit at top


current

right has a milliammeter (mA) to measure the


current through the diode, and a voltmeter (V)
to measure the voltage across it The power
source is a power supply unit (PSU) that pro-
duces a DC voltage, variable from 0 V up to,
say, 10 V.
0 0.7 V pd across diode v/v
The voltage is set to different values and the
current is measured for each voltage. A graph The V-1 curve of a typical forward biased diode,
of the results (the V-I graph) would be - a made from silicon. A few types of diode are
straight line for a resistor, but is curved for a made from germanium. In these, conduction
begins at a forward bias of about 0.3 v.
diode.

3
Electronics — Circuits and Systems

Reverse bias V7
v/v pd across diode
0
If a diode is connected the other way round, so
that its cathode is more positive than its anode,
it is reverse biased.

Only a few nanoamps (1 nA = 10" A =


0.0000000001 A) flow through a reverse biased

current
diode. With a signal diode or rectifier diode,
the reverse voltage may be up to several
hundred volts, depending on the type. But, if
the voltage is too big, the diode breaks down l/mA
and is destroyed.

An LED has a small breakdown voltage.


Typically, a reverse bias of about 5 V will The V-1 graph a reverse biased Zener diode
destroy it. Check that the LEDs are connected has a sharp 'knee' at the Zener voltage, Vz .
the right way round before switching on the
power supply to a newly-built circuit.
Zener breakdown does not destroy the diode.
LEDs may also break down when forward
This properly is used in voltage regulator
biased if the current through them is too big.
circuits (pp. 149-150).
The way to prevent this is described on pp.
14-15.
Photodiodes are nearly .always connected with
When reverse biased, a Zener diode breaks
reverse bias. The small leakage current through
down at a fixed voltage, its Zener voltage, Vz
the photodiode is proportional to the amount
(see top right). This may be only a few volts,
of light falling on it
depending on the rating of diode.

Conduction in semiconductors
Extension Box 1

atom of germanium
An electric current in a metal is a flow of or silicon
electrons (negative charge) from negative to
positive. This is because the atoms of a metal
have electrons that are able to break free and
flow under the influence of an electric field.
atom of antimony

Electron flow also occurs in a type of


semiconductor material known as n-type
semiconductor. This is a semiconductor such
free electron
as ; silicon, to which has been added small
amounts of an element such as antimony. The
antimony provides additional electrons to
increase the conductivity of the material. It is
Doping pure silicon with antimony
called n-type because electrons carry negative
provides a free electron, which increases
charge. conductivity

4
Conduction by holes Extension box 2

Another type of semiconductor is known as The first stage is illustrated in (a):


p-type semiconductor. In this, the added
material is an element such as indium. The At (1) an electron escapes from a silicon atom
indium atoms have a 'vacancy" in their and drifts in the electric field until it finds a
outer electron orbit where an; electron can hole at the indium atom. At (2), the .hole this
be taken in. Such a vacancy is known as a created is filed by an electron escaping from
hole. an atom further along the material
atom of germanium The next stage is illustrated in (b).
or silicon

At (3), the hole created at (2) is filed


by an electron from the negative
atom of indium supply, having travelled along a
metal wire. At (4) an electron
escapes and passes into the metal
wire of the positive supply. The hole
hole created is again filed at (5) by an
electron, so shifting the hole toward
the negative end.

The holes apparently move from


positive to negative, in the opposite
direction to the electrons. So we can
think of holes as positive charge
carriers. For this reason, silicon
What happens when an electric field is doped with indium or boron is
present is shown below: known as p-type silicon.

- semiconductor-

metal
2 1 metal
(a)
motion' of holes

4
3 5
(b)
conduct in p-type silicon. Holes move from positive to negative and so are equivalent to
positive charge carriers.

5
Electronics — Circuits and Systems

conduction in diodes Extension box 3

Consider a bar of silicon, doped so that half is The effect of this pd is the same as if a cell
p-type and half is n-type. The bar is not was connected across the junction. This is not
connected to a circuit, so no external electric a real cell but we refer to its effects as a virtual
field is applied to it. Electrons and holes are cell. At a silicon p-n junction, the pd is about
free to wander at random. 0.7 V. At a germanium junction, it is about
0.2 V.
junction
hole electron The region that contains ions has no mobile
charge carriers and it is called the depletion
p n region. We think of the pd across the
depletion region as a potential hill, the
potential rising as we pass from the p-type
side to the n-type side. Eventually, as more
carriers cross the junction, the hill becomes so
steep that no more carriers can cross it.
Some of the electrons from the n-type
material wander across the junction, attracted If the semiconductor is connected into a
by the holes in the p-type material. The holes circuit and a pd is applied to it, the junction
in the region of the junction become filled. In can be biased in either direction. With
the p-type region (to the left of the junction) reverse bias, the external source reinforces
the filling of holes means that the atoms have, the action of the virtual cell, making the
on average, more electrons than they should. potential hill higher. This makes the
The atoms have become negative ions. depletion region wider than before, and there
is even less chance of carriers finding, their
Similarly, in the n-type region near the way across it No current flows.
junction the atoms have, on average, lost
electrons leaving holes and so have become p n
positive ions. - +

depletion
neqative ion region positive ion +v
ov
p + n _y

+ +
+;
+ If the external source is connected so that its
A B pd opposes that of the virtual cell, the
+V junction is forward biased. The depletion
0v
-V -potential hill region becomes narrower. The potential hill
becomes lower. Electrons are more easily able
Although these ions are charged, they can not to cross the junction.
act as charge carriers. This is because they are
fixed in their places in the lattice. The result is If the external pd is greater than 0.7 V (for
that the region on side A of the junction has silicon), the virtual cell is overcome and
overall negative charge and the region on charge carriers flow across the junction. There
side B has overall positive charge. There is a is a forward voltage drop of 0.7 V across the
pd across the junction. junction.

6
Diodes

Conduction in diodes Extension Box 3(cont)

p n The p-n junction has the unusual property


+ – that it allows conduction in one direction (p
to n) but not in the other. We find pn
As B junctions in diodes, MOSFETs (p. 69) and in
+V
0V
-V
BJTs (p. 83). They show one-way.conduction
and a forward voltage drop of approximately
0.7 V when forward biased.
+

Questions 01 circuits

1 Draw a schematic diagram of a door alert On the Web


circuit built from a battery of 4 cells, a push-
button, and a buzzer (see the chart of
A lot of information about electronics
symbols on pp. 367-368). On the diagram
can be found on the World Wide Web.
mark the point in the circuit that is at the
Where you see a panel like this one in
highest potential. Show the direction of
the book, access the Web on a computer
flow of current.
and visit some of the listed sites. Use a
2 Draw a schematic diagram of a door alert browser such as Internet Explorer, Safari,
circuit that has two push-buttons, A and B. Netscape or Mozilla Firefox.
The buzzer is to sound when either A or B is
pressed. What happens if both buttons are For some topics, go to a search engine
pressed at the same time? such as Google or Yahoo! and type in a
3 A DC electric motor is powered by a 4.5 V keyword, such as 'diode'.
battery and controlled by a SPST (single
pole single throw) switch. There is a light In Yahoo!, 'diode' gave us over 7 million
emitting diode which comes on when the references. These included tutorials
power supply is switched on. The diode and explanations such as those from
needs a resistor to limit the current through Wikipedia and Horn Stuff Works sites, as
it. Draw the schematic diagram of the well as manuacturers' data sheets and
circuit. suppliers' catalogues.
4 List the energy conversions that occur when
Yahoo! has an Answers site ( h t t p : / /
the circuit of Question 3 is switched on.
answers.yahoo.com), which covers
5 Name four good conductors of electric many topics, including electronics
current. Give an example of the use of each (under Engineering). There you can
and state which one of the four is the best post questions or try to answer those
conductor. asked by others.
6. Name four electrical insulators, giving an
example of the use of each. Search the Web for information on
diodes and related topics. It may help
7 The pd across a torch lamp is 2.4 V and the
you with some of the questions on this
current through it is 700 mA. What is the
page and overleaf.
resistance of the lamp?
8 What is the current through a 220 resistor
if the pd across it is 5 V?

7
Electronics — Circuits ami Systems

Questions on diodes 4 A silicon diode is forward biased so that its


anode is 0.5 V positive of its cathode. The
current through the diode is:
1 Name the terminals of a diode. In which
direction does the current flow when the A 0 5 A.
diode is forward biased? B 0A.
2 Describe, with the help of a graph, how the C not known.
current through a forward biased diode D enough to burn out the diode.
varies as the pd across the diode is varied
fromOVtoSV.
3 Using a date sheet or information obtained
on the Web, list and comment on the Companion site
characteristics of a named signal diode.
4 Repeat 3 for a high-power rectifier diode.
A box with this icon tells you
5 List the features of six different types of
LED, and state an application for each. that the Companion Site for Electronics —
6 Draw the symbols for (a) a signal diode, (b) Circuits and Systems has more about this
a Zener diode, (c) a photodiode, and (d) a topic.
light-emitting diode. Label the anode and
The URL of the site is:
cathode of each symbol
7 Search this book, or another electronics http://books.elsevier.com/companions/
book, or the WWW, for a simple electronic 9780750684989.
circuit contaning a diode. Draw the circuit
and describe how the properties of the The site has questions on electrical circuits
diode are made use of in this circuit. and Ohm's Law. It includes Calculator
windows to help you work out the
answers.

Multiple choice questions

1 An example of a conductor is:


A nylon.
B aluminium.
C rubber.
D glass.
2 An example of an insulator is:
A copper.
B steel
C PVC (polyvinyl chloride).
D carbon.
3 The pd across a resistor is 15 V and its
resistance is 120 . The current through the
resistor is:
A 125 mA.
B 8 A.
C 1.25 A.
D 105 mA.

8
2 Transistor switches
Transistors are used in one of two ways: The switched device usually requires a current
of several milliamperes, possibly several
• as switches
amperes. The current needed for operating the
• as amplifiers. transistor switch is a lot smaller, often only a
Transistor amplifiers are described later in the few microamperes. This makes it possible to
book. Transistor switches are described in this control high-current devices from sensors,
chapter, using three different types of logic gates and other circuits with low-current
transistor. o u t p u t The main limitation is that only devices
working on direct current can be switched, but
As we shall explain, the purpose of most not devices powered by alternating current
transistor switches is to control an electrical These points are illustrated by the examples
device such as a lamp, a siren or a motor. below.

Switching a-lamp

The switching component in this circuit is a


metal oxide silicon field effect transistor. This
name is usually shortened to MOSFET. The
words 'metal oxide silicon' refer to the fact that This medium-power
MOFSET is rated to
the transistor consists of a metal conductor, an
switch currents up to
insulating layer of oxide (actually silicon 13 A. Note the metal
oxide), and a semiconducting layer of silicon. tag for attaching a
heat sink
The words 'field effect' refer to the way in
which this type of transistor works. It works by
placing an electric charge on the 'metal' part of
the transistor, known as the gate. The charge
on the gate results in an electric field, and the
effect of this field is to control the amount of
current flowing through the semiconductor Dram current (ID) flows from the drain to the
layer. Current flows from the drain terminal to source, if:
the source terminal.
• the drain terminal is positive of the source
terminal and,
• the gate is charged to a voltage that is
+V sufficiently positive of the source.

ID In this way, the MOSFET acts as a voltage-


drain A MOSFET has controlled switch. The voltage at which the
three terminals: transistor switches on is called the threshold
gate gate, drain voltage.
VG and source
source
ID A MOSFET of the type just described is' known
as an n-channel enhancement MOSFET.
OV There are other types (pp. 16 and 69), but this
type is by far the most commonly used.

§
Electronics — Circuits ami Systems

Sensor The sensor is a photodiode, which could be


either of the visible light type or the type
The light-sensitive component in this circuit is especialy sensitive to infra-red radiation. It is
a photodiode. Like any other diode, it connected so that it is reverse-biased. Only
conducts in only one direction. leakage current passes through it. The current
varies according to .the amount of light falling
on the diode. In darkness / the current is only
about 8 nA but it rises to 3 mA or more in
average room lighting.

6 VO
LP1
R1 6 V, 0.1 A
1.8M

Q1
ZVN3306A

D1
The can of this photodiode has a lens top. The BPX25
diode is visible through this as a square chip of
silicon 0V
The MOFEST switches on the filament lamp
when the light intensity falls below a given
Usually a photodiode is connected with level
reverse bias. This would mean that no forward
current flows through' it. However, a small
leakage current passes through it. The leakage The current change is converted into a voltage
current is only a few nanoamps in darkness, change by resistor R1. In light conditions / the
but rises to several microamps when light falls current is relatively large, so the voltage drop
on the photodiode. across the resistor is several v o l t s The voltage
at the point between Rl and the diode is low,
+v below the threshold of the transistor. The
transistor is off and the lamp is not lit.

cathode At dusk, light level falls, the leakage current


falls, and the voltage drop across Rl falls too.
This makes the voltage at the gate of the
anode transistor rise well above its threshold, which is
LEAK
in the region of 2.4 V. The transistor turns fully
on. We say that it is. saturated. When the
0V transistor is 'on', its effective resistance is only
5 . Current flows through the lamp and
Leakage current passes through the photo- transistor, lighting the lamp.
diode only in the light.
The current flowing down through the sensor
network (Rl and Dl) is exceedingly small — no
more than a few microamps. Little current is
Switching circuit available to charge the gate of Q l . However, a
This circuit uses a MOSFET transistor for MOSFET has very high input resistance, which
switching a lamp. We might use this to control means that it requires virtually no current to
a low-voltage porch lamp which is switched on turn it on. it is the voltage at the gate, not the
automatically at dusk. current, that is important.

10
Transistor switches

A circuit such as this does not normally need a


heat sink (pp. 130-131) on the transistor, even if
the current being switched is several amps. The
circuit is always in either of two states, 'off or
'on'. When the transistor is off, there is no
current and no heating effect. When the
transistor is on, it is fully on. Its resistance may
be only an ohm or two, or even less. Little
energy is dissipated within the transistor and it
never gets hot.

System design
Electronic systems often consist of three stages.
A breadboarded version of the light-sensitive The first stage is the input stage. This is the
MOSFET switch. The photodiode and resistor are stage at which some feature of the outside
on the left. The low-power MOSFET is the small world (such as a temperature, the light level, or
black package on the right. a sound) is detected by the system and
converted into some kind of electrical signal.

The last stage is the output stage in which an


Because the gate requires so little current, a electrical signal controls the action of a device
MOSFET is the ideal type of transistor for use such as a lamp, a motor, or a loudspeaker.
in this circuit. If we were to use a BJT (see p.
12), we might find that the sensor network was 'Connecting the input and output stages is the
Self test unable to provide signal processing stage. This may comprise
A BUZ73L MOSFET has an
enough current to turn several sub-stages for amplifying, level-
'on' resistance of 0.4 and it on. detecting, data processing, or filtering.
is rated at 7 A. If the supply
voltage is 9 V, what is the The lamp specified for As a system, this circuit is one of the simplest..
minimum resistance of a this circuit has a current
device that it can . safely
It has three sections:
rating of 100 mA. The
switch?
transistor has a rating of
270 mA, so it is not in
input processing output
danger of burning out. There is no need to use photo-
MOSFET lamp
a power MOSFET such as the one shown in the diode
photo on p. 9.

Variations The input section consists of the photodiode.


A useful improvement is to reduce Rl (to The processing section consists of Rl and Ql.
820 k ) and wire a variable resistor (about Rl generates a voltage, which is fed to the gate
1 MO) in series with it. Connect the gate of Ql of Ql, which is either turned 'off or 'on'.
to the wiper of the variable resistor. This allows
the switching level of the circuit to be adjusted. The output section consists of the lamp, which
is switched by Ql.
The circuit may be made to operate in the
reverse way by exchanging the resistor and Three-stage systems are very common. There
photodiode. It may be necessary to alter the are more examples in this chapter and
value of the resistor. elsewhere in this book.

11
Electronics — Circuits and Systems

Light-sensitive alarm

Compared with the circuit on p. 10, M s circuit The function of the circuit is to detect an
uses a different type of light sensor, and a intruder passing between the sensor and a local
different type of transistor. It has a similar source of light, such as a street light When the
three-stage system diagram: intruder's shadow falls on the sensor, its
resistance increases, raising the voltage at the
input processing output junction of the resistors. Increased current
flows through R3 to the base of Ql. This turns
LDR BJT AWD Ql on and the siren sounds.

• Input is accepted by a light-dependent


resistor (or LDR). This is made from a
semiconductor material such as cadmium
sulphide. The resistance of this substance
varies according the the amount of light
falling on i t The resistance of an LDR
ranges between 100 in bright light to
about 1 MO in darkness.
• Processing uses a voltage divider (R1/R2,
see p. 17) that sends a varying voltage to
the bipolar junction transistor, Ql. The The quadruple siren to the right of the
voltage at the point between the resistors is breadboard emits an unpleasantly loud
low (about 10 mV) in very bright light, but scream when the ldr on the left is shaded.
rises to about 5 V in darkness. With LDRs
other than the ORP12, voltages will be
different and it may be necessary to change
the value of Rl or replace it with a variable This circuit uses a BJT; almost any npn type
resistor. will do, provided it is able to carry the current
• Output is the sound from an audible required by the audible warning device, which
warning device, such as a siren. in this example is a piezo-electric siren. A
typical ultra-loud (105 dB) warbling siren
suitable for use in a security system takes about
12V' 160 mA when run on 12 V. The BC337
+ transistor is rated at 500 mA.
AWD

R1 - 160 mA
10 k
BJT switcies
R3
Ql
Like a MOSFET, a BJT has three terminals.
82 BC377 Because the BJT works differently, they have
R2 different names: base, collector and emitter.
ORP12
A BJT is connected so that its collector terminal
0V is several volts positive of the emitter terminal
When current (IB) flows into the base terminal,
The audible warning device sound when a much bigger current (Ic) flows into the
the light intensity falls below a given level collector terminal. The combined currents IB
and Ic flow out of the emitter terminal.

