This was a VERY clear and concise demonstration of why digital circuits absolutely need these caps.

I am an EE by education and although I have used decoupling capacitors as a matter of course when I do occasionally get to do some hands-on stuff, this visual demonstration does a far better job than any explanation I was ever given 👍 I had also played around with notch filters in the past so adding that extra layer of detail as to how capacitance versus frequency can be managed would be a useful follow up 😊

Good video. To explain decoupling for high speed devices with lots of simultaneous switching noise (like FPGAs), inductance plays a big part. Notice: AC takes the path of least inductance, so at very high noise frequencies, any small inductance between the capacitors and noise generating device can render the capacitors less effective or useless. Even the ground/power planes have some inductance and the leads on the device and capacitors have even a bit more inductance. On a breadboard, it is difficult to keep the leads short and close to the device. Even a millimeter of lead length can add enough inductance so Very High Frequency (VHF) components of the noise are not decoupled. This is why Surface Mount Technology (SMT) capacitors and devices are now used rather than through-hole components, even the length of the trace through the holes and vias add inductance. This is why decoupling capacitors are placed directly under components right next to power pins with many redundant vias to reduce the inductance. Also, capacitors with a low Effective Series Resistance (ESR) have lower internal inductance and thus can decouple a wider bandwidth of noise. At this point each group of capacitors and power pin is a tiny localized Ultra High Frequency (UHF) Resistor Capacitor Inductor (RCL) circuit - the symbol L is used for inductance. Dr. Howard Johnson has awesome seminars on this. At today's billions of transitors switching at many GHz rates, these tiny dimensions become critical and you can't even look at a millimeter of Copper clad from a DC perspective anymore, you have to consider the high frequency AC aspects more and more - it becomes all very mechanically sensitive at this point. This is why it is common to have 3 decoupling capacitors for every power pin. A 0.01uf, a 0.1uf, and a 1uf, all SMT devices, all very close to the power pins with the smaller values closest to the power pins. This gives a wide band of decoupling from UHF down to Medium Frequencies (MF). For circuits that consume a lot of power and have Low Frequecy (LF) and Very Low Frequency (VLF) noise down to DC, larger 10uf to 100uf capacitors are required all over the board but these can be a bit further from the power pins due to inductance has less effect on lower frequencies as you approach DC. This creates islands of "hold up voltage" or "power reservoirs" all over the board - with the inductance between the circuits keeping the islands isolated at UHF even though there is a large DC path between them. In your example, even though it was a breadboard and you were using leaded components (as an example), you put the larger capacitor close to the 555 Timer. In your case it didn't really matter on a breadboard. People need to remember this video was a good demo, but you need to get into the habit of placing the smaller capacitor values closest to the power pins, with virtally no leads and no wires (mounted on the power/ground planes directly with SMT devices with low ESR and lots of Vias). That jumper wire you made from the Regulator to the 555 Timer has a lot of relative inductance, so as the 555 Timer output switches, the change in current (AC) that is supplying the Timer from the Regulator is partially blocked by that inductance and thus the circuits inside the Timer don't have enough local power reserves to recover properly. Remember: Capacitors block DC and pass AC, while Inductors pass DC and block AC. Even a tiny piece of of wire/lead/via/through-hole has significant inductance at UHF, and even DC planes have some inductance.

You know, until I had seen your demonstration, I didn't realize just how much decoupling caps were doing in circuit. I feel enlightened!

It says right there in the datasheet for this LINEAR regulator, that a capacitor is required on the input for STABILITY. Without it, the regulating feedback amplifier inside the regulator becomes unstable. That is, any small variations in the INPUT voltage cause the feedback amplifier to unintentionally react, causing a change in output voltage and therefore load current that causes the the input voltage to change even more due to the source impedance (lead inductance). This is positive feedback, and it causes the oscillation that you see. This is NOT noise, it is instability. Adding the input capacitor makes the input voltage much less sensitive to rapid changes in load current, enough that any unintentional reaction by the regulator does not change the current enough to make things worse. It's all about how fast the input voltage changes in response to changes in output voltage and corresponding load current. Too fast and the regulator's negative feedback can't compensate for the positive feedback cause by the amplifiers response to fast input voltage changes. The instability gets worse, as you have shown, when the load is greater, since the current changes more with the output voltage, thus effecting the input voltage more. The datasheet notes that the input capacitor is only required if the regulator is far from the filter capacitors of the supply, as they would do the same job, but with long leads, the inductance of these leads is too much and the input voltage becomes more sensitive to the current changes.

this was so helpful for understanding noise filtering. Seeing it on the oscilloscope makes it much more intuitive! Time to add some capacitors to my projects. Thank you for making this!

