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	WHAT'S YOUR ENGINEERING QUOTIENT?
Problem 6—A zener diode in the circuit shown in the figure has a knee current of 5mA, and a maximum allowed power dissipation of 300mW. What are the minimum and maximum currents that can be drawn safely by the load, keeping the output voltage Vo constant at 6V? Answer 6 The current through the 50-ohm resistor is fixed at I = (9 � 6 V) / 50 ohms = 60 mA. The maximum current through the zener is 300 mW / 6 V = 50 mA. Therefore, the minimum current through load (when the zener is drawing the maximum current) is 60 mA � 50 mA = 10 mA. And the maximum current through load (when the zener is drawing minimum knee current) is 60 mA � 5 mA = 55 mA. Contributor: Naveen PN 03-02 — NEXT Q&A For questions or comments about Test Your EQ, e-mail eq@circuitcellar.com.