12
Transistor switches
+V
The combined currents make u p the emitter
current IE ' and: lc

IE=IB+IC collector In a BJT, a small


/B
The action of a BJT depends on the fact that Ic current controls a
base much larger current
is alway very much larger than IB. For a typical emitter
BJT it is about 100 times larger. Thus, small
/E
variations in a small current result in large
variations in a large current
0V
When used as a switch, a. BJT is a current- Now we can calculate what voltage from the
controlled s w i t c . This contrasts with a R1/R2 potential divider is needed to switch on
MOSFET, which makes a voltage-controlled Q l and sound the siren. We need a minimum
switch. The amount of current needed to of 1.6 mA flowing through R3. Given that R3 is
switch on the transistor in this circuit depends 82 , the voltage across R3 must be:
on the amount of collector current needed to
drive the siren. This depends on the current current x resistance = 1.6 x 10 -3 x 82 = 1.31 V
gain of the transistor.
If the voltage at the R1/R2 connection is less
The siren used in the demonstration circuit than 1.31 V, no current flows through R3 and
requires 160 mA. The BC377 has a current gain Q l is off. Ic is zero and the siren does not
of between 100 and 600. Taking the minimum sound. If the voltage is greater than 1.31 V, Q l
gain of 100, the base current needs to be: turns on and becomes saturated. Ic rises to
160 mA and the siren sounds. There is a state
IB = I c / g a i n = 160/100 = 1.6 mA between Q l being off and being on and
Inside an n p n BJT there is a p n junction saturated, but we will leave discussion of this
between the base and emitter terminals. This until later.
junction has the properties of a diode. In
particular, when it is forward biased, there is a This circuit is able to use a BJT- because the
voltage drop of about 0.7 V between the base sensor network is able to deliver a current of
and emitter terminals. In practice, the voltage the size required to turn on Q l . It is also
drop may be 0.5 V to 0.9 V, depending on the possible to use a MOSFET. In this case, R3 is
size of IB. Therefore, when Q l is in the 'on' not required as almost no current flows to the
state, its base is, on average, 0.7 V positive of g a t e of a MOSFET.
its emitter.

Heater switch

The heater switch is a circuit for maintaining a Thermistors have the advantage that they can
steady temperature in a room, a greenhouse, or be made very small, so they can be used to
an incubator. The sensor is a thermistor, a measure temperatures in small, inaccessible
semiconductor device. Its resistance decreases places. They also quickly come to the same
with increasing temperature, which is why it temperature as their surroundings or to that of
is described as a negative temperature an object with which they are in contact This
coefficient (ntc) device (see p. 367). makes them good for circuits in which rapid
Thermistors are not ideal for temperature reading of temperature is important.
measuring circuits, because the relationship
between temperature and resistance is far from In many applications, these advantages offset
linear. This is no disadvantage if only one the disadvantage of non-linearity.
temperature is to be set, as in this example.

13
Electronics — Circuits and Systems

The switched device in this example is a relay.


This consists of a coil wound on an iron core. WARNING
When current passes through the coil the core
becomes magnetised and attracts a pivoted The circuit on this page illustrates the
armature. The armature is pulled into contact -switching of a device powered from the
with the end of the core and, in doing so, presses mains. This circuit should not be built or
two spring contacts together. Closing the tested except by persons who. have
contacts completes a second circuit which previous experience of building and
switches on the heater. When the current handling mains-powered circuits.
through the coil is switched off, the core is no
longer magnetised, the armature springs back to
its original position, and the contacts separate,
turning off the heater.
Thermistor
Thermistors are available in several resistance
12 V
ratings, the one chosen for this circuit having a
D1
RL nc resistance of 1 k at 25°C. VR1 is adjusted so
RLA1
VR1
IN4148
400 RLA1
that the voltage at point A is close to 0.6 V
lO k
R2
common
no when the temperature is close to that at which
A
lO k
Ql the heater is to be turned on. The transistor is
BC548
just on the point of switching on. As
R1
1k at 25o c 4° heater temperature falls further, the resistance of the.
VA3400
thermistor Rl increases (see p. 367), raising the
oV
voltage at A, and increasing iB, the base
current. This switches on the transistor and
A relay is necessary to switch a heater which current passes through the relay coil. The relay
runs from the 230 V AC mains. contacts close, switching on the heater.

Note that the heater circuit is electrically


Most relays have contacts capable of switching separate from the control circuit. This is why a
high voltages and currents, so they may be relay is often used for switching mains-voltage
used for switching mains-powered devices alternating current.
running on alternating current Current ratings
of various types of relay range from 1 A up to After a while, as the heater warms the
40 A. Various arrangements of switch contacts thermistor, Rl decreases, the voltage at point A
are available, including simple change-over falls and the transistor is turned off. The relay
contacts (see drawing above) and relays with coil is de-energised and the heater is turned off.
three or more independent sets of contacts.
Changeover contacts are normally-open (no) or This kind of action is called negative feedback.
normally closed (nc). They can be wired so that It keeps the temperature of the room more or
less constant. The action of the circuit,
a device can be
Self test including the extent to which the temperature
turned off at the
What is the minimum contact rating rises and falls, depends on the relative
same time that
for a relay required to switch a positions of the heater and thermistor and the
1000 W, 230 V floodlamp?
another is turned
distance between them.
on. Relays are
made in an
assortment of
sizes, including some only a lttle larger than a Protective diode
transistor, suitable for mounting on printed The diode Dl is an important component in
circuit boards. this circuit

14
Transistor switches

At (a) below a transistor is controlling the An LED needs a


6V
current through an inductor. When the current of a few
transistor switches off (b), current ceases to tens of' milliamps.
flow through the coil and the magnetic field in Often 20 mA or D2
the coil collapses. This causes an emf to be 25 mA makes the
induced in the coil, acting to oppose the LED shine brightly. 4V
collapse of the field. Like any other R3
Emf
diode, an LED has 160
The size of the emf
This stands for electromotive force. a forward voltage
Emf is a potential difference
depends on how 0V
produced by conversion of another rapidly the field drop across it
form of energy into electrical collapses. A rapid when it is
energy. Ways of producing emf conducting. For An LED normally has a
switch-off, as at (b),
include chemical (dry cell), resistor in series with it
collapses the field most LEDs the
mechanical (dynamo, rubbing a
instantly, resulting drop is about 2 V.
plastic rod with a woollen cloth)/
and magnetic (collapsing field, car in many hundreds
The LED will b u m out if the voltage across it is
ignition system). of volte being
much more than 2 V. If the LED is being
developed across
powered by a supply greater than 2 V, we need
the transistor. This
a resistor (R3) in series with i t This drops the
emf produces a large current, which may
excess voltage.
permanently damage or destroy the transistor.

+v +v +v In the diagram above, the


supply is 6 V, so the excess
emf

voltage is 4 V. If we decide
Induced Induced to have a current of 25 mA
emf

ic current current
through the LED, the same
current passing through
diverted
current R3 must produce a drop
of 4 V across it. So its
resistance must be:
OFF OFF
'B
'E
R3 = 4/0.025 = 160 0
(a) (b) (c)

Select the nearest


If a diode is wired in parallel with the inductor, standard value. In Self test
as at (c), it protects the transistor by conducting this case, a 160 1 Calculate the value of the series
the induced current away to the power line. It resistor can be used, resistor when:
is a protective diode. though a 150 a the supply voltage is 9 V and
resistor would be the current required is 20 mA.
close enough. b. the supply voltage is 24 V and
indicator lamp the current required is 15 mA.
In general, if the 2 If the supply is 12 V and the
An indicator lamp is an optional but useful series resistor is 1.5 k , what
supply voltage is Vs
addition to this heater circuit. It could also be current flows through the LED?
and the current is to
added to the other switching circuits we have
be iLED, the series
studied. The idea is to have a lamp that comes
resistor Rs is:
on when the circuit is switched on. We could
use a filament lamp (such as a 6 V torch bulb) Rs = ( V s - 2 ) / i L E D
but a light-emitting diode is generally
preferred. This is because, for a given Certain types of LED, such as flashing LEDs,
brightness, LEDs do not take as much current have built-in resistance and do not need a
as filament lamps. Also, filament lamps series resistor.

15
Electronics — Circuits and Systems

Overheating alert

Previous circuits in this topic have used BJTs of


the type known as n p n transistors. Here we
Inverse action
use the other type of BJT, a p n p transistor. The The switching action is the opposite to that of
action of a p n p transistor is similar to that of an the npn transistor circuit on p. 14. There the
n p n transistor. In particular, a small base relay comes on when temperature of the
current controls a much larger collector thermistor falls. In this circuit the LED comes
current. However the polarities are reversed: on as temperature rises.
• The transistor is connected with its emitter
positive of its collector. We could have achieved the equivalent action
with an n p n transistor in the relay circuit by
• Base current flows out of the base terminal
exchanging VR1 and the thermistor. The values
instead of flowing into it.
of the resistors would have needed altering but
• When the transistor is 'on', the base
the action would be to turn on the relay with
terminal is 0.7 V negative of the emitter.
falling temperature.
Here is a switching circuit using a p n p BJT:

12V Pnp or npn?


The inverse action can be achieved either by
VR1
exchanging components or by using a p n p
100 k
e transistor. This illustrates a point about
R2 Q1 electronic circuits, that there are often two or
b BC557
4.7 k
C more ways of doing the same thing. Sometimes
R1 both ways are equally effective and
47 k at 25oC Dl
VA3410
convenient. In other instances we may have
R3
470
reason to prefer one way to the other.
0V
In practice, npn transistors are used far more
often than p n p transistors. Although
Compare this circuit with the circuit on p. 14. sometimes a resistor or logic gate may be saved
Note the symbol for a pnp transistor.
in a circuit by using pnp, it is usually just as
convenient to swap components to invert the
action.
The circuit is set by adjusting VR1 until the
LED is just extinguished. The base (b) potential The 'main reason for using pnp is when we
is then a little above 11.3 V (that is, the base- want a given signal to produce an action and
emitter voltage drop is a little less than 0.7 V). its inverse at the same time. Then we use a pair
If the thermistor (R2) is warmed, its resistance of transistors, npn and p n p , with equal but
decreases. This reduces the voltage at the point opposite characteristics. Examples are seen in
between Rl and R2. Current flows out of the the power amplifiers described on pp. 128-129.
base, turning the transistor on. When the
transistor is on, the collector current flows in
through the emitter (e), out of the collector (c) MOSFET types
and on through the LED and series resistor R3.
MOSFETs too are made that work with
Thus, the LED comes on whenever the
polarities opposite to those of the n-channei
temperature of Rl rises. By adjusting VR1, the
MOSFETs described in this chapter. These are
circuit can be set to switch on the LED at any
known as p-channel MOSFETs (pp. 69-70).
required temperature in the region of 25°C.

16
Transistor switches

- Schmitt trigger

In the two previous circuits, the resistance of This is necessary because we have two
the thermistor changes relatively slowly, so that inverting transistors in this circuit. The
the circuit spends several minutes in a state resistance of R3 must be greater than that of the
intermediate between "off" and 'fully on'. The relay coil, so that more current flows through
transistor is partly, not fully, switched on. In the R6 when Q2 is on, and less flows when Ql is
heater switch circuit, the coil of the relay is not on.
fully energised and the armature tends to
vibrate rapidly, switching the heater on and off Snap action
several times per second. This leads to sparking As temperature falls and Ql begins to turn off,
at the contacts, which may become fused Q2 begins to turn on. The increasing current
together so that the relay is permanently 'on'. In through R6 raises the voltage at the Ql emitter.
an LED switching circuit, the LED gradually As the Ql base voltage continues to fall its
increases in brightness as temperature emitter voltage starts to rise, rapidly reducing
increases. It gives no clear indication of whether the base current and turning Ql off very
or not the temperature is too high. The circuit rapidly. If Ql turns off faster, then Q2 turns on
below avoids these problems, giving a sharp faster. The circuit spends much less time in its
trigger switching action, intermediate state.

6V

R3 D1
R1 lk RLA1
1 k -t° 1N4148
at 25oC 400
VA3400
R4 The Schmitt triger
R2
circuit has a 'snap'
A 4.7 action, which is suitable
10 k
for switching heaters,
Ql indicator lamps and
VR1 BC548 Q2
10 k BC548 many other devices

B
R5 R6
4.7 ft 56 a

0V

This Schmitt trigger consists of two npn Hysteresis


transistors. Ql is switched by the sensor
network. Q2 is switched by Ql and in turn In this circuit the temperature at which the
switches the relay. relay is turned on or off depends on whether
the temperature is rising or falling.
The thermistor and variable resistor are
arranged so that the voltage at point A falls as The action of the circuit is such that the 'turn-
temperature falls. This is the opposite action to on' temperature is lower than the 'turn-off'
that in the circuit on p. 14. temperature. We call this action hysteresis.

17
Electronics — Circuits and Systems

The circuit works differently in the two states: In terms of heating, the heater comes on when
• The heater is off, the temperature of Rl the room has cooled to a set temperature, say
is relatively' high but falling, and its 15°C. We call this the lower threshold. The
resistance is low, but rising. The voltage at heater stays on, perhaps for 10-15 minutes,
A is relatively high but falling. Q l is on until the room has warmed to a higher
and Q2 is off. Current through R6 and the temperature, say 17°C, then goes off. We call
voltage across it are fairly small. For this the higher threshold. The difference
example, measurements on this circuit betweeen the two thresholds, in this case two
found the voltage at B to be 0.4 V. This is degrees, is the hysteresis of the circuit. This is a
due to the current flowing through R3 and much better action than having the heater
Q l and finally through R6. As the voltage continually switching on and off several times
at A falls to 1.1 V (0.4 V + 0.7 V due to the a minute at each little rise or fall in
base-emitter voltage of Q l ) , the circuit temperature.
starts to change state, turning the heater
on. Any of the switching circuits in this chapter
could be modified to have a Schmitt trigger
• The heater Is on, and this .increases the between the sensor and the switched device.
current through R6 because the resistance
of the relay coil is lower than that of R3. input processing processing output
The increased current makes the voltage at Schmitt
LDR trigger BJT AWD
B rise to, say, 0.9 V. Now the voltage at A
has to rise to 1.6 V (0.9 V + 0.7 V due to vBE)
A Schmitt trigger is one of the processing stages
before Q l can be turned on again and the
of this light-swnsitive alarm.
circuit can return to its original state.

Logical control

The input of the circuit below is taken from the When the logic output goes high (say, +5V for
output of a logic gate (p. 156). This would not a TTL output) this puts the gate of Q l well
be able to supply enough current to light the above the threshold. The transistor is turned
lamp, but can raise the voltage at the gate of fully on and the maximum drain current flows,
the MOSFET sufficiently to turn the transistor turning the lamp on.
on. When the logic output is low (0 V) the
voltage at the gate of Q l is below the threshold The power supply for the lamp may be at a
(2.5 V) and the transistor is fully off. There is no higher voltage than that used to supply the
drain current and the lamp is unlit logic circuit if the logic is operating on 5V, the
lamp or other device could be powered from,
6V say, a 24V DC supply, provided that the
LP! current rating (0.5 A) and power rating (1 W)
6 V, 0.1 A
of the transistor are not exceeded.

logic This circuit could also be used to switch other


gate
Ql devices, including a solenoid. A solenoid is a
Logical ZVN3306A
signal coil wound on a former. There is an iron
plunger or armature which s i d e s easily in and
0V out of the coil. Usually, the plunger is held by a
light spring so it rests only partly inside the coil
This is how a lamp may be controlled by a logic when there is no current flowing (see photo, on
circuit, such as a microcontroller the next page).

18
Transistor switcies

When current flows through the coil, the


Coil magnetic field strongly attracts the plunger,
which is drawn forcefully into the coil.

There is usually some kind of mechanism


linked to the plunger. For example, the plunger
may be attached to a sliding bolt, so that
plunger energising the coil causes a door to be bolted.
In this way the door may be bolted by
computer control.

when a current is passes through the coil of this As with the relay circuit on p. 14, a solenoid
solenoid, the plunger moves strongly in the switching circuit requires a diode to protect the
direction shown by the arrow switching transistor.

Current gain Extension box 4 Transconductance


Extension Box 5

The gain of a BJT is expressed as the ratio of A MOSFET is a voltage controlled device.
the collector current to the base current. Its 'gain' is expressed as the change in the
This is known as the large signal current drain current for a given change in gate-
gain, hFE: source voltage. This is known as the
hFE =IC/IB transconductaece, gm:
Because hFE is a current divided by a
current, it has no unit. It is just a number. gm =id/Vgs
Because gm is a current divided by a voltage
Example it has the unite of conductance (the inverse
of resistance). The unit of conductance is the
When the base current to a given BJT is Siemens, symbol S.
270 µA, the collector current is 40.5 mA.
What is the current gain of the BJT?
Example
hFE = Ic/IB = 40.5/270 [mA/µA] When the gate-source voltage of a given
= 150 MOSFET increases by 2 V, the drain
The current gain is 150 current increases by 1.7 A. What is the
transconductance of the MOSFET?

Self test gm = h/vgs = 1.7/2 = 0.85 S


If the gain of a BJT is 240, and 1B is 56 µA,
what is I c ?
The transconductance is 0.85 S, or 85 mS.

Memo
Note that the calculations in Box 4
There is also the small signal current gain, hfe
and this box assume that the
(small letters for the suffix 'fe'). A small change
collector-emitter p d and the drain-
ih in the base current causes a relatively small
source p d are constant, and are
change-ic in the collector current Then, hfe =
sufficient to drive the current
ic/ib.
through the transistor.
In most cases, hfe has a value equal or close to
that of hfe (see p. 73).