Now it can be clearer than that. Even the plant standing on the shelf behind me got it. Well done.

All the decoupling capacitors do is to compensate for your PDN’s (power delivery network) inductance. They essentially act as Columb buckets of charge to handle local power demand. The noise you see at the 7805 regulator’s input is generated by your bench’s switching power supply along with the long connection leads. If you improve your PDN ‘s design & layout you may find that the decoupling capacitors aren’t needed at all. The measurement of power supply noise is also greatly affected by probing technique. It is best to have the probe’s signal and signal return’s (i.e.) as close together & as short as possible as not to introduce unwanted impedance mismatch which’ll create false noise readings.

The best demonstration ever! Simple components, simple explanations to litteraly see the truth. This video is a must-see for all electronincs enthusiasts.

Very well done! A lot of great info that appears to be backed up very well by data acquired and shown in the vid.

Of all the videos out there , your style of explanation is the BEST , Thank you

An old EE once told me that capacitors simply move "noise around. They don't eliminate it. You get rid of noise with capacitors AND resisters.

Finally, someone explained this simple way, thank you!

This is amazing, what my teacher tried to teach us in 1 semester, you've explained in 1 video, sure there are a lot of tiny details missing but the big picture is here

Thanks for this video! You just explain it all very clearly and get straight to the point without wasting my time.

I have often wondered what the point of a decoupling capacitor was, now I have a much better idea, thank you.

excellent video! Thank you for the demo and showing us the capa effects in live

One of the best electronics videos I have watched in the past 10 years. You have a very special skill of demystifying complex concepts. I can't wait for your next video. Well done!!!!!!!!!

Just for the sheer quality, value and wit in this video you get an instant sub from me. Keep up the great work! Hope to see some RF content in the future!

This video is blowing up in popularity! With that, expect some haters. So, if anyone complains about your "accent," ignore them - your voice is *wonderful* to listen to, and is part of what makes this video so great.

What a fantastic video! Super helpful!

This is a great video. Please make more of these. Love to know more about PCB design techniques to deal with noise.

Excellent! Many thanks for this - brilliantly explained!

Very informative thanks, especially showing the effects of the capacitors on the scope 👍

People are correct. This video makes it much easier to understand. Some concepts are easier for me to learn when I see them visually 👍 I like the funny outtakes at the very end!

Excellent video sir, nice simple hands on explanation and nice and easy to understand, personally I just recently discovered PCB design and I fell in love, something I've seen tested as well is people not using bypass capacitors, when I first saw this I was so confused until I realized they use the Power and GND plane in the stackup with a thinner layer of FR4 or whatever material as a dielectric, that was so interesting to me, but it is as you said, depends on the application and a PCB isnt a breadboard, way better for current loops etc.. thanks for the explanation, it was really well made, 😁

Amazing video!I hope to see more in the future!

I watch @bigclive and I found this SUPER helpful and informative! Excellent demonstration in real time. Please do bootstrap circuits next?

Thank you very much for this absolute interesting video! Very well explained👍🏼 I should have known this long ago. On my next selfmade PCBs I will take care of your informations! This is one of the best videos I have seen so far. Thanks a lot. Bo 🇨🇭

Nicely explained! Single point grounding or (star grounding) also helps "a lot." Have a good day!

Thank you for your clear explanations !

Very nice class! This is way better than the classes I used to have back in the day. Got a new sub! Cheers!

Man, that was hella good, you have an awesome way to transmit knowledge!

Excellent, very informative session ,Keep it up and all the best...

Tanks for sharing ! Nicely explained and a great content !

Thanks for the much needed review.. Very informative

this was the best explination i have seen on the topic

Fantastic video, subscribed! That's a great way to show the effects in practice on a common circuit that we can all replicate ourselves

Great video, clear and to the point. 👍👏👏

Thank you for this. I always wondered what they did

Amazing videos about decoupling capasitor

Your explanations are very clear.

Very instructive. Thank you!

Great explanation and presentation

Your explanation is so simple. Loved it and subscribed

Fantastic explanations!

Great video! I am going for a degree in EE and would love to see more of these types of videos! Suggestion: next try the wheat stone bridge! Maybe we can do some content together

Great explanation!

This was a very good explanation. Thank you!

Very nicely and clearly explained. It helped me a lot and I have now subscribed. Thank-you!👍👍😃😄

Really good video. I learned a lot.

Very good, this was a good and simple explanation on this topic.

very informative video , thank you sir !

Great video! Thank you so much!

This is so cool...the video is very well explained....it isn't even taught in university so well ... please continue to make more videos like these...thanks

This was excellent. Please produce more videos.

