“Inventing the Future” & Basic Electronics

• Storytelling alternatives

• Triggers of innovation

• Communications and rate of change

• Power = voltage x current

• AC vs DC

• Transformer

• Vacuum tubes

• Solid state electronics

Burk’s Eight Primary Technological Developments

• Nuclear power

• Telecommunications

• Computer

• Assembly line

• Jet engine/Air Transport

• Plastics/Synthetic polymers

• Liquid fuel rockets

• Television

Storytelling Alternatives

• Heroic treatment of history

• Thematic treatment of history

• Periodic treatment of history

Heroic Treatment of History

• Assesses history based on special persons– However, no individual is

responsible for an invention.

– Denies involvement of humbler members of society whose contributions made the inventor successful.

Thematic Treatment of History

• Based on subjects such as computers, telecommunication, etc.

• However, this neglects the interrelation of different subjects.

• Naively implies a degree of foreknowledge.

Periodic Treatment of History

• Chronological approach to history based on definite time periods

• Oversimplified

• Developments do not normally occur in linear fashion.

Triggers of Innovation

• Deliberate attempts

• Unexpected discovery

• Unrelated developments

• War and Religion

• Accidents & unforeseen circumstances

• Weather

Deliberate attempts to develop

• Soc. For the Encouragement of Nat’l Ind.

• The electric light bulb

• Kinetoscope

• Von Linde’s refrigeration system

Unexpected discovery through experimentation

• Looking for one thing and finding something new.

• Perkin’s synthetic dye or Guericke’s electricity

• Oersted’s unexpected electromagnet

• Moissan’s calcium carbide fertilizer, acetylene

Unrelated Developments (“Connections”)

• New technology from old technology

• Pegged cylinder Bouchon’s perforated paper programming the computer

• Weaving tech. cheap linen paper

• Wilson’s cloud chamber splitting the atom

War and Religion

• Cannon Defensive Architecture, map making

• The need for timely praying alarm clock

Accidents & Unforeseen Circumstances

• Decline of acetylene market cheap fertilizer

• Explosion of the Earl’s coal kiln coal gas

• Compass needle from China magnetism

• Failure to pump mines barometer

Physical and Climate Conditions

• “Little Ice Age” chimney

• malaria ice making machine

• Reclamation of Europe modern plough

Summarizing

• No inventor works alone

• Rate of technology change is proportional to rate of information exchange (communication)– Medieval Ind. Revolution

– 16th century specialization/democratization of knowledge via printing press

– 19th century telecommunications

– 20th century digital telecommunications

Burke’s Alternatives to Cope with Increasing Rate

of Change?• Scrap all technology and go rural.

• Selective research only.

• Stop R&D and share out existing technology

• Keep going the way have.

Stop, scrap advanced technology – “Go Rural.”

• Many would not survive.

• This scenario is highly unlikely.

• USA’s technology developments are most responsible for its wealth and world leadership.

Selective research only

• Assess science and technology strictly according to it societal worth.

• Curtail other “unworthy” research.– Who decides where to focus efforts?

• Nevertheless, governments do provide some tax incentives & subsidies to selectively stimulate development.

Share out existing technology to 3rd world countries.

• Produce more durable goods & less planned obsolescence. – How do you convince the haves that they have

had enough?

– Who’s going to pay for this transfer?

• This does go on where private industry seeks advantage to sharing technology.– Investments into China, India, E. Europe, etc.

Keep going the way we always have.

• The most likely and probable scenario.

“Science and technology has immeasurably enriched

our material lives”.James Burke

Alternating Current vs. Direct

• Alternating current (AC) is generated at the power plant– USA voltage fluctuates 60 cycles per

second (hertz) between + & - extremes as a sine wave. Europe 50 hertz.

• Direct current (DC) comes from a battery, fuel cell or solar cell and does not fluctuate.

The Power Grid

Why AC & Not DC

• Large electrical generators happen to generate AC.

• Transformers must have AC to work.

• Its easy to change AC to DC but difficult and costly to change DC to AC.

Electricity• Power = current x voltage

watts = amps x volts

• Using the analogy of a garden hose: – Voltage is like the water

pressure

– Current is like the amount of water delivered.

•Resistance (ohms) = volts/amps–Resistance is inversely proportional to the hose or wire diameter.

Advantages of High Voltage• Powerloss = resistance x current2

– Since voltage and current are inversely proportional high voltage gets lower current thus less power loss through the power grid.