19
Electronics — Circuits and Systems

DATA- Bipolar junction transistors


The transistors are listed by type number. All transistors in this table are npn except the
Many of the circuit diagrams in this book BC557, which is pnp.
specify type number BC548. This is an easily
available, cheap, general-purpose BJT, made Probably the most important item is the
by several different manufacturers. As can be maximum collector current The data sheet
seen from the table, there are several other lists this in a column headed I c (max). This is
types of BJT that would work in these circuits the maximum collector current (almost equal
just as well as the BC548. to the emitter current) that the BJT can pass
when it is saturated. It is equal to the current
The type number is not particularly useful passing through the load. The next column
when you are selecting a transistor. The lists the maximum power rating, Ptot.
easiest way is to refer to the final column of
the table and select by application. The The current gain specified in the table is the
majority of transistors are described as small signal current gain, hfe' mentioned on
'general-purpose' (GP) possibly with some p. 11. The values of hFE is almost the same as
additional features mentioned. One of these hfe, so these values can be used in transistor
types will suit most projects. switch calculations.

Type Case Ic(max) Ptot hfe at Ic (mA) Ftat lc Applications


(MHz at
mA)
BC107 TO-18 100 mA 300 mW 110-450 2 300 10 GP small signal amplifier
BC108 TO-18 100 mA 300 mW 110-800 2 300 10 GP small signal amplifier
BC109 TO-18 100 mA 300 mW 200-800 2 300 10 Low noise, small sig. amp.
BC109C TO-18 100 mA 300 mW 420-800 2 300 10 Low noise, high gain, amp
BC337 TO-92 500 mA 625 mW 100-600 2 100 10 Output stages
BG548 TO-92A 100 mA 500 mW 110-800 2 300 10 Low noise, small sig. amp.
BC557 TO-92 100 mA 625 mW 110-800 2 280 10 pnp output transistor
BC639 TO-92 1A 1W 40-250 150 200 10 Audio output
BD139 TO-126 1.5A 8W 40-250 150 250 50 Power GP
BD263 TO-126 4A 36W 750 1.5 A 7 1.5 A Med. power Darlington
BUX80 TO-3 10 A 100 W 30 1.2 A 8 High current switch
MJE3055 TO-220 10A 75 W 20-70 4 A 2 500 Power output
2N2222 TO-18 800 mA 500 mW 100-300 150 300 20 High speed switch
2N3641 TO-105 500 mA 350 mW 40-120 250 50 GP, amplifier, switch
2N3771 TO-3 30 A 150 W 15-60 1.5 A 0.2 1 A Power output
2N3866 TO-39 400 mA 1W 10-200 50 500 50 VHF amplifier
2N3904 TO-92 200 mA 310 mW 100-300 10 300 10 Low power GP

20
Transistor switches

DATA-BJTs (continued)

it is measured with the collector current at the When working at radio frequencies, it may
stated value. Usually, a range is specified not be able to respond quickly enough to
because transistors of the same type may vary changes in the signal current. The gain falls
widely in gain. The BC548, for instance, has a off at high frequencies. F t is defined as the
gain of 110 to 800. Sometimes transistors are frequency for which "the gain falls to 1. For
graded by the manufacturer and sold in gain many transistors, F t is rated in hundreds of
groups. A transistor sold, as a BC548A, for megahertz and, in the table, is quoted in
instance, has a gain in the range 110 to 220.
megahertz at a given collector current:
BC545B ranges fron 200 to 450, and BC548C
ranges from 420 to 800.
Normally, we do not have to worry about Ft.
The fourth important feature of a transistor is It is mainly in radio circuits and computer
its maximum frequency, Ft A transistor circuits that such high frequencies are used.
being used as a switch responds quickly But it can be seen from the table that high-
enough for most applications. power transistors have much lower F t than
other types.

DATA- MOSFETs

The table below lists .a selection of low-cost, Transconductance is of less important when
low-voltage MOSFETs. Maximum drain- .selecting, but you will need it when
source voltages range between 60 V and calculating outputs.
100 V, except for the IRF630 which is 200 V.
In general, transistors with low ID and low gm
The most useful figures for choosing a are considerably cheaper. In this table,
transistor are maximum drain current and the cheapest n-channel MOSFET is the
drain-source source resistance when 'on'. ZVN3306A and the dearest is the IRFD024.

The threshold type Case n/p ID (max) RDS (max) gm (S)


Ptot
voltage of a given 7A 0.40 5.00
BUZ73L TO-220 n 40 W
type may vary
IRF630 TO- 220 n 9A 75 W 0.40 3.00
considerably
between different IRF9540 TO- 220 150 W 0.20 5.00
p 19 A
transistors of the
same type. IRFD110 TO- 250 n 1.3 W 0.54 1.30
1A
Usually it is IRDF024 TO- 250
between 2 V and
n 2.5 A 1.3 W 0.1 0.90

4 V. This is why ZVN21061 Eline 450 mA 1.5 W 2 0.40


n
we have not ZVN3306A Eline 625 mW 5 0.15
n 270 mA
quoted threshold
voltages in this ZVN2106A Eline 700 mW 5 0.15
P 280mA
table.
2N7000 TO-92 n 200 mA 400 mW 5 0.10

21
Electronics — Circuits and Systems

BJTs or MOSFETs? • Build a flip-flop based on a pair of CMOS


NAND gates (p. 187) and use this as on
pp. 10-11. to drive the MOSFET and
When choosing between BJTs and filament lamp.
MOSFETs, keep these points in mind:
3 Use the circuits as a guide when designing
BJTs need appreciable current to drive and building switching circuits with the
them; MOSFETs need none. following functions:
For switching: MOSFETs have very low 'on'
resistance and very high 'off' resistance. • • A photodiode and a BJT to switch a lamp
For switching: MOSFETs are faster (but on when light falls below a set level.
BJTs are usually fast enough). • A light dependent resistor and a MOSFET
As amplifiers: BJTs have linear input/ to switch an LED on by detecting the
output relationship. MOSFETs are not headlamps of an approaching car at night.
perfectly linear, which may cause distortion • A circuit to sound a siren as a garden frost
of large signals. warning.
MOSFETs need no resistor in their gate • A circuit to switch on an electric fan (a
circuit which simplifies construction. small, battery-driven model) when the
MOSFETs are liable to damage by static' temperature falls below a given level. This
charge. They need careful handling. circuit is better if it has hyteresis.
• Any other switching function that you
think is useful

4 When you have designed a circuit, either


Activities — Switciing circuits build it on a breadboard, or 'build' and test it
on a circuit simulator, using a computer.
1 On a breadboard or on stripboard/ build the
switching circuits illustrated in this chapter
and test their action. Do not connect any of
the relay circuits to the mains. Instead, use a Questions on transistor switcies
power pack running at, say, 15 V, to power 1 Describe the action of a MOSFET switch
the switched device. used with a photodiode as sensor for
switching on a filament lamp.
2 There are a number of simple ways in which 2 Design a' fire-alarm circuit for switching a
these circuits can be altered to change their warning lamp on when the temperature
action: rises above a given level.
• Modify the lamp switching circuit (p. 10) 3 Design a "Dad's home!" circuit' for
so that the lamp is turned on when light switching on a small piezo-electric sounder
level increases. when the sensor, detects approaching car
• Add a variable resistor to the circuit, on headlamps at night. Calculate suitable
p. 12 to make it possible to set the light component values.
level at which the switch operates. 4 Explain why it is essential to include a
protective diode in a circuit that switches
• Try increasing and decreasing the an inductive device.
resistance of R6 in the circuit on p. 17 to see
what effect this has on the hysteresis. 5 Describe the operation of a simple change-
over relay, illustrating your answer with
• Look at the effect of changing the value of diagrams.
R3. 6 Draw a diagram of a Schmitt trigger circuit
based on. BJTs and explain how it works.

22
Transistor switches

7 Design a Schmitt trigger circuit based on e A 6 V motor takes 300 mA and is to be


MOSFEIs. switched on by a high output level (5 V)
8 Design a circuit for operating a magnetic from a logic circuit Select the transistor and
door release automatically when a person design the circuit.
approaches the doorway. The release f The water level in a tank is monitored by a
operates on a 12 V supply and requires 1.5 pair of probe wires placed closely side by
A to release i t side. When the probes are covered the
9 Compare the features of BJTs and resistance between them is 1 M . The input
MOSFETs when used as switches. stage of the system is shown below. Find a
10 What is a light dependent resistor? What is suitable value for Rl, and design the
the effect of shining light on it? How can an remainder of the circuit.
LDR be used to operate a BJT switch to turn
on a lamp at night, when it is dark? 6V
11 Why is a thermistor unsuitable for a use in probe.
temperature measuring circuit? wires to
12 On pp. 20-21 are data tables for BJTs and transistor
MOSFETs. Use these tables to select
Rl
transistor types suitable for the switching
circuits listed on p. 22. Access
manufacturers' catalogues on CD-ROM or 0V
the Internet if you need further
information. For each circuit, give your
reasons for selecting the transistor. You can
The input stage of the circuit for question 12
assume that all the tensistors listed are g A greenouse window is opened by a
suitable for the operating voltages of the solenoid that runs on a 12 V supply. The
listed circuits: coil resistance is 14 . Design a switching
a Select alternative transistors for the circuit to energise the solenoid when the
switching circuits described in this chapter. temperature rises above a given level.
Note the modifications, if any, to
component values that may be necessary to As further work o n these questions, build each
enable the circuit to work with the chosen circuit you have designed, to check .that it
transistor. works.
b A light-dependent resistor is the sensor for
a circuit in which a MOSFET switches a
current of 20 mA through an LED. The Extension questions
power supply is 6 V. Select a suitable
MOSFET and design the circuit. 13 Why is the transconductance of a MOSFET
expressed in Siemens, but the gain. of a BJT
c The circuit is a morning 'wake-up' alarm. A has no unit?
photodiode is the sensor and the circuit
sounds an electronic buzzer when the light 14 A MOSFET has a gm of 500 mS. if the gate-
intensity rises above a given level The source voltage increases by 50 mV, what is
buzzer takes 15 mA at 6 V. Select a BJT or the change in ID?
MOSFET and. design the circuit 15 A BJT is to switch on a small DC motor that
d A frost alarm uses a thermistor as sensor t a k e s 400 mA at 12 V. The current gain of
and a BJT to turn on a filament lamp when the transistor is 250. What minimum base
the temperature falls below a given level. current is needed?
The 3.6 W lamp runs on 12 V. The 16. Given a MOSFET with a gm of 1.6 S, what
switching temperature is adjustable. Select change of gate voltage is needed to
the transistor and design the circuit. decrease I D by 400 mA?

23
Electronics — Circuits ami Systems

Multiple choice questions


1 When used as a switch, a BJT is Transistor switcies
connected in:
A the common-emitter connection.
The Companion site (see p. viii) has
B the common-collector connection.
several animated diagrams that illustrate
C the common-base connection.
the action of transistor switches.
D none of the above.
2 Which of these features of a MOSFET is not Visit the site and. see how these circuits
of importance in a transistor switch? work.
A high input resistance.
B low 'on' resistance.
C medium transconductance.
D low input capacitance.
3 A light-dependent resistor is usually made
from:
A silicon oxide.
B p-type semiconductor.
C cadmium sulphide.
D carbon.
4 A thermistor is not ideal for a temperature
measuring circuit because:
A its resistance is too high
B its response is not linear.
C it responds too slowly to changes of
temperature.
D it has a negative temperature
coefficient.
5 The maximum current that a MOSFET can
switch when operating on a 9 V supply and
with an 'on' resistance of 2 :
A depends on the device being switched
B depends on its maximum current
rating.
C is 4.5 A.
D is 222 mA.
6 The voltage level at which a Schmitt trigger
switches on is different from that at which
it switches off. We call this:
A negative feedback
B current gain
C hysteresis
D positive feedback.

24
3 Potential dividers
A potential divider is a resistor network that Current ami p i
produces a fixed or variable potential (voltage).
Assuming that no current flows out of the
This potential is lower than the potential of the
divider at the Junction of Rl and R2, the same
supply. The potential divider is probably the
current, i, flows through both resistors.
most often used circuit module. There are
many instances of potential dividers being
used in this book These include the circuits on Ohm's law apples to each resistor. For R2:
pp. 10,12,14,16, and 17 of Chapter 2.
=
i v O U T / R2

Essentially, a potential divider consists of two Ohm's Law also applies to the two resistors
resistors connected in series. when connected in series:
i = vIN/(R1 + R2)
i
Combining these two equations:
vOUT/R2=vIN/(R1+R2)
vOUT=vIN x R2/(R1+R2)
R1
We use this equation to calculatevOUT'given vIN
VlN and the values of the two resistors.

R2 V
Example
OUT
Calculate vOUT' given that vIN= 9V,R 1 =
1.6 k , and R 2 = 2 k .
vOUT = 9 x 2000 / (1600 + 2000)
vOUT=5V
Built on a breadboard it might look like this:
The output of the potential divider is 5 V.

9V

R1
1 k6

V IN

R2
2k v
OUT
=5V

0 v

The supply VIN comes from a battery or power


pack on the left. The potential VOUT across R2 is When the source voltage is 9 V, the output
measured by test leads on the right voltage is 5 V.

25
Electronics — Circuits and Systems

Example
The effect of the load A load with resistance 3 k is connected to
The calculation opposite assumes that no the potential divider described in the
current flows out of the output terminal This is previous example. What is the new value of
almost true when we use a digital meter to v
OUT?
measure vOUT. We find that the measured value
The combined resistance of R2 and the load is:
of vOUT is almost correct allowing for possible
tolerance errors in the resistor values.
2000 x 3000
R= = 1200
However, current is drawn from the output in 2000 +3000
most practical circuits. This is what happens: In effect, the divider now consists ofR1in
Current i passes through R1. At the output of series with 1.2 k , so:
the divider, a current iLOAD passes through the
load while the remainder i2 passes on through 1200
VOUT =9 X = 3.86 V
R2. The diagram shows that. R2 and the load 1600+1200
(RLOAD) are resistances in parallel
The output voltage is reduced to 3.86 V.

In the example / the output voltage of the


f
divider falls by 1.14 V when the load is
connected. The amount of the fall depends on
R1 the resistance of the load.
i LOAD
V IN
i2 Increasing t i e precision
R2 RLOAD The usual technique for preventing excessive
VOUT
drop in output voltage is to have a relatively
large current flowing through the divider.
Then t h e current drawn by the load has
When a load is connected to the divider, it is in
relatively less effect. As a rule-of-thumb, make
parallel with R2.
the divider current about ten times the current
taken by the load.
If R2 and the load are resistances in parallel,
Example
their combined resistance is less than t h e
resistance of either of them separately. In the previous example, the current drawn
Therefore the p d across R2 is less when the by the 3 k load is:
load is connected. The measured value' of vOUT iLOAD = 5/3000 = 1.67 mA
is less than expected.

9V 9V

R1 R1
1k6 1 k6
equivalent Connecting a load to the
VIN to VIN divider lowers the
resistance across which
R2 RLOAD 1k2 VOUT
2k VOUT 3k VOUT
= 3.86 V

0V 0V
R2 RLOAD

26
Potential dividers

The current flowing through the divider Example


must be at least ten times that amount, In the diagram, the actual value of vOUT is:
which is 16.7 mA. For a
Self test 10 x 56000/156000 = 3.59 V
current of this size, R1 and
a Select two E24 resistors R2 in series must total no But the meter has a coil resistance of 20 k , so
that total 540 and form R2 has 20 k in parallel with it. Their
more than R = vIN/0.0167
a potential divider that
= 539 . We have to combined resistance is:
has 5 V output with 9 V
input, under no load. specify two resistors that
56000x20000
What is the output when have the same ratio as in R= = 14.7k
a load of 2 k is the example, but total no 56000 + 20000
connected? more than 539 .
b Design a potential divider The value of v OUT' as read with the meter
using E24 resistor that Unfortunately, using connected to the divider, is:
gives an output of 3.3 V resistor values totalling
when the input is 6 V and 10 x 14700/11470 = 1.28 V
only 5390 means that the
there is no load.What is The meter reading is 2 3 1 V too low.
the output when a load of divider takes a current of
1 k is connected? values to over 25 mA. In a battery
The example demonstrates that a moving-coil
minimize the voltage powered device we might
drop under this load meter is far from accurate when used to
not be able to afford to
measure voltages in a network of high
waste so much current.
resistances. Using a digital meter gives no such
problems, as it has an input resistance of many
megohms and takes virtually no current from
the network.
There are more calculations to
try on the Companion website.
Variable potential dividers
The diagrams show three ways of building a
potential divider with variable output voltage.
Measurement errors
Unlike a digital testmeter, an analogue
moving-coil testmeter needs appreciable
current to drive it. Typically, the coil resistance
is 200 k when switched to the 10 V range. A R1
cheap analogue meter may have a coil VIN VR1 VIN
resistance of only 20 k . If a potential divider VR1
VOUT
or other network of high-value resistors is VOUT

tested with an analogue meter, serious errors


may occur. This is because the coil of the meter (a) (b)
acts as a load on the network. Current is drawn
R1
by the meter and this results in a voltage drop
at the point where voltage is being measured. VIN VR1

VOUT
R2
An analogue
100k meter may (c)
give low
10 V
voltage
R2 When calculating vOUT ' we think of the variable
56k VOUT
R METER
readings on resistor as two resistors joined at the point of
20k
a high- contact of the wiper.
resistance
network 21
Electronics — Circuits and Systems

Internal resistance
Potential =
(1.5-iR int )V
When analysing circuits we have so far ignored
the fact that the source itself has resistance. current = i A
Often this is so small that it can be ignored, but Rint pd =
iR i n t
there are times when it can not. Rext
source Pd =
To understand the effect of the internal of emf 1.5V
resistance of a cell (and also the meaning of the
cell
term emf), think of the cell as two components,
connected in series. 0V

When a current flows there is a fall of potential


(or voltage drop) across the internal resistance.
+1.5 V +1.5 V

Internal Pd =
resistance 0V
cell
= The fall in potential across the internal
source +
of emf pd=
1.5V
resistance (sometimes called the l o s t volts')
cell means that the:
0V
0V

p d between the terminals < emf of cell


a cell can be thought of as a source of emf
(the chemical energy of the cell) in series with Taking this circuit as a potential divider, it
a resistance (the internal resistance of the cell). divides the emf and its 'output' is at the
positive terminal of the cell or other source.
The equation for a potential divider (p.25) is:
If there is no circuit connected to the cell, as in
the diagram above, no current flows through vOUT = vIN x R2/(R1+R2)
the cell. So the current
p d a n d volts
through the internal resis- In the case of the circuit above this becomes:
The unit of p d (symbol, V) tance is zero. Using the
and emf (symbol E) is the Ohm's Law equation (p. terminal pd = emf x R ext /(R int + Rext)
volt (symbol , V). 363):
Spot the difference? V = lR =0 x R = 0 If Rint is small compared with Rext' as is the case
(p. 363) with batteries and other power supplies, the
With no current flowing
terminal potential is only slightly less than the
there is zero p d across the
emf. The voltage drop can be ignored.
Current a n d a m p s internal resistance. The total
p d between the terminals of
The unit of current If the source has high internal resistance, such
the cell is 1.5 + 0 = 1.5 V.
(symbol, -1) is the a m p as the crystal in a piezo-electric microphone
(symbol A). (p. 68), and it is connected to an external circuit
p d between the terminals =
of low resistance, most of the emf from the
emf of cell
crystal will be lost in its internal resistance.
Let the internal reistance of the cell be Rint. If
To obtain the maximum signal from the
the cell is connected to an external circuit, with
microphone the external circuit must have high
resistance Rext, a current flows through this and
resistance. An amplifier with an operational
also through the internal resistance. These two
amplifier (p. 91) as its input would be suitable
resistances are in series and the circuit (top
for this.
right) is a potential divider.