Any transmission line has inductance per length and capacitance per length. Capacitors will also have some series inductance (and resistance which is very low) and form a resonant circuit. 2*Pi*F - (1/LC)^1/2. Switching circuits are full of harmonics out to infinity. If you just use one decoupling capacitor you are at risk of hitting the resonant frequency. Using several different values capacitors means that if one is resonant the other one won't be. .01uf and .1uf and 1uf. Decoupling capacitors are cheaper than warranty repairs.

Thank you for the video!

I love this video. Its very informative.

Thank you for this video!

“Low impedance path to ground for the high frequency component”…. Thank you! That makes a lot more sense. Does this mean that the capacitor is effectively a low pass filter?

thanks.. very helpful explanation of the topic..

Nice video❤, keep uploading

Man... That was a very good video! Congratulations, and thank u to sharing! :D

Nice explanation. Cheers

❤❤ need more practical videos..

Great video, I guarantee this channal will blow if you put videos of such quality ..

Thank you, awesome video!

Amazing job! Very well explained. I subscribed!

Awesome video!

A demo I used to use: Build a 555 astable that operates at some moderate frequency like 2 kHz (not critical). Use a bipolar version of the 555, not a CMOS type. Use a linear 5 V power supply or a battery such as a single lithium cell or 3 or 4 alkaline cells. Connect the power supply to the circuit under test with two separate pieces of wire about 3/4 metres long. Connect the oscilloscope ground lead as close as possible to the 555 ground and the probe tip close to the 555 supply pin. Observe the voltage spikes. Disconnect the power wires and twist them together along their full length, only leaving enough untwisted at the ends to make connections. Reconnect to same points as before. Observe the voltage spikes. Add decoupling at the 555 and observe the voltage spikes. Explain what's happening. (hint: 555 output totem pole has high shoot-through current) The first test MIGHT kill the 555 with excessive voltage.

Great video, looking forward to more videos from you. Great meme btw

Great video.

Yes, good job. Thanks.😀

The LM7805 is a linear regulator, not a switch mode regulator. Check the schematic in the datasheet.

Excellent video presentation! I saw proof of effectiveness right away! Can you please explain in another video why manufacturers use a combination of electrolytic and ceramic capacitors instead of just one kind. Is it because the former provides better smoothing while the ceramic is more effective at shorting higher frequencies to the ground?

A great explanation. I have subscribed.

wow, nice explanation.

Thank You!

Very good video and demo

Very good video

Thanks, great job. 👍🏼🇧🇷

This information is very helpful to me! :)

Amazing please do more videos like this

Great video

On the whole great presentation. Would have added a 100nF capacitor to the regulator output and increased the 1uF capacitor to 10uF for the 555 astable circuit. For standalone applications the 555 datasheet recommends a 100uF capacitor particularly in monostable circuits. The control voltage input also recommends decoupling by a polyester capacitor of at least 10nF. Have seen 100nF used/recommended. Tom Duncan's Adventures with Micro/Digital Electronics used the lower 10nF decoupling capacitor value on the control voltage pins of the dual 556 timer.

Amazing video ❤

Quality tutorial 👌

You deserve a sub from me! Thank you for explaining it well!

This is such a well-explained video. Great Work! Keep it up.

Mechanical engineer here trying to figure stuff out, thanks for the details.

Good teaching , I hope my university teachers can explain this clear as you do

I've started making my own breadboard adapter PCB for SMD modules and MCU ICs when not available commercially. Now I think I will include coupling capacitors on the adapters. I know that dev boards are available, but I like to recreate the functionality as part of my own designs, and i need to test it, which is why i use adapters.

I enjoyed the video. I was hoping there would be a comment on the selection of the type of capacitor to be used. E.g. ceramic rather than mylar.

That's a great tutorial

Just getting into circuits, are you going to keep doing videos like this ex0kaining things like this? Itll be helpful for people like me

[ Lalo_Solo ]: Hello! I really appreciate all the comments on this video, and I want to apologize for not responding to each of them individually. I also want to acknowledge some specific comments that were noticed regarding this video: - I want to clarify that I'm not an Electronic Engineer; I'm just a hobbyist who is learning and trying to share what I've discovered through my own experiences. - As a result, there may be some inaccuracies throughout the video, but I'm grateful to the knowledgeable individuals who have pointed them out and provided responses. A huge thanks to them! - I promise that in future videos, I will make a conscious effort to improve my research and documentation. - The oscilloscope used in this video is the MICSIG Model STO1104E (www.micsig.com), although I believe this model has been discontinued. Thank you for watching and commenting!

Nice video, thanks for sharing :)

that was useful, thank you

I am electrical engineer, you explain very well with the demonstration, however one explanation you can add is how the capacitor does the actual filtering, I think you said it but it can be more clear, I understand you only have 7:38 to explain 8-)