Ask HN: What are some good resources to learn how electricity works? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: What are some good resources to learn how electricity works?

#181

Post by peterwoerner » Mon, Jun 22, 2020, 8:49 PM UTC

tommaho wrote: post #171

peterwoerner wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mechatronics text books tend to be useful. They are written for mechanical engineers who intend to build circuits and software for mechanic-electronic systems. So they tend to have practical information for those who want to start building electronic circuits now, but have no electrical background.

Have any specific recommendations for a hobbyist and outsider to formal mechanical and electrical engineering disciplines? Thanks!

The one I use is Introduction to Mechatronics by Carryer Ohline and Kenny

It covers a lot. On the mechanical side it only covers actuators and control systems.

Re: Ask HN: What are some good resources to learn how electricity works?

#182

Post by mymythisisthis » Mon, Jun 22, 2020, 10:02 PM UTC

InnerGargoyle wrote: post #172

mymythisisthis wrote: post #26

Army manual on electricity https://archive.org/stream/FM55-506-1/#page/n1/mode/2up

this is something different, does army have any more such guides?

I looked on archive.org and found some other interesting ones

Radio https://archive.org/details/TM11-666/page/n5/mode/2up

Map Reading https://archive.org/details/FM21-26_201211

Carpentry https://archive.org/details/FM5-426/page/n17/mode/2up

Welding https://archive.org/details/TM9-237/page/n5/mode/2up

Re: Ask HN: What are some good resources to learn how electricity works?

#183

Post by _sbrk » Tue, Jun 23, 2020, 4:48 AM UTC

mattbk1 wrote: post #122

_sbrk wrote: post #55

The ARRL Handbook for Radio Amateurs explains electricity and electronics for the beginner, and you might also get an interesting introduction to radio, too.

Many of the older editions are free on archive.org.

Which is a copyright violation, no doubt...

Re: Ask HN: What are some good resources to learn how electricity works?

#184

Post by brian_cloutier » Wed, Jun 24, 2020, 4:53 AM UTC

Mongoose wrote: post #141

Outside of electricity fundamentals, this book is a great intro on how the grid works: https://www.amazon.com/Electric-System-Nonelectrical-Profess... Or a shorter alternative: https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/how-electricity-grid-works

I bought this book on this recommendation and I don't agree that it should be called great. It did a good job of enumerating (what I presume to be) every major component of power systems. However, it didn't to a great job of explaining how any of those components work.

One example is capacitor banks, which it spent a few pages on. I'm told that they're more beneficial the closer to an inductive load they're installed, but I was never told why, or given any tools to figure it out why for myself. There's not even a citation.

After reading this book I have a better understanding of how much of the grid I don't understand, but I don't feel like there's any part I understand particularly better.