28
Potential dividers

Activities 5 Use Ohm's law to obtain a formula for


1 Set up several potential divider circuits, calculating the combined resistance of three
with different input voltages and using resistances connected in parallel.
various pairs of resistors. Calculate the 6 Three resistors, 47 , 120 , and 91 , are
expected output voltage and check the connected in series with each other and
result with a digital multimeter. with an unknown fourth resistor. When a
Use the resistor colour code (see pd of 17 V is applied across the 4-resistor
Supplement A, p. 366) to select suitable chain, a current of 50 mA- flows through it.
resistors from the E24 series. If possible, use What is the pd across each resistor? What is
resistors with 1% tolerance. the resistance of the fourth resistor?
2 Extend Activity 1 by experimenting with 7 Suggest practical uses for each of the three
loads of various resistances. types of variable divider.
3 Measure the internal resistance of an 8 A potential divider consists of a 390
alkaline cell. Connect a digital testmeter resistor and a 470 resistor. The load is
across the terminals of the cell to measure 2.5 k , connected across the 470 resistor.
its emf of the cell with no load attached (the What is the output potential of the divider
current flowing to a digital meter is when the input is 10 V?
virtually zero). The measure the pd of the 9 Design a potential divider, using resistors
cell when a low-value resistor is connected of the E24 series, to produce a 4V output
across it A 10 , 0.5 W resistor can be used. from a 10 V input. It must be able to supply
Warning! it will become very hot! Take the up to 1.8 mA to the load without a serious
reading quickly and then disconnect. drop in voltage.
Calculate the internal resistance using the
equation opposite. 10 Design a potential divider, using E24 series
resistors, in which the output potential is
approximately 45% of the input.
11 A variable potential divider produces an
Questions on potential dividers output ranging from 6.75 V to 9 V when the
input potential is 9 ¥. What values and
types of resistor are being used?
1 A load of 300 is connected in parallel
with the lower resistor (R2) of a potential 12 For each of the variable dividers shown on
divider. The resistance of R2 is 1.2 k . p. 27, describe in words the range of output
What is the combined resistance of R2 and voltages obtainable.
the load? 13 Design a divider to, provide a variable
2 A potential divider consists of two resistors output of from 0 V to 5 V, given a constant
in series. Rl is 4.5 k and R2 is 3.3 k . The input of 16 V. The resistance of the variable
potential applied to the divider is 12 V. resistor is 100 k .
What is the combined resistance of Rl and 14 A battery has an emf of 6 V. The pd across
R2? How much current flows through the its terminals falls to 5.88 V when the battery
divider with no load connected? What is is connected to a 120 resistor. What is its
the potential across R2? internal resistance?
3 A potential divider is built from two 15 A cell has an emf of 1.2 V and an internal
resistors of 36 and 24 . The supply resistance of 0.5 . What is the pd across its
potential is 8 V. What two output potentials terminals when it is connected to a 22
are obtainable from this divider? resistor?
4 State Ohm's Law and use it to prove that
the combined resistance of several resistors
in series is equal to their sum.

29
Electronics — Circuits and Systems

Electronics - Circuits and systems

A capacitor consists of two metal plates Capacitance


parallel with each other and very close
The ability of a capacitor to store charge is
together. There is an insulating layer between
expressed as its capacitance, symbol C. The
them, called the dielectric. In many types of
unit of capacitance is the farad, symbol F.
capacitor this is a thin sheet of plastic, but some
capacitors have a dielectric of air or other
if a capacitor stores Q coulombs of charge
insulating material.
when the pd between its plates is V volts, its
capacitance in farads is:
metal plates
C=Q/V

Example
A capacitor is charged by connecting it to a
3 V DC supply. It then holds 1.5 coulombs of
terminal charge. What is its capacitance?
wire
C = Q/V = 1.5/3 = 0.5 F

dielectric In practice, the farad


is too large a unit Self test
A capacitor consists of two metal plates with t o b e c o m m o n l y 1 A capacitor holding a charge
of 0.1 C has 24 V across i t
an insulting dielectric sandwiched between used in electronics. What is its capacitance?
them Capacitors rated in
2 A 0.2 F capacitor is charged
farads are found only with 4 C. What is the voltage
as special types for across it?
Because of the dielectric, current can not flow backing up the power |
from one plate to the other. When the capacitor supply to computers.
is connected to a DC source, electrons Most of the capacitors we use are rated in:
accumulate on the plate connected to the • microfarads (10-6 F), symbol µF,
negative supply terminal
• nanofarads (10-9 F), symbol nF, or
The negative charge power
source • picofarads (10-12 F), symbol pF.
repels electrons from + -
the atoms of the other
plate. These electrons
flow away to the
Capacitors in parallel and series
positive terminal of the The capacitance of a capacitor is proportional
DC source. This leaves to the area of its plates. If we connect capacitors
the plate positively in parallel, this is equivalent to adding their
charged. areas together.

If the capacitor is Therefore, for several capacitances C1, C 2 ,... Cn


disconnected from the in parallel, the combined capacitance C is given
supply, the charges A capacitor stores
by:
remain. The capacitor charge recived C=C1 +C2+ ... + Cn
stores the electric from a DC supply The combined parallel capacitance is equal to
charge indefinitely. the sum of the individual capacitances.

30.
Capacitors

47 µ • Temperature coefficient: This tells us how


much the capacitance varies with
temperature. We must alow for this in a
A 10µ B circuit that is intended to operate in
extreme conditions. Tempco (as it is often
called) may be expressed as the percentage
2µ2 variation in value over the working range
of temperature, or as the variation in parts
per million per degree Celsius.
The combined capacitance equals the sum • Polarisation: Some types of capacitor have
of the capacitances. specified positive and negative terminals.
They must not be used in circuits in which
the voltage across them may reverse in
Example polarity.
What is the combined capacitance of the three • Leakage current: In some types, leakage
capacitors in the diagram above? may occur through the dielectric. The
capacitor may not hold its charge for long
Summing capacitances gives:
enough.
C = 47 + 10 + 2.2 = 59.2 pF
There are many types capacitor including the
This recalls the formula for the combined following:
resistance of resistors in series.

Conversely, the formula for capacitances in


series has the same form as that for resistances
in parallel For capacitances C1 C2, ..., Cn in
parallel the combined capacitance C is given
by:
1 1 1 1
+ ...+
C C1 + c 2 cn

Types of capacitor: polyester(100nFand


Selecting capacitors 1 nF), polystyrene (1 nF) and a trimmer (0 to
There are several factors to consider when 65 pF)
selecting a capacitor:
• Capacitance: this is obviously the most Polyester: Metal foil plates with polyester film
important factor. Capacitors are made in a between them, or a metallised film is deposited
standard range of capacitances, based on on the insulator. This makes a long narrow
the E24 range (p. 366). 'sandwich' that is rolled to make it more
compact and is then coated with plastic to
• Tolerance: some applications, such as
insulate it. Polyester capacitors are available
timing circuits, may require a high-
in the range 1 nF to 15 µF, and with working
. precision capacitor. If we use low-precision
voltages from 50 V to 1500 V. Tolerance is 5%,
types, we must make sure that the circuit 10% or 20%. They have a high temperature
will stil work if the actual value of the coefficient (or tempco). Compared with most
capacitor is very different from its nominal other types, polyester capacitors have high
value. capacitance per unit volume. This feature,
• Working voltage: the capacitor must not together with their relatively low price makes
break down if the circuit places high polyester capacitors one of the most commonly
voltages across it used and a first choice in most applications.

31
Electronics — Circuits and Systems

Polystyrene: These have a similar structure to Multi-layer ceramic: A number of plates is


polyester capacitors b u t the dielectric is stacked with a film of dielectric between them
polystyrene. They are m a d e only in low values, and alternate plates connected to the same
usually 10 pF to 47 nF. Typically, their terminal They are sometimes described as
tolerance is 5% or 10% b u t high precision types 'monolithic' because the assembly is then
are available with a tolerances of 1% and 2%. fused into a block and coated with resin.
Working voltages are 30 V to 630 V. They have
a high negative tempco of -125 parts per plate dielectric
million per degree Celsius. The precision types
are suitable for tuning arid filter circuits.
Polycarbonate: These cover the range 100 pF to
10 µF, and have working voltages u p to 400 V
DC. Their tolerance is 5% or 10%. Tempcos are
about 100 p p m / ° C , a n d are fairly constant over
the operating range of 55°C to 100°C. This
makes them preferred to polyester capacitors
for filtering and timing circuits. terminals
Multilayer ceramic capacitors have high
capacities for their size (see photo, opposite).

The capacitors are m a d e in a range from 1 pF to


1 µF a n d with tolerances from 2% to 20%
(though as wide as -20% and +80% for one
type). The tempco varies with the material
used for the dielectric. The dielectric of those
with the lowest capacitances (below 1 nF) is
N P O or COG, with zero or very low tempco.
Working voltage is around 50 V. Medium-
capacitance types (about 1 nF to 100 nF) have
X7R dielectric and a higher tempco of ±15%
5 mm
over the range -55°C to 125°C High-
capacitance types (100 nF to 1µF) have higher
tempcos.
Types of capacitor: polycarbonate (680 nF).
The capacitor is also marked with its tolerance The range of characteristics is complicated and
(J=±5%) and working voltage (100 V). you should look in manufacturers' data tables,
for more detailed information.

The N P O / C G O types are highly suitable for


Polypropylene: These cover the range 100 pF tuning circuits and filters. The other types are
to 10 µF but their main feature is their high more suitable for coupling and decoupling (pp.
working voltage. Types with working voltages 34-35) mainly because of their small size.
u p to 3000 V are produced. In addition they are
good at handling pulses. These features make Ceramic disc: These are single-layer ceramic
polypropylene capacitors useful in circuits in capacitors with high capacitance for their size.
which operating voltages are typically high. They are m a d e in the range 1 pF to 220 nF, with
These include power supply circuits / power working voltage usually 50 V, a n d a w i d e
amplifiers, particularly valve amplifiers and range of tolerances. They are widely used for
TV circuits. m a n y purposes, including decoupling.

32
Capacitors

Electrolytic capacitors are made to cover the


range 1 µF to 10 000 µF, and special types are
available outside this range.

Electrolytics have a wide tolerance range,


usually ±20% or more. They also show
appreciable change of capacitance with age
and usage. If a capacitor is not used for some
months its capacitance gradually decreases. It
is restored if the circuit is switched on and a
Types of capacitor: metallised polyester film, voltage is placed across it for a while. Tempcos
(4.7 nF), multi-layer ceramic (10 nF), ceramic are large, typically being 20% or more over the
disc (470 p). operating temperature range.

Working voltages range from 10 V to 100 V.


Aluminium electrolytic: These are made by Capacitors of a given value are made with
rolling two strips of aluminium foil with a strip three or more different voltages. As explained
of absorbent paper between them. This is below, choosing a suitable working voltage can
soaked in an electrolyte solution, and the be important.
assembly is sealed in a can. A voltage is
applied between the two plates, causing a very Most other types of capacitor have very low
thin layer of aluminium oxide to be deposited leakage; their resistance is rated in gigaohms.
on one plate. The oxide is an insulator and acts Leakage through electrolytics is much more
as the dielectric. On one side it is in contact significant Typically, the leakage current in
with the aluminium foil on which it was microamps is 0.01 VC to 0.03 VC, where V is the
formed. On the other side it is in contact with working voltage and C is the capacitance in
the electrolyte. microfarads. A 220 µF capacitor with a
working voltage 25 V, for example, has 55 µF
Because of the thinness of the oxide layer, the to 165 µF leakage current.
capacitance of. an aluminium electrolytic
capacitor is extremely high. Most types of If the capacitor is operated at about 40% of its
electrolytic capacitor have the surface of the -working voltage, the leakage of current is
aluminium etched to increase its surface area reduced to about 10%. On the other hand, a
and thus further increase capacitance. capacitor with higher working voltage is more
expensive and is larger. It takes u p more space
on the circuit board.

Electrolytics are made with two different


arrangments of the terminal wires. In the radial
arrangement, illustrated by the electrolytic
capacitors on the left, the two wires are at the
same end of the capacitor. In the axial
arrangement, the wires are at opposite ends.

Radial capacitors stand vertically on the circuit


board and so' take u p less board space than
axial capacitors. However, it may not be
possible to use radial types if there is
Types of polarised capacitor: electrolytic
(4700µFand 4 7 0 µF) and. tantalum ( µF). insufficient height for them between adjacent
Note the leads twisted together on the large- boards or between the board and the wall of
value capacitor the enclosure.

33
Electronics — Circuits and Systems

There are two safety precautions to be Coupling


observed when using electrolytics:
Capacitors are often used for carrying signals
• They must be connected into the circuit from one part of a circuit to another. In the
with the correct polarity. Markings on the circuit below, which is a MOSFET amplifier
can indicate the negative terminal wire. If circuit, a signal is carried from the microphone
the capacitor is connected the wrong way MIC1 to the gate of the MOSFET, Q l .
round and power is applied, gas is formed
inside the can and it will explode.
15V
• The amount of charge that can be stored in
a large electrolytic may give an unpleasant, R1 Q1
possibly dangerous, shock. Store such C1
910 k ZVN3306A
capacitors with their terminal wires A B
C2
twisted together, as in the photo. This 33 nF
warning also applies to capacitors in
+
MIC1 R2 22 µF
circuits. They may hold a possibly lethal 330 k
R3
470
charge long after the equipment has been VOUT
switched off. Always give them time for VIN VGs
the charge to leak away. 0V

Electrolytics are useful for storing charge, The MOSFET amplifier has coupling capacitors
including smoothing the current from power on its input and output sides.
supply unite. They are also used where a large
pulse is to be generated such as in the starting
circuits of fluorescent lamps, and photographic MIC1 is a crystal microphone. When there is no
flashes. Their wide tolerance and poor stability sound, there is no pd across the crystal and
make them unsuitable for timing and filtering both terminals of MIC1 are at 0 V. Plate A of
circuits. capacitor C1 is at 0 V. When MIC1 receives a
sound, an alternating p d of a few millivolts
Tantalum bead: These are polarised amplitude is generated. The voltage of A rises
capacitors. They range from 100 nF to 150 µF in (goes positive) and falls (goes negative) by a
capacitance, with working voltages from 3 V few millivolts.
u p to 35 V. They have wide tolerance (20%) but
lower leakage (maximum 0.01 VC than When A goes positive, it attracts electrons to
electrolytics. Their main advantage is that they plate B, leaving the gate of Q l more positive.
are smaller than electolytics of the same When A goes negative, it repels electrons from
capacity. plate B, making the gate of Q l more negative.
In this way, the signal from MIC1 is transferred
Variable capacitors: Small trimmer capacitors to the gate.
are used for making fine adjustments to tuning
4, 4
circuits. The type shown in the photo on p. 31 +V +V
has two sets of metal plates. One set is fixed
0 0
and the other set is rotated by a screwdriver. time time

Plastic film between the plates acts as A B gate


MIC1. of Ql
dielectric. As the rotating set is turned, the area current current
of overlap between this set and the fixed set is
varied. This varies the capacitance. C1

Larger variable capacitors with air as the After passing unchanged through the
dielectric are sometimes used in tuning radio capacitor, the signal now 'rides' on a DC
receivers. level of 4 V.

