All conductors have resistance and the amount of resistance varies with the element. In general, metals make the best conductors of electricity and non-metals make the worst conductors of electricity.

Circuits containing transistors are packaged into integrated circuit chips that allow encapsulating complex circuit designs (CPU, memory, I/O) for easier integration into electronic devices and machines.

Current is the rate of flow of electrons per unit time and is measured in amperes (A). A coulomb (C) is the quantity of electricity conveyed in one second by a current of one ampere.

A semiconductor is a material that has a limited ability to conduct electrical current with conductivity between that of an insulator and that of a conductor. Silicon, a cheap and abundant material, is the most used semiconductor material although other materials are used in the electronics components made from semiconductors. The primary advantages of a semiconductor over a conductor is that the conductivity of a semiconductor can be varied under an external electrical field giving engineers precise control over complex circuits and, unlike conductors like metals, a semiconductor's conductivity increases with increased temperatures.

An inductor is coiled wire that stores electric energy in the form of magnetic energy and resists changes in the electric current flowing through it. If current is increasing, the inductor produces a voltage that slows the increase and, if current is decreasing, the magnetic energy in the coil opposes the decrease to keep the current flowing longer. In contrast to capacitors, inductors allow DC to pass easily but resist the flow of AC.