Interactive workbench · Experiment 01
Why does this LED burn out?
One LED, one resistor, two wires. Change one thing and see what happens.
- 01Light up
- 02Regulate
- 03Diagnose
Circuit measurements
- Series current
- 0,00mA
- Power dissipated in R
- 0,0mW
Choose two terminals, in the lists or on the drawing. Voltage is red minus black. —: no terminal selected or floating potential.
Understand the calculation
For the complete, conducting circuit: I = (U − 2 V) / R, capped at 50 mA. Resistor dissipation is P = I² × R.
What this workbench simulates
A series DC circuit with a fixed 2 V LED drop and a 50 mA current-limited supply. Leakage, temperature and transients are not calculated. Brightness is illustrative.
Kingbright WP7113ID reference limits: 30 mA DC forward current and 5 V reverse voltage at 25 °C. This model rounds its forward voltage to 2 V. Exceeding a limit remains observable. “Simulate damage” then makes the LED open-circuit on request. This teaching convention does not predict real failure time.
Read the manufacturer’s datasheet ↗