34
Capacitors

decoupling
The point to note is that the gate is NOT at 0 V capacitor
when there is no signal. Rl and R2 act as a +V
potential divider, which holds the gate at 4 V.
The transistor is on and a constant drain
pre-
+
power
current ID passes through i t amplifier amplifier
MIC LS
When a signal arrives, the voltage at the gate
0V
alternates a few millivolts above and below
4 V . Q l is turned a little more on and a little
less on. I D increases and decreases a little The capacitor dampus out signals passing back
compared with its steady no-signal level. The from the power amplifier to the pre-amplifier.
signal reappears as variations in the voltage
across R3.
Sounds picked u p by the microphone go to the
This circuit would not work without the pre-amplifier, which provides, voltage gain.
coupling capacitor C1. If we were to connect The amplified signal goes to the power
MIC1 directly to the gate, the voltage at the amplifier which provides current gain and
gate would be pulled down close to 0 V, well feeds a powerful signal to the loudspeaker. The
below the threshold voltage. The signal of a signal going to the loudspeaker is a fluctuating
few millivolts amplitude would not bring VGS current of several amps in magnitude. The
above the threshold and Q l would stay power amplifier draws this current from the
permanently off. The signal would be lost. power lines. The varying current drain on the
power supply causes its output voltage to vary
The signal from this circuit would normally be slightly. Variations in the voltage supplied to
passed on to another stage of amplification. It the pre-amplifier make its output vary. In other
has a second capacitor C2 to couple it to the words, there is a signal added to that coining
next stage. from the microphone, which passes into the
system and is itself amplified.
Coupling is a convenient way of joining two
parts of a circuit together. The DC voltages on The effect of the feedback through the power
either side of the capacitor are not necessarily line is to cause distortion. It may also lead to a
equal but the signal can pass freely across. type of oscillation known as 'motor-boating'
because the sound resembles that of a motor-
We sometimes use small transformers as boat. The way to avoid this problem is to wire
coupling devices but they are less often used a large-value capacitor across the power
than capacitors. The main reason is that, except supply lines. This is wired between the two
for those used in radio-frequency circuits, amplifiers. The capacitor absorbs fluctuations
transformers are heavy and bulky compared in the supply voltage and so prevents these
with capacitors. Also they are liable to pick u p from getting back to. the sensitive part of the
and generate electromagnetic interference. circuit, the pre-amplifier.

A similar effect is found in logical circuits.


When devices such as LEDs, lamps' and
Decoupling motors, are switched on or off, there is a
Coupling capacitors transfer wanted signals. sudden change in current requirements. The
Decoupling capacitors are used to prevent same occurs if several logic gates change state
unwanted signals from passing from one part at the same time. Pulses are generated on the
of a circuit to another. As an example, consider supply lines and these may cause some of the
the audio amplifier system, shown in the next logical elements to behave erratically. For
column as a block diagram... example, memory unite may change state in
unpredictable ways.

35
Electronics — Circuits and Systems

Ceramic disc capacitors of s m a l l value (about The graph below is plotted for the circuit on
100 nF) are placed in critical locations on logic the left, given that Vs = 10 V, R = 100 , and C
boards. Also a few capacitors of larger value = 1 µF The time constant is RC = 100 µS.
are placed on the main power lnes.

Charging a capacitor 10 v
V c
When switch S1 is closed, a capacitor C is
charged from a constant voltage supply VS,
through a resistance R.
5
v
c
R
S1

0
0 100 200 300 400 500
VS vC µS
C

S1 is turned on at 0 seconds and VC (grey


curve) beings rising to 10 v, as the capacitor
The voltage VC across the capacitor is charges.
measured at regular intervals after S1 is
closed.

The shape of' the curve is described as


The time constant of the circuit is defined as
exponential. This is because' the equations for
RC.
the curves contain the exponential constant, e.
Before going on to use this quantity we will
There are three points on this curve that are of
look more closely at the way it is derived.
special interest The first of these is shown
below:
Consider the relationships between the
electrical quantities of charge (Q), current (J),
potential difference (V), resistance (R), and the
quantity time (I). 10
V vS
From Ohm's Law we have R = V/I.
From the definition on p.30 we have C = Q/V.
VC
5
Substituting these two equalities in the t =100 µS
definition of the time constant gives:
RC = ( V / l ) x ( Q / V ) = Q/I 0.69t
0
But, from the definition of the coulomb, we 0 1 2 3 4 5
have Q = IT. time constants

Therefore, RC= Q / I = IT/I = T


The plot is the same as before, but the X-axis is
The quantity obtained by multiplying a marked in time constants instead of
resistance by a capacitance is a time — the time microseconds.
constant.


Capacitors

The graph shows that vC the voltage across the 10


capacitor reaches half the supply level after V
0.69 time constants.

A little further u p the curve we find that, after


5 VC
1 time constant, vc has risen to 0.63 Vs.

Vs

10
V vs
0 100 200 300 400 500
µS
VC
0.63
The dischare curve also is exponential
.5
t=100 µS

Time
0 When a current is passed through a resistor, a
0 1 2 3 4 5
time constants voltage develops across it instantly, its size
The exponential curve has the same shape for according to Ohm's Law. When a current is
all values of R and C. passed into a capacitor, the voltage across it
changes gradually. It takes time.

In this way, using capacitors requires us to take


Finally, note that the graph is plotted for 5 time time into account when we analyse the
constants after the voltage step. It is seen that behaviour of the circuit. In the next chapter we
the curve levels out almost completely during study ways in which we use capacitors in time-
this time. In theory, the capacitor never reaches' dependent circuits.
full charge but, for all practical purposes, we
can say that it takes 5 time constants to fully
charge the capacitor.
Activity — Capacitors
For proofs of these relationships, see Extension Set u p the capacitor charging circuit on p. 36,
Box 6, p.'38. but omitting S1. Make R = 100 k and C =
lOnF. For vIN use a signal generator, set to
produce square waves at 50 Hz, and an
amplitude of 1 V. Observe vOUT, using an
Discharging a capacitor oscilloscope. The waveform should be similar
to this:
If a capacitance C is already charged to VS and
is discharged through a resistance R, the
voltage across the capacitor falls as in the
Vout

graph at top right.

The voltage across the capacitor falls to 0.5Vs


after 0.69 time constants. This is the same time
as for a charging capacitor to rise to the half-
charge point. In 1 time constant vS falls to 3.7 V
(that is, the voltage across it falls by 0.63VC). 0 10 20 30 40
time constants
After 5 time constants, the capacitor is almost
completely discharged. Charging a n d discharging cycles.

31
Electronics — Circuits and Systems

1 Using the graticule of the oscilloscope,


estimate the time taken to fully charge the
Discharging Extension Box 7
capacitor. Use this result to estimate 1 time
constant. Compare this result with the value The exponential equation for a discharging
of the time constant as calculated from capacitor is:
component values. vC=VSe-t/Rc
2 Measure the time taken to reach the half-
charge point, and the voltage across the
capacitor after charging for 1 time constant.- The three results stated above can be
derived from this, using methods similar to
3 Repeat 1 and 2 for the discharging capacitor. those used for a charging capacitor.

Charging Extension Box 6


Dielectrics Extension Box 8
The equation for charging a capacitor is:
The dielectric keeps the plates of the
-t/
vc=Vs(1-e Rc) capacitor a fixed distance apart and so gives
its capacitance a fixed value. The dielectric
1 At the half-charged point: also prevents the plates from touching and
vc = 0.5VS short-circuiting. This applies to all types of
-capacitor except those with air as the
e-t/Rc=0.5 dielectric.
-t/
Rc = In 0.5 = -0.69 More important, the dielectric greatly
t = 0.69RC increases the capacitance. The drawing
below shows two capacitors of identical size
The capacitor is half charged after 0.69 and both are charged to the same pd. The
time constants. capacitor on the left has air as its dielectric,
while the other has a different dielectric.
2 After 1 time constant: The charge on the other capacitor is much
t = RC greater than that on the air-filled capacitor.
vC = VS(1-e-1)
But e-1 = l / e = 0.37
vc=Vs (1-0.37) + + + + + + + + ++++++ +++++++

vc = 0.63 Vs air dielectric


The capacitor is charged to 0.63 of the
supply after 1 time constant.

3 After 5 time constants:


Both capacitors are charged to the same
t = 5RC pd but the dielectric increases the charge
vc=Vs(1-e-5) that can be stored
But e-5 = 0.0067
vc=Vs(1- 0.0067)
vc = 0.993 VS
vc Vs In other words, the dielectric increases the
The capacitor Is almost fully charged after capacitance.
5 time constants.

38
Capacitors

Dielectric (continued) 8 Describe the structure of an aluminium


electrolytic capacitor. What safety
precautions are needed when working with
The effect of the dielectric is expressed as a such capacitors?
ratio between the capacitance with air as the 9 Describe the different types of multi-layer
dielectric and with another substance as the ceramic capacitor and their applications.
dielectric:
10 List three different materials used as the
dielectric of capacitors.
capacitance with dielectric
r= 11 Explain how a capacitor is used for (a)
capacitance with air coupling and (b) decoupling.
12 Select a circuit that has a capacitor in it and
The ratio r is called the relative explain what the capacitor does.
permittivity of the dielectric, or the
13 A 22 nF capacitor is charged through a
dielectric constant. The value of er is
47 k resistor. Calculate the time constant.
expressed in farad per metre. Typical
values for r are 2 F / m for polythene and 5 14 In Question 13, what are we assuming
F / m for mica, and some substances have about the voltage source? What are we not
much higher values. assuming about the voltage source?
15 In Question 13, how long does it take for
Another important property of a dielectric the discharged capacitor to almost fully
is its dielectric strength. This is the largest charge? How long does it take to charge to
p d that can exist in the dielectric without half the supply voltage? (Proofs not
resulting in ts breakdown. This is expressed required)
in millions of volts per metre. Air has a low
16 Given that the capacitor in Question 13 is
dielectric strength of 3 x 10° V / m .
charged from a constant 9 V DC source,
Polythene rates at 50 x 10 V / m and mica at
what is the voltage across the capacitor
150 x10° V / m . after 1.034 ms?
17 A 2200 µF capacitor is charged to 18V. It is
then discharged through a 100 resistor.
Questions on capacitors How long does it take to discharge almost
completely? What current flows through
1 A capacitor holding a charge of 0.25 C has
the resistor as discharging begins? What
15 V across it. What is its capacitance?
should be the wattage of the resistor?
2 A 4700 µF capacitor is charged to 15 V.
How much charge does it hold?
3 Express 2.2 µF in nanofarads. Extension questions
4 Express 1800 pF in nanofarads.
18 A 2.2 µF capacitor is charged to 5 V. A 4.7
5 What is the combined capacitance of 47 nF
µF capacitor is charged to 9 V, as shown in
and 2.2 nF when connected (a) in series,
the diagram. The switch between the
and (b) in parallel?
capacitors is then closed. What is the
6 What is the combined capacitance of 10 nF, voltage across the two capacitors?
680 pF and 22 nF connected in series?
7 What type of capacitor would you choose 5V 9V
for (a) decoupling, (b) a precision timer
circuit, (c) a circuit for generating the carrier 2u2 4u7
frequency of a radio transmitter (d) a high-
voltage power supply?
0V

39
Electronics — Circuits and Systems

19 Define the time constant of an RC network 2 In the circuit below / the capacitor has zero
In what unit is it measured? charge. Then the switch is closed and
20 Approximately how many time constants current flows from the constant voltage
does it take for a capacitor to charge from source. The p d across the capacitor:
zero volts to the supply voltage when A gradually falls.
charged through a resistor from a constant B rises quickly, then more slowly.
voltage source? Prove your statement by C instantly changes to Vs.
reference to the equation: D rises slowly, then faster.

vC V s (l-e -t RC
R
S1
21 Beginning with the equation quoted in
Extension Box 4, show how long it takes for
a capacitor C charged to 12 V to discharge Vs VC
c
through a resistor R to 4.44 V.
22 Calculate how long it takes for a capacitor
to discharge through a resistor to 0.7 of its
original charge.
6 In the circuit above / R = 100 k and C =
47 µF. The time taken for the pd across the
capacitor to rise from 0 V to Vs is:
Multiple choice questions A the time constant.
B depends on Vs.
C is 4 7 s.
1 An electrolytic capacitor is used when it is
A is approximately 23.5 s.
necessary to have:
7 When a charged capacitor is discharged
A high working voltage.
through a resistor the current through the
B low leakage.
resistor:
.C high capacitance.
D stable capacitance. A is constant
B is high at first gradually reducing.
2 The best type of capacitor for a tuning
C decreases at a constant rate.
circuit is:
A stops after 5 s.
A N P O / C G O multi-layer ceramic
8 When a capacitor is used to transfer a signal
B tantalum bead.
between two parts of a circuit that are
C polyester.
operating at different voltages, the capacitor
D polypropylene.
is said to be:
3 For use in a high-voltage power supply
A coupling the circuits.
circuit, the most suitable type of capactor is:
B filtering the signal.
A polyester. C decoupling the circuits.
B ceramic disc. D amplifying the signal.
C polypropylene.
D polycarbonate.
4 A capacitor stores 0.5 mC when the p d
across it is 5 V. Its capacitance is:
A 100 nF B 25 F. There are more calculations on
C 100 µF. D 0.5 mF. capacitance and impedance on
the Companion website.

40
Using capacitors

5 Using capacitors
Chapter' 4 demonstrates that capacitors Monostable multivibrator
introduce time into the action of a circuit. The
This kind of circuit, usually known by the
delay circuit below uses a capacitor in this way.
shortened name of monostable, is a useful
pulse generator or pulse extender.

Delay The monostable circuit (overleaf) consists of


The circuit below has a potential divider two transistor switches. The output from each
R2/R3 which has an output voltage 4.8 V. The switch is the input to the oilier. A system
operational amplifier (see Chapter 11) diagram shows that the connection from Q2 to
compares this voltage with the voltage across Q l is direct (through' R3), but the connection
C1. from Q l to Q2 passes through a delay stage.
The delay stage is provided by C1 and R2 —
The circuit is triggered by pressing S1 to another example of charging a capacitor
discharge the capacitor fully. This brings the through a resistor.
non-inverting input (+) of the op a m p down to
0 V. The output of the op amp swings down to input processing output
0 V and the LED goes out. trigger Q2 LED
turn switch
OFF
When S1 is released, current flows through R l
and charges C1. As soon as the voltage across it turn
ON
Diagram labelling reaches 4.8 V, the output of
processing processing
From now on, resistor
the op amp swings almost to
delay Q1
and capacitor values 6 V and the LED comes on. switch
are written in a With the values of R l and
shortened form on C1 shown in the diagram,
circuit diagrams (see p. the delay is 75 s. Extension
329). Without the delay, Ql would turn Q2 on again
Box 9, on p . 50 shows how
immediately. You would not see even a flash of
this result is calculated.
light from the LED. With the delay unit
present, there is a delay of a few seconds while
C1 charges through R2. Q2 is turned on when
+6V C1 has charged to the right level.
R2
100k This circuit is stable when Ql is off and Q2 is
R1 3 7 on. It remains indefinitely in that state. It is
.6
1M unstable in the reverse state, with Ql on and
S1 4.8V 2 4 IC1
TL081 D1 Q2 off. After the delay, it goes back to the other
C1 + R3
47 µ. state.
390k R4
220R
The behaviour of the circuit is more
0V
complicated than in the previous example, the
base of Q2 being pulled down to a negative
voltage when the circuit is triggered. The
The time for which the LED is off depends on
length of the pulse is approximately 0.7R2C1.
the values of R1 and C1.
With the values in the diagram, the pulse
length is 0.7 x 6.8 x 470 [k x µF] = 2.2 s.

41
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höyhennämme! Sen vakuuttaa Zagloba!

— Pyh! Hän hyväksyy kuninkaamme antautumisehdot, ja minkä


hänelle silloin kukaan voi? — sanoi herra Michal. — Saammepa vielä
tehdä hänelle sotilaallisesti kunniaa.

— Hän hyväksyy antautumisehdot? Vai niin! — huudahti Zagloba.


— Hyvä!

Hän iski nyrkkinsä pöytään niin voimakkaasti, että Roch Kowalski,


joka juuri oli tulossa sisälle, pysähtyi ällistyneenä kynnykselle.

— Tulkoon minusta juutalaisen renki, — huusi ukko, — jos päästän


vapaasti lähtemään Varsovasta tuon vääräuskoisista pahimman, tuon
temppelien häpäisijän, tuon naisten raiskaajan, tuon verenhimoisen
pyövelin, tuon lurjuksen, tuon välskärin, joka iskee suonta ihmisten
ruumiista ja kukkarosta, tuon nylkyrin, tuon nälkäkurjen! Hyvä on!
Kuningas antaa hänen mennä määrätyillä ehdoilla, hetmanit antavat
hänen mennä sopimuksen mukaan, mutta minä katolilaisena ja
Zaglobana ja sieluni autuudesta huolehtivana miehenä panen
toimeen sellaisen mellakan, ettei kukaan vielä koko Puolassa ole
semmoisesta kuullut! Älkää kohautelko olkapäitänne, herra Michal!
Panen toimeen mellakan, sanon sen vieläkin, panen toimeen
mellakan!
— Eno panee toimeen mellakan! — sanoi Roch Kowalski
uhkaavasti.

Samassa pisti Akbah-Ulan rosvonnaamansa ovesta sisälle.

— Effendi! — sanoi hän Kmicicille. — Kuninkaan sotajoukko näkyy


Veikselin toisella puolen.

Kaikki hypähtivät pystyyn ja riensivät ulos.

