Electronic cigarettes are devices that imitate the use of tobacco cigarettes without the side-effects, they simulate tobacco smoking by vaporizing a liquid to create a smoke-like mist. Controlled by electronics and an internal battery, an electronic cigarette heats a liquid to its vaporization point and emits a vapor.
How the electronic cigarette works:
Electronic cigarettes are made of four parts: a plastic cartridge that contains the liquid, a channeled mouthpiece attached to the cartridge, a heating element and a set of electronic circuits with an attached battery.
The cartridge contains absorbent material that is soaked with the liquid to be vaporized. Cartridges are either pre-filled or you can buy small containers of the mist-producing liquid. The liquid solution can be nicotine-based or flavored with menthol, tobacco, chocolate, fruit, caramel, vanilla, cola or other interesting flavors. Some smokers of electronic cigarettes, rather than using cartridges, drip the liquid directly on the heating element — some electronic cigarettes are specially made to make it easier to drip the solution.
The heating element, also called an atomizer, contains a replaceable filament that warms via an electric current. A wick runs between the cartridge and the heating element to transport the solution to be vaporized. Logic circuits control the timing and the amount of heat. Once the liquid is vaporized, the mist moves through channels in the electronic cigarette to be inhaled and exhaled just like tobacco smoke.
Other electronic controls are embedded in the circuitry to turn off the electric current if the element is overheating and to sense airflow to determine if the electronic cigarette is in use. On the outer covering of the electronic cigarette is an on/off switch – at one end is a red LED to simulate the glow of an actual cigarette ash.
There is also a USB port on the outside for re-charging the lithium-ion battery via a household outlet. The useful life of the battery dependent on the environment, humidity and the frequency of use. Some electronic cigarette manufacturers sell a charging case that contains a master battery that replenishes the smaller batteries in each of the electronic cigarettes kept inside.
Some custom modifications for enhancing the flavor of electronic cigarettes require the atomizer to be high-resistance, the effect of which is to use less liquid because the filament takes less power and is maintained at a lower temperature. On the other hand, atomizers that are not high-resistance do produce more vapor.
