electronics

Dictionary

e·lec·tron·ics (ĭi-lĕek'trŏon'ĭiks, ēe'lĕek-)
n.

  • (used with a sing. verb) The science and technology of electronic phenomena.
  • (used with a pl. verb) Electronic devices and systems: The electronics aboard the new aircraft are very sophisticated.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2004, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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Encyclopedia

electronics, science and technology based on and concerned with the controlled flow of electrons or other carriers of electric charge, especially in semiconductor devices. It is one of the principal branches of electrical engineering. The invention of the transistor, announced in 1948, and the subsequent development of integrated circuits have brought about revolutionary changes in electronics, which was previously based on the technology of the electron tube. The miniaturization and savings in power brought about by these developments have allowed electronic circuits to be packaged more densely, making possible compact computers, advanced radar and navigation systems, and other devices that use very large numbers of components (see microelectronics). It has also brought to the consumer such items as smaller and more reliable radio and television receivers, advanced sound- and video-recording and reproducing systems, microwave ovens, cellular telephones, and powerful yet inexpensive personal computers. The consumer electronics industry—which began in 1920 when radio broadcasting started in the United States—accounts for annual sales of close to $50 billion in the United States alone. Because of advances in electronics manufacturing technology, the cost of electronic products often decreases even as quality and reliability increase. Power requirements are continually reduced, allowing greater portability.

 

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/

WordNet

Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun electronics has one meaning:

Meaning #1: the branch of physics that deals with the emission and effects of electrons and with the use of electronic devices

 

WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

Wikipedia

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Electronics

Electronics is the study and use of electrical devices that operate by controlling the flow of electrons or other electrically charged particles in devices such as thermionic valves and semiconductors. The pure study of such devices is considered as a branch of physics, while the design and construction of electronic circuits to solve practical problems is part of the fields of electrical, electronic and computer engineering.

The main uses of electronic circuits are the controlling, processing and distribution of information, and the conversion and distribution of electric power. Both of these uses involve the creation or detection of electromagnetic fields and electric currents. More broadly, most electronics systems fall into the category of either control systems or communication systems.

While electricity had been used for some time to transmit data over telegraphs and telephones, the development of electronics truly began in earnest with the advent of radio. Today, electronic devices perform a much wider variety of tasks.

One way of looking at an electronic system is to divide it into the following parts:

  • Inputs - Electrical or mechanical sensors (or transducers), which take signals (in the form of temperature, pressure, etc.) from the physical world and convert them into current/voltage signals.
  • Signal processing circuits - These consist of electronic components connected together to manipulate, interpret and transform the signals.
  • Outputs - Actuators or other devices (also transducers) that transform current/voltage signals back into useful physical form.
  • Take as an example a television. Its input is a broadcast signal received by an antenna or fed in through a cable. Signal processing circuits inside the television extract the brightness, colour and sound information from this signal. The output devices are a cathode ray tube that converts electronic signals into a visible image on a screen and magnet driven audio speakers.

    • See also

  • Electronic test equipment
  • Interconnecting electronic components
  • · electrical connectors, plugs and sockets etc.
  • Passive components

    • Active components (solid-state)

  • Active components (thermionic)
  • Display devices
  • Electromechanical sensors and actuators
  • Thermoelectric devices
  • Photoelectric devices
  • Antennae, etc.
  • Analog circuits

    • Most analog electronic appliances, such as radio receivers, are constructed from arrays of a few types of circuits.

    • Digital circuits

    Computers, electronic clocks, and programmable logic controllers (used to control industrial processes) are constructed of digital circuits. Digital Signal Processors are another example.

    Building-blocks:

  • Complex devices:

    • Mixed-signal circuits

    Mixed-signal circuits, also known as hybrid circuits, are becoming increasingly common. Mixed circuits contain both analog and digital components. analog to digital converters and digital to analog converters are the primary examples. Other examples are transmission gates and buffers.

    Heat dissipation

    Heat generated by electronic circuitry must be dissipated to improve reliability. Techniques for heat dissipation can include heatsinks and fans for air cooling, and other forms of computer cooling such as liquid cooling for computers .

    Noise

    Associated with all electronic circuits is noise. Types of noise include

  • Electronics theory
    • · Mathematical Methods of Electronics
    • · Digital Electronics
    • · Analog Electronics
  • See also
  • External links

    •  

    Our sister project, Wikibooks, provides an electronic book on Electronics.

    Tutorials and projects

  • Some other good sites

    • Translations

    Translations for: Electronics

    Nederlands (Dutch)
    elektronica

    Français (French)
    électronique

    Deutsch (German)
    n. - Elektronik, %

    Ε?λ?λ?η?ν?ι?κ?ή? (Greek)
    n. η?λ?εeκ?τtρ?ο?ν?ι?κ?ή? (φfυ?σsι?κ?ή? ή? εeπpι?σsτtή?μη?)

    Italiano (Italian)
    elettronica

    Português (Portuguese)
    n. - eletrônica (f)

    Р?у?с?с?к?и?й? (Russian)
    э?л?е?к?т?р?о?н?и?к?а?

    Español (Spanish)
    n. - electrónica

    Svenska (Swedish)
    n. - elektronik

    中?国?琣? (Simplified Chinese)
    n. pl. - 电?子?学?
    n. - 电?子?学?
     

    中?國?疏? (Traditional Chinese)
    n. pl. - 椅?子?學?
    n. - 椅?子?學?
     

    日?本?畢? (Japanese)
    n. - 椅?子?工?学?, エ?レ?ク?ト?ロ?ニ?ク?ス?
     

    ا?ل?ع?ر?ب?ي?ه? (Arabic)
    ‏?(ا?ل?ا?س?م?) ا?ل?ا?ل?ك?ت?ر?و?ن?ي?ا?ت?‏?

    ע?ב?ר?י?ת?‬? (Hebrew)
    n. pl. - ‮?א?ל?ק?ט?ר?ו?נ?י?ק?ה?, ע?נ?ף? ה?פ?י?ס?י?ק?ה? ו?ה?ט?כ?נ?ו?ל?ו?ג?י?ה? ה?ע?ו?ס?ק? ב?ה?ת?נ?ה?ג?ו?ת? א?ל?ק?ט?ר?ו?נ?י?ם? ו?ב?ת?נ?ו?ע?ת?ם? ב?ת?ו?ך? ח?ו?מ?ר?י?ם? ש?ו?נ?י?ם?‬?
    n. - ‮?א?ל?ק?ט?ר?ו?נ?י?ק?ה?‬?
     

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