Kuningas oli todellakin saapunut. Ensin tulivat Supanhazyn


johtamat tataarilaiset, vaikka ei niin lukuisina kuin oli odotettu. Sitten
tulivat kuninkaan joukot runsaslukuisina ja hyvin asestettuina ja
ennen kaikkea innostusta uhkuvina. Illan kuluessa ennätti koko
armeija kulkea sillan yli, jonka Oskierka juuri oli rakentanut. Sapieha
odotti kuningasta taistelujärjestykseen asettuneine armeijoineen,
joka seisoi vankkana, melkein loppumattomana muurina. Kuninkaan
sotajoukko asettui, sikäli kuin se tuli sillan yli, riviin vastapäätä
liettualaista armeijaa. Molempien armeijain väliini jäi noin sadan
askelen levyinen tyhjä ala.

Sapieha astui jalan hetmaninsauva kädessä tuolle tyhjälle alalle, ja


hänen mukanaan kulki korkeimpia sotilas- ja siviiliviranomaisia.
Toisaalta saapui kuningas ratsain loistavassa asussa ja kuin
taisteluun varustautuneena, yllä sininen panssari, jossa oli kultaisia
viiruja ja jonka alta näkyi musta samettiviitta. Kypärän asemesta
hänellä oli päässä tavallinen ruotsalainen, mustilla sulilla koristettu
hattu, käsissä sotahansikkaat ja jalassa korkeat, kellertävät,
yläpuolelle polvien ulottuvat ratsusaappaat. Hänen jäljessään ratsasti
paavin lähettiläs, Lembergin arkkipiispa ja muita piispoja, Krakovan
vojevoda, paroni Lisola, kreivi Pöttingen, herra Kaniemiecki,
Moskovan lähettiläs, tykistön kenraali Grodzicki, Tiesenhausen ja
useita muita. Sapieha kumartui kuninkaan jalustinta kohti, mutta
kuningas hyppäsi kevyesti hevosen selästä, riensi Sapiehan luo ja
sanaakaan sanomatta syleili häntä.

Kuningas syleili häntä kauan molempien armeijain nähden. Hän oli


yhä vaiti, mutta kyynelet vierivät hänen poskilleen, sillä hän painoi
rintaansa vastaan isänmaan uskollisinta palvelijaa, joka ei
nerokkuudessa ollut ensimmäisiä ja joka joskus horjahti, mutta joka
rehellisyydessä oli asetettava kaikkien valtakunnan herrojen
yläpuolelle, oli uskollisuudessaan järkähtämätön ja oli hetkeäkään
empimättä uhrannut koko omaisuutensa sekä sodan alusta asti
pannut henkensä alttiiksi hallitsijansa ja maansa puolesta.

Liettualaiset, joiden keskuudessa oli kuiskailtu, että Sapieha


kenties saa nuhteita siitä, että oli päästänyt Ruotsin kuninkaan
puikahtamaan pois Sandomirin luona ja oli ollut äskettäin Varsovan
edustalla varomaton, päästivät nähdessään kuninkaan hyvyyden niin
voimakkaan huudon, että kaiku kiiri taivaaseen asti. Tähän vastasivat
voimakkaalla huudolla kuninkaan joukot, ja jonkin aikaa kuului yli
torvien soiton ja rumpujen pärinän sekä laukausten pamahtelun vain
huutoja:

— Vivat Joannes Casimirus!

— Vivat Suur-Puolan sotajoukot!

— Vivat liettualaiset!

Näin tervehtivät armeijat toisiaan Varsovan edustalla. Muurit


vapisivat, ja niiden sisäpuolella vapisivat ruotsalaiset.
— Totisesti, minun täytyy itkeä, en voi muuta! — huudahti Zagloba
liikutettuna. — Kas siinä on kuninkaamme, isämme! (Hyvät herrat,
minä jo vetistelen!) Isämme!… Äsken kaikkien hylkäämä, mutta nyt…
nyt häntä puolustaa satatuhatta sapelia… Oi, laupias Jumala!… En
voi puhua kyyneliltä… Eilen hän oli maanpakolainen, tänään… ei
Saksan keisarilla ole semmoista sotajoukkoa.

Kyynelet vuotivat Zagloban silmistä, ja hän nyyhkytti, mutta äkkiä


hän huusi Rochille:

— Mitä siinä itkeä tillität? Ole hiljaa!

— Eikö eno sitten tillitä? — vastasi Roch.

— Totta tämä on, totista totta!… Hyvät herrat, minä olen hävennyt
tämän valtakunnan puolesta… mutta nyt en vaihtaisi sitä yhteenkään
toiseen kansaan maailmassa!… Satatuhatta sapelia!… Saakoon joku
muu tämmöistä toimeen!… Jumala antoi kansan tulla järkiinsä,
Jumala antoi!

Zagloba ei erehtynyt kovinkaan paljon, sillä Varsovan luona oli nyt


noin seitsemänkymmentätuhatta miestä, lukuunottamatta
runsaslukuista palvelijakuntaa, joka tarpeen tullen voitiin viedä
taisteluun.

Aamulla oli kaupungin ympäristö valkeana teltoista, aivan kuin olisi


satanut lunta. Sotajoukon jäljessä tuli armenialaisia, juutalaisia ja
tataarilaisia kauppiaita. Toinen kaupunki, piiritettyä Varsovaa
suurempi ja vilkkaampi, oli kasvanut kentälle. Ruotsalaiset
hämmästyivät kuninkaan suuria sotavoimia ja olivat ensimmäisinä
päivinä toimettomina, niin että tykistön päällikkö Grodzicki saattoi
häiritsemättä kiertää ympäri kaupungin ja suunnitella piiritystä.
Seuraavana päivänä alettiin hänen ohjeittensa mukaan sinne ja
tänne luoda valleja. Niille asetettiin pienempiä tykkejä, suuremmat
tulivat kahden viikon kuluttua.

Kuningas Jan Kasimir kehoitti vanhaa Wittenbergiä luovuttamaan


kaupungin ja laskemaan aseensa. Hän määräsi niin lievät ehdot, että
ne herättivät tyytymättömyyttä sotajoukossa. Erityisesti toi ilmi
tyytymättömyyttä Zagloba, joka aivan erikoisesti vihasi mainittua
kenraalia.

Kuten arvata saattoi hylkäsi Wittenberg ehdotuksen ja päätti


puolustautua viimeiseen veripisaraan saakka ja mieluummin
hautautua kaupungin raunioihin kuin antaa sen joutua kuninkaan
käsiin. Piirittäjien suuri lukumäärä ei häntä ollenkaan peloittanut,
sillä hän tiesi, että liian suuri joukko on pikemmin haitaksi kuin
hyödyksi piirityksessä. Sitäpaitsi hän oli saanut tietää, että kuninkaan
leirissä ei ollut ainoatakaan piiritystykkiä, kun taas ruotsalaisilla oli
semmoisia riittävästi, puhumattakaan loppumattomista
ammusvarastoista.

Saattoi odottaa, että ruotsalaiset puolustautuisivat vimmatusti.


Varsova oli nimittäin tähän saakka ollut heillä varastopaikkana. Kaikki
ne määrättömät aarteet, jotka oli ryöstetty linnoista, kirkoista ja
kaupungeista kaikkialla valtakunnassa, kerättiin pääkaupunkiin, josta
ne lähetettiin jokea pitkin Preussiin ja sieltä edelleen Ruotsiin. Nyt,
kun koko maa oli noussut kapinaan eivätkä ruotsalaisten hallussa
olevat linnat olleet turvallisia säilytyspaikkoja, oli saalista kertynyt
Varsovaan entistä enemmän. Ruotsalainen sotamies luopui
mieluummin hengestään kuin saaliistaan. Köyhä kansa, joka oli
päässyt ryöstämään rikasta maata, innostui niin ryöstämiseen, että
se siinä vei voiton kaikista muista. Kuningas itse oli tunnettu
ahneudestaan, kenraalit seurasivat hänen esimerkkiään, ja kaikki
muut voitti siinä Wittenberg. Kun oli kysymys saalistamisesta, niin
upseereita ei pidättänyt kunniantunto eikä ylhäinen asema.
Ryöstettiin ja kiristettiin niin paljon kuin mahdollista. Itse Varsovassa
korkea-arvoiset ja syntyperältään aateliset upseerit eivät hävenneet
myydä viinaa ja tupakkaa omille sotamiehilleen täyttääkseen
taskunsa näiden palkkarahoilla.

Ankaraan vastarintaan saattoi ruotsalaisia innostaa sekin, että


heidän etevimpiä miehiään oli saarretussa Varsovassa. Ensiksikin
Wittenberg itse, kuninkaan jälkeen sotajoukkojen ylijohtaja, joka
ensimmäisenä oli tunkeutunut Puolaan ja saattanut sen häviön
partaalle. Sitäpaitsi oli kaupungissa valtakunnankansleri Oxenstierna,
maailmankuulu valtiomies, jota vihollisetkin kunnioittivat hänen
rehellisyytensä tähden. Häntä nimitettiin kuninkaalliseksi Minervaksi,
sillä hänen neuvojaan oli Kaarle Kustaan kiitettävä kaikista
voitoistaan sopimusten teossa. Vielä olivat siellä kenraalit Wrangel
nuorempi, Horn, Erskine, toinen Lewenhaupt ja joukko ylhäisiä
ruotsalaisia naisia, jotka olivat tulleet tervehtimään miehiään tähän
uuteen ruotsalaiseen voittomaahan.

Ruotsalaisilla oli siis kyllä puolustettavaa. Kuningas Jan Kasimir


ymmärsi myös, että piirityksestä tulee pitkäaikainen ja verinen,
varsinkin kun puuttui raskasta tykistöä. Sen ymmärsivät hetmanitkin,
mutta sotajoukko ei ottanut sitä ymmärtääkseen. Tuskin oli Grodzicki
saanut teetetyksi joitakin valleja ja päässyt hiukan lähemmäksi
muureja, kun kuninkaan luo saapui kaikista joukko-osastoista
lähetystöjä pyytämään, että vapaaehtoisesti tarjoutuvat saisivat
tehdä väkirynnäkön. Kauan sai kuningas selitellä, että linnoitus ei ole
vain sapelein vallattavissa, ennenkuin kiihko laimeni.
Sillä välin joudutettiin töitä parhaimman mukaan. Sotajoukko, kun
se ei voinut rynnätä, otti innokkaasti osaa töihin. Parhaimpien
rykmenttien sotilaat, vieläpä upseeritkin, kuljettivat kärryillä multaa
ja kaivoivat maata. Myötäänsä ruotsalaiset koettivat häiritä töitä eikä
mennyt päivääkään, että ne eivät tehneet hyökkäyksiä, mutta tuskin
olivat ruotsalaiset muskettisoturit ennättäneet tulla ulos linnoituksen
portista, kun puolalaiset jättivät työkalunsa ja hyökkäsivät sapelit
käsissä heitä vastaan niin rajusti, että hyökkääjien oli kiireesti
vetäydyttävä takaisin portista sisäpuolelle. Näissä kahakoissa kaatui
paljon väkeä, ja kun ei ollut aikaa haudata kaikkia kaatuneita,
myrkytti ruumiitten haju ilman. Vaikeuksia säikkymättä hiipi joka
päivä kaupungista asukkaita kuninkaan leiriin ilmoittamaan, mitä
kaupungissa tapahtui, ja polvillaan pyytämään, että rynnäkköä
joudutettaisiin. Ruotsalaisilla itsellään oli riittävästi muonaa, mutta
kaupunkilaisia kuoli nälkään kadulle, ja väestö eli suuressa hädässä
sekä kovin sorrettuna. Joka päivä kuului kaupungista kuninkaan
leiriin muskettien pauketta, ja pakolaiset kertoivat, että siellä
ammuttiin porvareita, joita epäiltiin uskollisiksi lailliselle
kuninkaalleen. Pakolaisten kertomukset olivat sellaisia, että ne saivat
hiukset nousemaan pystyyn. He kertoivat, että kaikki asukkaat,
sairaat naiset, äsken syntyneet lapset, vanhukset, kaikki viettivät
yönsä ulkona, sillä ruotsalaiset olivat karkoittaneet heidät
kodeistaan, joihin oli puhkottu uusia käytäviä siltä varalta, että
kuninkaan joukot ryntäävät kaupunkiin. Kadulle ajetut olivat alttiina
sateelle ja helteelle ja värisivät yöllä vilusta. Tulta he eivät saaneet
tehdä eivätkä he voineet valmistaa ruokaa. Monenlaiset taudit
raivosivat heidän keskuudessaan ja veivät sadoittain uhreja.

Kuninkaan sydäntä ahdisti, kun hän kuuli näitä kertomuksia. Hän


lähetti sanan toisensa jälkeen jouduttaakseen raskaitten tykkien
tuloa. Mutta kului päiviä ja viikkoja, eikä voitu tehdä muuta kuin
torjua hyökkäyksiä. Piirittäjiä vahvisti vain se ajatus, että
linnoituksessa ruokavarojen täytyi loppua, sillä kaikki tiet olivat niin
tarkoin vartioituja, että hiirikään ei olisi päässyt linnoitukseen. Päivä
päivältä piiritetyiltä myös väheni toivo saada apua. Lähellä oleva
Douglasin armeija ei voinut tulla avuksi, vaan sen täytyi ajatella
omaa turvallisuuttaan, sillä kuningas Jan Kasimirilla oli niin suuret
sotavoimat, että hän saattoi ahdistaa sitäkin.

Suuria tykkejä odotettaessa ryhdyttiin linnoitusta pommittamaan


pienemmillä. Grodzicki lähestyi Veikselin puolelta, luoden eteensä
valleja, aivan kuin myyrä kuuden askelen päähän kaupungin
vallihaudoista ja syyti yhtä mittaa tulta onnettoman kaupungin yli.
Kazanowskien komea palatsi ammuttiin raunioiksi, mutta se ei
herättänyt kenessäkään sääliä, koska palatsin omisti petturi
Radziejowski. Myöskin bernhardilaisten kellotapulia Grodzicki
pommitti aikoen juuri siltä suunnalta tehdä väkirynnäkön.

Leirin kuormarengit alkoivat pyytää lupaa rynnätä kaupunkia


vastaan, koska heitä houkuttelivat ruotsalaisten aarteet. Kuningas
kielsi ensin, mutta suostui sitten asiaan. Muutamat huomattavat
upseerit ottivat johtaakseen yritystä, niiden joukossa Kmicic, joka oli
kyllästynyt toimettomuuteen eikä voinut rauhoittua, koska Hassling
oli pahasti sairastunut eikä viikkokausiin kyennyt mitään puhumaan.

Annettiin siis merkki väkirynnäkköön. Grodzicki vastusti yritystä


viimeiseen asti, ollen sitä mieltä, että mitään ei ollut tehtävissä niin
kauan kuin linnoituksen muurit olivat eheät. Mutta koska kuningas oli
antanut suostumuksensa, täytyi hänen taipua.

Kesäkuun 15 päivänä kokoontui noin kuusituhatta kuormaston


palvelusväkeen kuuluvaa miestä, ja illalla tämä joukko, enimmäkseen
vain sapeleilla asestettuna, alkoi vetäytyä sille paikalle, missä
multavallit ja kaivannot lähenivät linnoituksen vallihautoja. Kun oli
tullut aivan pimeä, niin he merkin saatuaan syöksyivät huutaen
vallihaudan luo ja alkoivat sitä täyttää. Valppaat ruotsalaiset ottivat
heidät vastaan murhaavalla muskettitulella, ja vimmattu taistelu alkoi
kaupungin itäreunalla. Pimeän suojassa kuormarengit nopeasti
täyttivät juoksuhaudan ja hyökkäsivät järjestymättömänä joukkona
aivan muurien luo. Kmicic ryntäsi kahdentuhannen miehen kanssa
linnaketta vastaan, joka oli lähellä Krakovan porttia, ja epätoivoisesta
puolustuksesta huolimatta se joutui hänen valtaansa. Varusväki
hakattiin kuoliaaksi viimeiseen mieheen. Tykit Andrzej antoi kääntää
porttia kohti ja osan myös kauempana olevia muurin osia kohti
suojellakseen, mikäli mahdollista, niitä, jotka koettivat kiivetä sinne.

Nämä eivät menestyneet yhtä hyvin. Rengit asettivat muureja


vastaan tikapuita ja kiipesivät niitä ylös niin uhkarohkeasti, että
parhaiten harjoitettu jalkaväki ei sitä olisi tehnyt paremmin, mutta
ruotsalaiset, jotka olivat muurinsakarain suojassa, ampuivat heitä
vasten kasvoja, vierittivät alas kiviä, jotka murskasivat tikapuut, ja
lopuksi pisteli jalkaväki ryntääviä pitkillä keihäillä, niin että nämä
eivät voineet sapeleillaan saada mitään aikaan.

Yli viisisataa rohkeimmista rengeistä kaatui muurien edustalle.


Loput vetäytyivät vihollisen heitä lakkaamatta ampuessa takaisin
puolalaisten vallien suojaan.

Väkirynnäkkö oli lyöty takaisin, mutta yksi linnake oli puolalaisten


käsissä. Turhaan ruotsalaiset ampuivat sitä kaiken yötä suurimmilla
tykeillään. Kmicic vastasi heille niinikään kaiken yötä niillä tykeillä,
jotka hän oli saanut haltuunsa. Vasta aamun koittaessa, kun oli tullut
valoisampi, saatiin ne rikki ammutuiksi, yhtä lukuun ottamatta.
Wittenberg, jolle tämä linnake oli erittäin tärkeä, lähetti sitä vastaan
jalkaväkeä, ja sille oli annettu määräys, että se ei saa palata
ennenkuin on saanut linnakkeen valloitetuksi takaisin, mutta samaan
aikaan Grodzicki lähetti Kmicicille apua ja ruotsalaiset saatiin
torjutuksi, vieläpä heitä ajettiin takaakin Krakovan portille asti.

Grodzicki oli niin ihastunut, että hän itse lähti antamaan


kuninkaalle selostusta asiasta.

