Take a look at the circuit shown. The resistors R2 and R5 form the coupling elements.
![]() Circuit of a bistable multivibrator. (Enlarge) |
![]() Circuit diagram of a bistable multivibrator. |
If you connect the battery, one of the two LEDs lights up. The other LED remains dark. As long as you are not touching the push-button switches, it stays that way. The state is stable.
By pressing the push-button switches R and S you are able to alternately switch the LEDs on and off. The second state is also stable! Hence the term bistable multivibrator.
Flip-Flop This circuit is also known under the name of Flip-Flop or RS Latch. Here R stands for "RESET" and S for "SET". |
But how does the bistable multivibrator works? This you see in the next experiment.