• AC has the advantage over DC in that its voltage and current are easily modified with little power loss.

Transformer• Increases or decreases alternating current

• Transmission of high voltage AC results in lower power loss than low voltage.

• With a transformer AC voltage can be increased/decreased with < 1% power loss

• Power = current x voltage

• Combination of Oersted and Faraday effect.

• # coil turns is proportional to magnetic field & volts

AC Transformer

Vin x Nout/Nin = Vout

High Voltage 10,000 v

Street voltage 1100 v

Your house 110 v

AC Transformer

Vin x Nout/Nin = Vout

110v x 10/5 = 220v

220v x 5/10 = 110v

Now flowing in the opposite direction

Westinghouse vs. Edison

• Tesla argued for AC power grid.

• Edison argued for DC power grid.– Electrocuted animals with

AC to demonstrate its dangers.

– Triggered the electric chair

• Tesla/Westinghouse won.

Vacuum Tube• Aka Thermionic Valves

• Two electrodes (diode) control flow of current.– Hot cathode, emits electrons

– Anode, accepts electrons

• Three electrode tube is triode.– Used as electrode switch or

amplifier in radios.

• Third electrode in triode is a grid controlling electron flow to the anode.

Diode

Triode

Anode

Rectifier

• Allows current flow in one direction only.

• Diode used to convert AC to DC.

• Diode used to filter out carrier signal in radio transmissions.

Transistor• Solid state switch. Replaced most

vacuum tubes in the 1960s.

• Boron or Arsenic doped Silicon or Germanium junctions.

• Smaller, lighter, rugged, longer life, more efficient and cheaper than vacuum tubes.

• Ultimately replaced by the Integrated Circuit (IC).

• Making an IC

Silicon• Silicon comprises about

15% of our planet Earth.

• Normally found as silicates.

• It is a metaloid element exhibiting some metalic and some nonmetallic qualities.

• Si has 4 valence electrons like Carbon and other elements in its group.

Solid State Diodes• Silicon can be doped with

other elements to affect it conductivity.

• P and As have an extra valence electron while Boron has a vacant valence orbital.

• Current will flow from N side to the P side not the reverse.

• N side is cathode and P side is anode.

Arsenic doped side is electron rich

Boron doped side is electron deficient

In reverse biased no current flows

Moore’s Law

• Gordon Moore (Intel) stated in 1965 that the number of transistors on a chip could double every 24 months.

• Since then his statement has become the benchmark for the industry.

Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs)

• These are solid state lights.

• Electrons from the higher energy N side drop at the junction to lower energy p side.

• Giving off the energy as light particles (photons).

Lasers

• "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation”

• Emits light with spatial coherence

• Semiconductor lasers

Nanotechnology

Carbon Nanotube Transistor

Fossil Fuels

• Petroleum, coal and gas. The U.S. is very dependant these fuel sources.

• Coal comes from anaerobic decomposition of plant material

• Petroleum (oil) comes from anaerobic decomposition of marine life.

• Natural gas comes from both.

California’s Power Sources

Acid Rain

• Industrial production of carbon, sulfur and nitrogen oxides beyond the levels which nature can consume is pollution.

• Acid rain is caused by sulfur and nitrogen oxides in the air. These kill plants and fresh water marine animals.

What you should know

• Major technological developments according to Burke

• The six triggers of innovation and examples of each.

• Explain why rate of innovation is proportional to rate of information exchange.

• What are Burke’s ideas to cope with the increasing rate technology change.

• #2

• #7-13

• #14 information exchange is directly proportional to innovation.

• #15-19

What you should know• How a transformer works

• 1000 volts and 2 amps enters a transformer with 10 coils and exits with 20 coils. What is the exit voltage and amperage? How does the wattage change?

• What does a diode do and how does it work? Explain the vacuum tube and transistor.

• Explain what a triode is, how it works and what it may be used for in electronic equipment.

• #26-28

• #26-28

• #30-35

• #30 & 32

What you should know

• What is the difference between direct and alternating current?

• Why AC, not DC is used to transmit electricity over high voltage lines.

• What is Acid Rain?

• Which side of the LED may be doped with phosphorus?

• #33 and lecture notes. AC is double polarity (sine wave) and DC is one polarity.

• AC voltage exits the generator and its voltage is easily and efficiently changed.

• #40

• The N side #36