— Teidän majesteettinne! — sanoi hän. — Olin eilistä hyökkäystä


vastaan, mutta nyt näen, että se on tuottanut menestystä. Niin
kauan kuin tuo linnake oli heidän hallussaan, en voinut tehdä mitään
portille, mutta nyt voin sen murtaa yhdessä yössä raskaitten tykkien
saavuttua.

Kuningas, joka oli ollut pahoillaan niin monen kelpo rengin


kaatumisesta, ilostui Grodzickin sanoista ja kysyi heti:

— Kuka tuolla linnakkeessa on päällikkönä?

— Herra Babinicz! — vastasivat useat äänet. Kuningas löi käsiään


yhteen.

— Hänen pitää kaikkialla olla ensimmäisenä! Herrat kenraalit, minä


tunnen hänet! Hän on erinomainen ritari eikä anna karkoittaa itseään
sieltä!

— Olisi anteeksiantamatonta, teidän majesteettinne, — vastasi


Grodzicki, — jos antaisimme niin käydä! Lähetin hänelle jo
jalkaväkeä ja pieniä tykkejä, sillä hän saa siellä kyllä olla tulessa, se
on varmaa. On kysymys Varsovasta! Tuo ritari on oman painonsa
arvoinen kullassa!
— Enemmän arvoinen, sillä tämä ei ole hänen ensimmäinen eikä
kymmeneskään urotyönsä! — vastasi kuningas.

Sitten hän käski kiireesti tuoda hevosen ja kaukoputken ja lähti


tarkastamaan linnaketta. Mutta se oli kokonaan savun peitossa, sillä
useat suuret tykit ampuivat sitä yhtä mittaa syytäen sitä kohti
sateena kranaatteja.

— Isän ja Pojan ja Pyhän Hengen nimeen! — sanoi kuningas. —


Katsokaa,
Tiesenhausen!

— En näe mitään, teidän majesteettinne!

— Ei siitä jää jäljelle kuin pöyhitty multakasa! Se on ainoa


mahdollisuus! Tiesenhausen, tiedättekö kuka siellä on?

— Tiedän, teidän majesteettinne! Se on Babinicz. Jos hän palaa


hengissä tuolta, niin hän voi sanoa olleensa jo eläessään helvetissä.

— Täytyy lähettää hänen avukseen vereksiä voimia! Herrat


kenraalit…

— Määräykset on jo annettu, mutta sinne on vaikea päästä, sillä


kranaatteja putoilee kovin tiheään.

— Pommittakaa kaikilla tykeillä muureja, jotta ruotsalaiset saisivat


muutakin ajateltavaa!

Grodzicki kannusti hevostaan ja kiiruhti valleja kohti. Hetkistä


myöhemmin paukkuivat tykit pitkin linjaa, ja vielä hiukan
myöhemmin nähtiin jalkaväkeä juoksujalkaa pyrkimässä
linnakkeeseen.
Kuningas oli yhä paikallaan ja katseli. Viimein hän huudahti:

— On syytä päästää Babinicz levähtämään. Kuka teistä, hyvät


herrat, haluaa mennä hänen sijaansa?

Ei Skrzetuskeja eikä Wolodyjowskia ollut tällä kertaa kuninkaan


läheisyydessä, ja siksi syntyi hetken kestävä äänettömyys.

— Minä! — sanoi äkkiä Topor Grylewski, arkkipiispan kevyessä


ratsuväessä palveleva upseeri.

— Minä! — sanoi myös Tiesenhausen.

— Minä! Minä! Minä! — kuului yht'aikaa useita ääniä.

— Menköön se, ken tarjoutui ensiksi! — sanoi kuningas.

Topor Grylewski teki ristinmerkin, nosti matkapullon huulilleen ja


lähti ratsastamaan linnaketta kohti.

Kuningas katseli yhä savupilveä, joka oli verhonnut linnakkeen ja


sillan tavoin yhdisti sen muureihin. Tykkien jyrinä oli hieman
hiljentynyt, mutta sen sijaan paukkuivat musketit niin tiheään kuin
tuhat talonpoikaa olisi ollut puimassa.

— Ne tekevät nähtävästi taas hyökkäyksen! — sanoi


Tiesenhausen. — Jos savua ei olisi niin paljon, näkisimme
jalkamiehet.

— Menkäämme hiukan sivulle, — sanoi kuningas kannustaen


hevostaan.

Toiset seurasivat häntä. He ratsastivat Veikselin rantaa pitkin, ja


koska ruotsalaiset olivat jo talvella hakanneet Veikselin-puolisten
palatsien ja luostarien puistot polttopuiksi eivätkä siis puut olleet
estämässä näköalaa, niin he saattoivat ilman kaukoputkiakin nähdä
ruotsalaisten ryntäävän linnaketta vastaan.

— Mieluummin menettäisin tuon linnakkeen kuin antaisin


Babiniczin kaatua! — sanoi kuningas.

— Jumala suojelee häntä! — sanoi pappi Cieciszowski.

— Ja herra Grodzicki lähettää hänelle viipymättä apua! — lisäsi


Tiesenhausen.

Keskustelua esti jatkumasta jonkun ratsastajan saapuminen. Mies


laski täyttä laukkaa linnakkeelta päin. Tiesenhausen, jolla oli niin
hyvät silmät, että näki paljain silmin paremmin kuin toiset
kaukoputkilla, tarttui hänet nähtyään päähänsä ja huudahti:

— Grylewski tulee takaisin! Babinicz on varmaankin kaatunut ja


linnake valloitettu!

Kuningas varjosti silmiään käsillään. Samassa Grylewski saapui


paikalle, pysähdytti hevosensa ja huusi hengästyneenä:

— Teidän majesteettinne!

— Miten on? Onko hän kaatunut? — kysyi kuningas.

— Herra Babinicz sanoo, että hänen on siellä hyvä olla, eikä hän
tahdo toista sijaansa, pyytää vain, että hänelle lähetettäisiin hiukan
ruokaa, sillä hän ei ole aamusta asti syönyt mitään!

— Onko hän siis elossa? — kysyi kuningas.

— Sanoo, että hänen on siellä hyvä olla! — toisti Grylewski.


Toisetkin olivat selvinneet hämmästyksestään ja alkoivat huutaa:

— Siinä on ritarin uljuutta!

— Se vasta on sotilas!

Senjälkeen he sanoivat Grylewskille:

— Teidän olisi pitänyt jäädä sinne ja antaa hänen tulla pois. Eikö
teitä hävetä tulla takaisin? Joko alkoi peloittaa? Parempi olisi silloin
ollut, että ette olisi ruvennut koko hommaan!

Grylewski vastasi:

— Teidän majesteettinne! Se, joka sanoo minua pelkuriksi, saa


vastaukseni sapelistani, mutta teidän majesteettinne edessä minun
on torjuttava syytös. Olin aivan linnakkeen muurilla, jota kenties
kukaan näistä herroista ei kykenisi tekemään, mutta herra
Babiniczilta sain moitteet päin silmiä aikeitteni vuoksi. "Menkää
hiiteen!" — sanoi hän. — "Minä täällä puuhaan hiki hatussa enkä
jouda kanssanne lörpöttelemään, enkä minä rupea jakamaan
kenenkään kanssa kunniaa enkä päällikkyyttä! Minun on täällä hyvä
olla, ja tänne minä jään, mutta te korjatkaa täältä luunne! Hitto
vieköön! Meillä on niin nälkä, että näköä haittaa, ja meille lähetetään
tänne ruoan asemesta jonkinmoinen päällikkö!" Mitä saatoin minä
tehdä, teidän majesteettinne? En edes ihmettele hänen pahaa
tuultaan, sillä hänellä on siellä todellakin yllin kyllin tekemistä.

— Voiko hän pitää asemansa? — kysyi kuningas.

— Mitäpä tuommoinen huimapää ei voisi? En muistanut sanoa,


että hän lähtiessäni vielä huusi jälkeeni: "Pysyn täällä vaikka viikon,
enkä antaudu, kunhan saan syötävää!"
— Mutta voiko siellä olla?

— Teidän majesteettinne, siellä on kuin tuomiopäivä olisi tullut!


Kranaatti seuraa toistaan, niitten sirpaleet vinkuvat kuin pahat
henget korvissa, maa on aivan läpeensä myllerretty ja savu estää
puhumasta! Kuulat paiskelevat hiekkaa ja turpeita, niin että yhtä
mittaa täytyy pudistella niitä pois. Paljon miehiä on kaatunut ja
elossa olevat makaavat kuulien kaivamissa kuopissa ja ovat
sirpaleista sekä mullasta laittaneet itselleen jonkinmoisia suojia.
Ruotsalaiset ovat rakentaneet tuon linnakkeen erittäin vahvaksi, ja se
on nyt meikäläisille eduksi. Minun siellä ollessani tuli avuksi
Grodzickin lähettämää jalkaväkeä ja taistelu on siellä taas alkanut
uudelleen.

— Koska emme voi hyökätä muureja vastaan niin kauan kuin


niissä ei ole aukkoja, — sanoi kuningas, — niin teemme vielä tänään
hyökkäyksen palatsia vastaan Krakowskie Przedmiesciessä. Se
hajoittaa parhaiten ruotsalaisten huomion.

— Se on luja paikka, melkein linnoituksen veroiseksi vahvistettu,


— huomautti Tiesenhausen.

— Mutta se ei saa apua kaupungista, sillä koko raivonsa he


kohdistavat Babinicziin! — vastasi kuningas. — Niin on tehtävä!
Käsken heti ryhtymään väkirynnäkköön, kunhan ensin siunaan
Babiniczin.

Näin sanottuaan kuningas otti isä Cieciszowskin kädestä kultaisen


ristiinnaulitun kuvan, kohotti sen ylös ja alkoi siunata kaukana savun
ja tulen keskellä olevaa linnaketta sanoen:
— Aabrahamin, Iisakin ja Jaakopin Jumala, armahda kansaasi ja
suo noitten hädässä olevien pelastua! Amen! Amen! Amen!
KOLMASTOISTA LUKU.

Tehtiin verinen väkirynnäkkö Nowy Światia ja Krakowskie


Przedmieścieä vastaan, ja vaikka, se ei juuri onnistunutkaan, niin oli
siitä kuitenkin se etu, että ruotsalaisten huomio kääntyi pois siitä
linnakkeesta, jota Kmicic puolusti, ja siinä olevat miehet saivat jonkin
verran levätä. Muutamia satoja miehiä kaatui. Mutta kuningas sai
ilokseen nähdä, että nostoväkikin mitä miehuullisimmin ja kuolemaa
halveksien hyökkäsi muureja vastaan, eikä epäonnistuminen
ollenkaan lannistanut mieliä, vaan voiton varmuus sotajoukossa
päinvastoin vain tuli entistä suuremmaksi.

Mutta onnellisin tapahtuma näinä päivinä oli Jan Zamoyskin ja


Czarnieckin saapuminen. Edellinen toi mukanaan erinomaista
jalkaväkeä ja niin isoja tykkejä Zamośćiesta, että ruotsalaisilla ei
Varsovassa ollut niiden veroisia. Jälkimmäinen tuli ottamaan osaa
loppurynnäkköön. Otaksuttiin, ja samoin arveli Czarnieckikin, että
tämä rynnäkkö olisi viimeinen.

Suuret tykit asetettiin Kmicicin valtaamalle linnakkeelle, ja ne


alkoivat heti pommittaa muureja ja porttia pakottaen ruotsalaisten
haupitsit vaikenemaan. Sitten kenraali Grodzicki itse asettui tähän
linnakkeeseen ja Kmicic palasi tataarilaistensa luo.
Hän ei ollut vielä ennättänyt asuntoonsa, kun hänet kutsuttiin
kuninkaan luo. Koko esikuntansa läsnä ollessa kuningas kiitti nuorta
ritaria. Myös Czarniecki, Sapieha, Lubomirski ja kruunun hetmanit
ylistivät häntä. Hän seisoi siinä repeytyneessä ja mullan tahrimassa
puvussaan, kasvot ruudinsavusta mustina ja unen puutteesta
pökertyneenä, mutta iloissaan siitä, että oli jaksanut pitää linnakkeen
hallussaan ja ansainnut osakseen tulleet kiitokset sekä suuren
maineen molempien sotajoukkojen keskuudessa.

Muitten ritarien mukana onnittelivat häntä myös Wolodyjowski ja


Zagloba.

— Ette aavistakaan, herra Andrzej, — sanoi hänelle pieni ritari, —


miten suuressa arvossa kuningas teitä pitää. Olin eilen läsnä
sotaneuvottelussa, sillä herra Czarniecki oli ottanut minut mukaansa.
Puhuttiin väkirynnäköstä ja sanomista, joita juuri oli saapunut
liettuasta, sodasta siellä ja Pontus de la Gardien ja ruotsalaisten
julmuuksista. Neuvoteltiin silloin, miten sotaa siellä voisi tukea.
Sapieha arveli, että olisi parasta lähettää sinne pari rykmenttiä ja
niiden mukana mies, joka osaisi tehdä siellä saman, mitä Czarniecki
oli sodan alussa tehnyt Suur-Puolassa. Siihen sanoi kuningas: "On
vain yksi semmoinen mies olemassa, nimittäin Babinicz." Toiset
yhtyivät heti siihen.

— Minä lähden mielelläni Liettuaan ja varsinkin Samogitiaan, —


vastasi Kmicic. — Aioin itse pyytää siihen kuninkaan suostumusta ja
odotan vain, kunnes valloitamme Varsovan.

— Huomenna on päärynnäkkö, — sanoi Zagloba — joka juuri


saapui paikalle.

— Sen tiedän. Miten Ketling voi?


— Kuka? Tarkoitatteko Hasslingia?

— Se on sama asia, sillä hänellä on kaksi nimeä, kuten on tapana


englantilaisilla, skotlantilaisilla ja monilla muilla kansoilla.

— Aivan oikein! — vastasi Zagloba. — Espanjalaisella on eri


viikonpäivinä aina eri nimi. Palveluspoikanne kertoi minulle, että
Hassling eli tuo Ketling on terve. Hän puhuu, on jalkeilla ja on
päässyt kuumeestaan, tahtoo vain syödä joka tunti.

— Ettekö ole ollut hänen luonaan? — kysyi Kmicic pieneltä ritarilta.

— En, sillä ei ole ollut aikaa. Mitäpä joutaa ajattelemaan, kun


väkirynnäkkö on tulossa!

— Menkäämme siis nyt!

— Menkää ensin nukkumaan! — sanoi Zagloba.

— Olette oikeassa! Enpä tahdo pysyä jaloillani. Asuntoonsa


tultuaan Andrzej noudattikin tätä saamaansa neuvoa sitäkin
suuremmalla syyllä, kun hän tapasi Hasslingin nukkumassa. Sen
sijaan tulivat illalla häntä tervehtimään Zagloba ja Wolodyjowski, ja
he istuutuivat lehtimajaan, jonka tataarilaiset olivat tehneet
johtajalleen. Kiemliczit kaatoivat heidän pikareihinsa sadan vuoden
vanhaa simaa, jota kuningas oli lähettänyt Kmicicille, ja he joivat sitä
mielellään, sillä ulkona oli kuuma. Hassling, joka vielä oli kalpea ja
nääntynyt, näytti tästä jalosta juomasta saavan uutta elämää ja
voimia. Zagloba maiskutteli kieltään ja pyyhki hikeä otsaltaan.

— Hei! kuinka tuolla tykit jyrähtelevät! — sanoi nuori


skotlantilainen. — Huomenna teette väkirynnäkön… Hyvä on
terveitten olla!… Jumala teitä siunatkoon! Olen vieraan kansan jäsen
ja palvelin sitä, jota olin velvollinen palvelemaan, mutta
myötätuntoni on teidän puolellanne. Ah, millaista simaa! Tunnen
elpyväni!

Hän heilautti kullankeltaiset hiuksensa taaksepäin ja loi siniset


silmänsä taivaaseen. Hänen kasvonsa olivat erittäin kauniit ja niiden
ilme vielä melkein kuin lapsen. Zagloba katsoi häneen liikutettuna.

— Te puhutte niin hyvin puolaa, herra ritari, kuin kuka tahansa


meistä. Jääkää puolalaiseksi, rakastakaa isänmaatamme, niin teette
oikean teon, eikä teiltä koskaan puutu simaa! Soturin on meillä
helppo saada kansalaisoikeus.

— Se kai kävisi sitäkin helpommin, kun olen aatelismies, — sanoi


Hassling. — Nimeni kokonaisuudessaan on Hassling-Ketling of Elgin.
Sukuni polveutuu Englannista, vaikka on asettunut Skotlantiin.

— Ne ovat kaukaisia, merentakaisia maita — sanoi Zagloba. — On


ikäänkuin säädyllisempää asua täällä.

— Minä viihdyn hyvin täällä!

— Mutta me emme! — sanoi Kmicic, joka alusta alkaen oli


kärsimättömästi kääntelehtinyt penkillään. — Meistä on tärkeätä
saada kuulla Taurogin tapahtumista, mutta te vain juttelette
sukujuurista.

— Kysykää minulta, minä vastaan!

— Näittekö usein neiti Billewiczin? Hasslingin kalpeat kasvot


punastuivat.

— Joka päivä! — sanoi hän.


Kmicic alkoi heti katsella häntä terävästi.

— Olitteko niin suosiossa? Miksi punastutte? Joka päivä? Miksi


niin?

— Koska hän näki, että tunsin häntä kohtaan myötätuntoisuutta ja


olin tehnyt hänelle muutamia palveluksia. Se käy selville edempänä
kertomuksestani, mutta minun on nyt alettava alusta. Kenties ette
tiedä, että en ollut Kiejdanyssa silloin, kun ruhtinas Boguslaw saapui
sinne ja vei neidin Taurogiin. Miksi hän hänet sinne toi, siitä
lausuttiin monenlaisia ajatuksia. Se vain on varmaa, että kun he
tulivat, niin kaikki heti huomasivat, että ruhtinas oli hyvin rakastunut.

