Electricity / Electronics

http://www.electronicsinschools.comRA Moffatt

Key Stage III Electronics Modelling in Livewire, PCB Wizard & Control Studio

Electronics lies at the very heart of our technological society.  In just one

hundred years we have become totally dependent upon it.

Electronics cannot be avoided in a modern world and therefore everyone

living and working within this 'electronic society' should have an

understanding of the underlying systems and processes that maintain our

way of life.  GCSE Electronic Products is designed to encourage young

people to consider working in this dynamic sector of industry that needs

able young people who can develop, service and maintain the increasingly

complex electronic highways and the control systems that are the key

building blocks of a modern technological society.  The course helps to

address what DfES, DTI and the engineering professions have shown to be

one of the largest areas of skill shortage in the UK. 

Why study electronics?

Try to imagine a world without electronics.  It affects almost all aspects of out lives. 

Electronics is essential in:

• the manufacture and storage of our food

• the control of almost all our transport vehicles and systems that enable them to move

safely.

• modern communications

• caring for our health

• monitoring and controlling the environment including heating, lighting and security

systems 

• the storage of information

• maintaining the world's financial systems

• our entertainment

Practically every modern Intel Pentium processor main board features a

temperature sensor developed at Delft University of Technology. The

sensor detects when the processor starts to become too hot, and

switches on a fan to cool it down. As soon as the temperature drops to

an acceptable level, the fan is switched off. The temperature sensor was

developed by Dr. Anton Baker, who in April 2000 was awarded his

doctorate for his research on this subject (see also Delft Outlook 97.1),

and subsequently put into production by Philips. Although the sensor

performs admirably, it is still not perfect. It contains a temperature error

that can be as much as a whole degree Celsius. Professors Dr. Paddy

French and Dr. Gerard Meijer formulated a research assignment to find

out what causes the error and it was Fredrik Creemer rose to the

challenge and unveiled the mystery: transistors are sensitive to stress!

Electrum

The Greek word electrum meant amber (fossilized pitch). When rubbed with

animal fur, amber gains a static electrical charge. Over the years, the word

electrum gradually came to refer to the electrical charge rather than to the

amber itself.  

The Difference Between Electricity and Electronics

Obviously the words "electron", "electricity", and "electronics" are closely

related. For historical reasons, we divide the science and engineering of

electrons into two parts; electricity, and electronics. Electricity is the domain

of motors, light bulbs, generators, and other "large scale" items. Electronics

has come to mean the domain of vacuum tubes, transistors, integrated

circuits, and other "small scale" items. We're covering electricity theory and

practice here, because it is an important sub-set of electronics that can be

dealt with as a stand-alone topic.  

Electron Orbits

In the 1920's we thought that individual electrons had individual orbits around the

nucleus of an atom. We have come to realize that orbits are not a very

meaningful concept for electrons. We now describe electrons as existing in a

"cloud" that surrounds the atomic nucleus. At any given instant, an electron has

some statistical likelihood of being somewhere in that cloud. That is about all that

we can say!

Electricity - Atoms and Molecules

To explain Electricity we need to look deeply inside of everyday objects

to consider their primary ingredients. (We'll keep this brief and simple so

as not to bore you.)  

 

 

Atoms

As you probably know, everything in the world, whether solid, liquid, or

gas, is made up of atoms. Each atom contains some number of

electrons, protons, neutrons, and other sub-atomic stuff. The nucleus

(central region) of each atom contains the protons (positive charge) and

neutrons (no charge). Electrons (negative charge) live in a cloud around

the outside. Since electrons and protons are charged particles, each

atom prefers to have the same number of electrons as protons

Atoms

www.rapidelectronics.co.ukwww.maplin.co.uk

www.cpc.co.uk

www.tep.org.uk www.opitec.co.uk

http://www.tep.org.uk/Nottingham/viewWMV.html

How cool is this? An easy to assemble kit that makes a working steam engine

powered by compressed air. Slick and made from a smart material, having this on your

desk says ‘high powered’ in more ways than one...

http://www.tep.org.uk/Frames/_f_trweb.html

http://www.reprise.com

http://www.reprise.com/host/circuits/default.asp

http://www.elm.maine.edu/

http://www.webwasp.co.uk/tutorials/b09-atom/index.php