— Jumala häntä rangaiskoon! — huudahti Kmicic.

— Alettiin pitää juhlia, jommoisia sitä ennen ei ollut koskaan ollut.


Olisi voinut luulla, että rauha vallitsi maassa, mutta joka päivä
lähetettiin kirjeitä ja saapui sanantuojia vaaliruhtinaalta ja ruhtinas
Janukselta. Me tiesimme, että herra Sapieha ja liittoutuneet
ahdistivat ruhtinas Januszta ja että hän pyysi Jumalan nimessä apua,
koska häntä uhkasi tuho. Mutta pyynnöt eivät vaikuttaneet mitään.
Vaaliruhtinaan valtakunnan rajalla seisoi sotajoukko aivan valmiina
lähtöön, mutta me vain emme menneet avuksi, sillä ruhtinas ei
tahtonut erota neidistä.

— Senkö vuoksi siis Boguslaw ei tullut auttamaan serkkuaan? —


kysyi
Zagloba.

— Niin. Sitä samaa sanoivat kaikki häntä lähellä olevat henkilöt.


Jotkut napisivat, toiset iloitsivat siitä, että Radziwillit kukistuivat.
Sakowicz hoiti ruhtinaan puolesta juoksevat asiat ja vastasi kirjeisiin
sekä neuvotteli lähettien kanssa, ruhtinas ajatteli vain huvien
toimeenpanemista. Hän kylvi rahaa joka puolelle — tuo itara mies! —
ja antoi penikulmien laajuudelta kaataa metsää, jotta neidillä olisi
kauniimpi näköala. Sanalla sanoen hän sirotteli kukkia neidin jalkojen
juureen ja kohteli tätä niin, että jos tämä olisi ollut Ruotsin
kuningatar, niin hän ei olisi voinut toivoa parempaa. Monet säälivät
neitiä, sillä yleisesti puhuttiin, että kaikki tarkoitti vain neidin
saattamista onnettomuuteen ja että ruhtinas ei missään tapauksessa
menisi naimisiin hänen kanssaan, Mutta nähtiinkin, että neiti ei ollut
niitä, joita voi viekoitella poikkeamaan hyveen tieltä.

— Ei, totisesti! — huusi Kmicic hypäten seisomaan. — Minä sen


tiedän paremmin kuin muut!

— Miten neiti Billewicz otti vastaan nuo kuninkaalliset


kunnianosoitukset? — kysyi Wolodyjowski.

— Aluksi suopeasti, vaikka hänen kasvoistaan näkyi, että hänellä


oli jokin sydänsuru. Hän otti osaa metsästysretkiin, naamiaisiin,
ratsastusmatkoihin ja turnajaisiin, nähtävästi luullen, että ruhtinaan
hovissa oli tämmöiset tavat. Mutta sitten hän huomasi, että se kaikki
oli hänen takiaan. Tapahtui kerran, että ruhtinas, joka jo oli
järjestänyt jos minkälaisia näytelmiä, tahtoi näyttää neidille,
minkälaista sota on. Sytytettiin palamaan kylä lähellä Taurogia;
jalkaväki puolusti sitä, ruhtinas hyökkäsi. Ruhtinas sai loistavan
voiton, ja kerrotaan hänen sitten kunniansa loisteessa langenneen
neidin jalkoihin ja pyytäneen tämän vastarakkautta. Ei tiedetä, mitä
ruhtinas silloin proposuit, mutta siitä lähtien oli heidän ystävyytensä
lopussa. Neiti pysytteli nyt aina setänsä, miekankantajan, rinnalla, ja
ruhtinas…

— Alkoi häntä uhkailla? — huudahti Kmicic.


— Eikö mitä! Hän laittautui kreikkalaiseksi paimeneksi,
Philemoniksi. Erityiset lähetit kiitivät Königsbergiin hakemaan
paimenviittoja, nauhoja ja peruukkeja. Hän oli olevinaan
epätoivoissaan, kuljeskeli neidin ikkunain alla ja soitti luuttua. Sanon
teille, mitä sisimmässäni ajattelen: ruhtinas on perin harjaantunut
naisten viettelijä, ja huoleti voi hänestä sanoa, niinkuin meidän
isänmaassamme on tapana sanoa tuommoisista miehistä: hänen
huokauksensa ovat murtaneet monta neitseellisyyden sinettiä. Mutta
tällä kertaa hän oli todella rakastunut, eikä se olekaan ihme, sillä tuo
neiti on enemmän jumalattaren kuin maaseudun pikkuaateliin
kuuluvan kaltainen.

Tässä Hassling taas punastui, mutta Andrzej ei sitä huomannut,


sillä hän katseli ylpeänä ja voitonriemuisena Zaglobaa ja
Wolodyjowskia.

— Minä tunnen hänet, hän on todellinen Diana, vaikka hänellä ei


ole kuuta hiuksissaan! — sanoi pieni ritari.

— Dianako? Dianan omat koirat alkaisivat ulvoa Dianalle, jos


näkisivät tämän tytön! — huudahti Kmicic.

— Siksipä sanoinkin: "eikä se olekaan ihme", — vastasi Hassling.

— Siitä huolimatta, vaikka se siis ei olekaan ihme, aion polttaa


Boguslawin hiljaisella tulella…

— Rauhoittukaa! — keskeytti Zagloba. — Ensin on teidän saatava


hänet käsiinne. Mutta antakaa nyt tämän ritarin kertoa!

— Usein jouduin olemaan vahdissa hänen huoneensa ovella, kun


hän nukkui, — jatkoi Hassling, ja tiedän, että hän heittelehti
vuoteellaan, huokaili ja puhui itsekseen sekä valitteli kuin tuskissaan,
niin näytti hän kärsivän himostaan Hän muuttui suuresti ja laihtui;
kenties häntä jo riudutti se tauti, johon hän myöhemmin sairastui.
Sitten alettiin koko hovissa kuiskailla ruhtinaan joutuneen
mielettömyydessään niin pitkälle, että aikoi ottaa neiti Billewiczin
puolisokseen. Se tuli myös Janusz-ruhtinaan puolison korviin, joka
tyttärineen asui Taurogissa. Hän vihastui, ja syntyi hankausta, sillä,
kuten tiedätte, Boguslaw oli tehnyt sopimuksen, että hän nai
ruhtinas Januksen tyttären heti, kun tämä tulee täysi-ikäiseksi. Mutta
Boguslaw oli siinä määrin intohimonsa vallassa, että hän unohti
kaikki. Ruhtinas Januksen puoliso lähti raivoissaan tyttärineen
Kuurinmaalle, ruhtinas Boguslaw taasen kosi vielä samana iltana
neiti Billewicziä.

— Kosi?! — huudahtivat Zagloba, Kmicic ja Wolodyjowski


hämmästyneinä.

— Niin! Hän esitti ensin kosintansa herra miekankantajalle, joka


hämmästyi yhtä suuresti kuin te nyt eikä ollut uskoa korviaan. Mutta
kun hän viimein uskoi, oli hän lentää selälleen ilosta, sillä oli suuri
kunnia koko Billewiczin suvulle päästä Radziwillien sukulaisiksi. Tosin
Paterson sanoi, että kaukaista sukulaisuutta oli muutenkin olemassa.

— Kertokaa eteenpäin! — huusi Kmicic kärsimättömyydestä


vapisevalla äänellä.

— Molemmat riensivät sitten neidin luo sillä juhlallisuudella, mikä


tämmöisissä tilaisuuksissa on tavallista. Koko hovi oli jännityksissään.
Janusz-ruhtinaalta tuli huonoja sanomia. Vain Sakowicz luki ne, muut
eivät niistä välittäneet, eikä välitetty Sakowiczistakaan, sillä hän oli
joutunut epäsuosioon, koska oli kehoittanut ruhtinasta menemään
naimisiin. Meillä jotkut sanoivat, että tämä ei ollut ensikerta, kun
Radziwill nai tavallisen aatelistytön, ja että meidän maassamme on
kaikki aateli tasa-arvoista ja että Billewiczien suku polveutuu Rooman
ajoilta asti. Näin puhuivat ne, jotka tahtoivat päästä tulevan
ruhtinattaren suosioon. Toiset taas väittivät, että kaikki oli vain
viekkautta ruhtinaan puolelta, jotta hän pääsisi neidin kanssa
lähempiin suhteisiin, niinkuin usein on laita kihlautuneiden kesken, ja
voisi sopivassa tilaisuudessa taittaa neitseellisen viattomuuden
kukkasen.

— Varmasti se oli sitä! Ei mitään muuta! — sanoi Zagloba.

— Niin minäkin luulen! — sanoi Hassling.

— Mutta kuulkaahan jatkoa. Kun noin keskenämme hovissa


vaihdamme mielipiteitä, niin äkkiä kuin salaman isku saadaan tieto,
että neiti on tehnyt meidän arveluistamme lyhyen lopun antamalla
ruhtinaalle rukkaset.

— Jumala häntä siunatkoon! — huudahti Kmicic.

— Hän antoi jyrkästi kieltävän vastauksen, — jatkoi Hassling. —


Tarvitsi vain nähdä ruhtinas tullakseen siitä vakuutetuksi. Hän, joka
ei ollut tottunut saamaan kieltäviä vastauksia edes ruhtinattarilta, oli
vähältä menettää järkensä. Oli vaarallista tulla lähelle häntä.
Näimme kaikki, että tämmöistä ei voi jatkua ja että ruhtinas
ennemmin tahi myöhemmin käyttäisi väkivaltaa. Seuraavana päivänä
otettiin herra Billewicz kiinni ja vietiin Tilsitiin, siis rajan toiselle
puolelle. Samana päivänä pyysi neiti upseerilta, joka vartioi hänen
oveaan, ladatun pistolin. Upseeri ei häneltä sitä kieltänyt, sillä
ritarillisena ja kelpo miehenä hän sääli onnetonta naista sekä ihaili
hänen kauneuttaan ja lujuuttaan.
— Kuka oli se upseeri? — huudahti Kmicic.

— Minä! — sanoi Hassling kuivasti.

Andrzej tempasi hänet syliinsä niin rajusti, että nuori


skotlantilainen, joka vielä oli heikko, kiljahti kivusta.

— Ette ole vanki! — huusi Kmicic. — Olette veljeni, ystäväni!


Sanokaa, mitä tahdotte! Sanokaa Herran tähden, mitä tahdotte!

— Levätä hetkisen! — vastasi Hassling läähättäen.

Ja hän puristi ääneti käsiä, jotka Wolodyjowski ja Zagloba hänelle


ojensivat. Huomattuaan, että kaikki olivat menehtyä uteliaisuudesta,
hän sitten kohta taas jatkoi:

— Varoitin häntä myös asiasta, jonka me kaikki tiesimme,


nimittäin että ruhtinaan henkilääkäri keitteli joitakin huumaavia
sekoituksia. Pelko osoittautui kuitenkin turhaksi, sillä Herra Jumala
itse puuttui asiaan. Hänen sormensa kohtasi ruhtinasta, ja tämä
joutui kuukaudeksi tautivuoteelle. Se on ihme, hyvät herrat, että hän
kaatui aivan kuin joku olisi lyönyt jalat pois hänen altaan juuri
samana päivänä, jolloin hän aikoi toteuttaa epäsiveelliset aikeensa
neitiin nähden. Sanon, että se oli Jumalan käsi eikä mitään muuta!
Sen hän näki itsekin ja pelästyi, tahi ehkäpä tauti sammutti hänen
syntisen himonsa. Oli miten oli, terveeksi tultuaan hän jätti neidin
rauhaan, antoipa vielä tuoda miekankantajan takaisin Tilsitistä. Totta
on, että hän parantui taudistaan, mutta kuumeesta hän ei ole
päässyt vieläkään. Totta on myös, että hänen sairasvuoteelta
noustuaan täytyi lähteä tuolle retkelleen Tykociniin, jossa hän kärsi
tappion. Kun hän tuli sieltä, oli hänen kuumeensa yhä pahentunut.
Sitten kutsui vaaliruhtinas hänet luokseen, mutta Taurogissa oli sillä
välin tapahtunut muutos, joka on ihmeellinen ja samalla
hullunkurinen. Lyhyesti sanoen, ruhtinas ei voi enää luottaa
yhdenkään sikäläisen upseerinsa eikä hoviherransa uskollisuuteen,
jollei aivan vanhimpien…

— Mitä sitten tapahtui? — kysyi Zagloba.

— Tuon Tykocinin retken aikana ryöstettiin jo ennen Janowon


luona kärsittyä tappiota muuan neiti Anna Borzobahata-Krasenka ja
lähetettiin Taurogiin.

Wolodyjowski alkoi mulkoilla silmillään ja kierrellä kiivaasti


viiksiään. Viimein hän sanoi:

— Herra ritari, älkää kertoko hänestä mitään pahaa, sillä muuten


joudutte terveeksi tultuanne tekemisiin minun kanssani!

— Jos tahtoisinkin, niin en sittenkään voisi sanoa hänestä mitään


pahaa, mutta jos hän on teidän morsiamenne, niin sanonpa, että te
huonosti pidätte hänen turvallisuudestaan huolta, ja jos taas hän on
sukulaisenne, niin tunnette hänet liian hyvin voidaksenne väittää,
että se ei pidä paikkaansa, mitä minulla on hänestä kerrottavaa.
Viikossa sai tämä neiti kaikki, sekä vanhemmat että nuoremmat,
rakastumaan, ja lemmentunteen kohtaansa hän herätti vain
silmäpelillä ja joillakin taikakonsteilla, joita en pysty selittämään.

— Se on hän! Juuri semmoinen hän on! — mutisi Wolodyjowski.

— Se on ihmeellistä! — sanoi Hassling. — Neiti Billewicz on aivan


yhtä kaunis kuin hän, mutta samalla niin arvokas ja
luoksepääsemätön, että häntä kylläkin ihailee ja palvoo, mutta ei
uskalla edes nostaa silmiään häneen, saatikka sitten toivoa jotakin.
Teidän täytyy myöntää, että on erilaisia tyttöjä: toiset ovat kuin
entisajan Vestan neitsyet, toiset taas sellaisia, että heidät nähtyään
heti tahtoisi…

— Hyvä herra! — sanoi Wolodyjowski uhkaavasti.

— Älkää karjuko, herra Michal, sillä hän puhuu totta! — sanoi


Zagloba. — Te itse tepastelette kuin kukonpoika, kun olette hänen
läheisyydessään, ja silmänne ovat silloin nurin päässä. Että hän on
kiemailija, sen taas tiedämme me kaikki, ja itsekin olette sanonut
sen ainakin sata kertaa.

— Jättäkäämme tämä kysymys! — sanoi Hassling. — Tarkoitukseni


oli vain saada selitetyksi, miksi neiti Billewicziin rakastuivat vain
muutamat, jotka kykenivät käsittämään, että hän on harvinainen
ihminen (tässä Hassling punastui uudestaan), kun taas Anna-neitiin
rakastuivat melkein kaikki. Täytyi totta tosiaankin nauraa, sillä oli
aivan kuin jokin ruttotauti olisi vallannut sydämet. Kiistaa ja
kaksintaisteluja oli loppumattomiin. Ja mistä syystä? Mistä kiisteltiin
ja taisteltiin? Kuuluu asiaan tietää, että ei ole ketään, joka voisi
kehua voittaneensa tuon neidin sydämen, mutta jokainen uskoo vain
sokeasti saavuttavansa ennemmin tai myöhemmin jotakin.

— Hän, juuri hän tuossa tunnetaan ilmielävänä! — murahti taas


Wolodyjowski.

— Molemmat neidit mieltyivät suuresti toisiinsa, — jatkoi Hassling,


— ja olivat aina yhdessä. Ja kun Anna-neiti hallitsee itsevaltiaasti
Taurogissa…

— Kuinka? — keskeytti pieni ritari.


— Sillä hän on kaikkien hallitsija. Sakowicz ei lähtenyt sotaretkelle,
niin rakastunut hän oli, ja Sakowicz hallitsee rajattomalla vallalla
kaikilla ruhtinaan alueilla. Hänen kauttaan hallitsee neiti Anna.

— Onko Sakowicz niin rakastunut? — kysyi Wolodyjowski.

— On, ja luottaa suuresti menestykseensä, sillä hän on mies, joka


uskoo saavuttavansa kaiken, mitä tahtoo.

— Ja hänen nimensä on Sakowicz.

— Te näytte tahtovan painaa tuon nimen mieleenne?

— Niin… miksi ei! — sanoi Wolodyjowski välinpitämättömällä


äänellä, mutta kiertäen niin uhkaavasti viiksiään, että kylmät väreet
kulkivat pitkin Zagloban pintaa.

— Sen vain tahdoin vielä lisätä, — sanoi Hassling, — että jos neiti
Borzobohata käskisi Sakowiczia pettämään ruhtinaan ja auttamaan
häntä ystävättärensä kanssa pakenemaan, niin hän tekisi sen
empimättä, mutta mikäli tiedän, aikoo neiti toimia hänen selkänsä
takana, kenties häntä ärsyttääkseen… mene tiedä… minulle vain
kertoi salaisesti eräs kansalaiseni, että miekankantajan pako neitien
kanssa on jo valmiiksi suunniteltu, upseereita on salahankkeessa
mukana, ja se toteutetaan piakkoin…

Tässä Hassling alkoi huohottaa, sillä hänen voimansa olivat aivan


lopussa.

— Tässä ovat tärkeimmät asiat, mitä teille voin kertoa! — lisäsi


hän kiireesti.

Wolodyjowski ja Kmicic kysyivät hämmästyneinä:

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