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Ask HN: Best Layman's Book on Electricity

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Ask HN: Best Layman's Book on Electricity

#1
I'm looking for a book that will explain how electricity and electronics work to a level that will be useful day to day. Concepts like how the grid works, how electricity does work, what different electrical components do and how they do them.

Something not requiring multivariable calculus.

I recently read "Immune!" by Phillip Detmer about the human immune system. Is there anything at a similar level to that that you would recommend?

Re: Ask HN: Best Layman's Book on Electricity

#2
Reading sucks; check out "The Mechanical Universe" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtMmeAjQTXc&list=PL8_xPU5epJ...

Basics of electricity start here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyMmRRIB5yw

It glosses briefly over the mathematical parts with advanced-for-the-time animations that may or may not be instructive.

Re: Ask HN: Best Layman's Book on Electricity

#4
For small scale circuits, I like Scherz's "Practical Electronics for Inventors". For a good high level overview of the grid, along with other civil engineering topics, Grady Hillhouse's "Engineering in Plain Sight" is good. Hillhouse's videos pop up on HN occasionally (e.g., https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34472122)

Re: Ask HN: Best Layman's Book on Electricity

#5
You might start with something like [1] which is a 63 "slide" | page introductory overview to a first year engineering (common core) electrical fundementals course (the linked version is from Oregon State niversity in the USofA but looks similar to courses elsewhere).

It's not the course handbook (there are many) and doesn't have any heavy math (aside from a few descriptive relationships) but it does a helicopter overview of the concepts that would be covered in a course that is fundemental to both electrical (grid | household | industrial) and electronic (circuits, sensors, computers) engineering.

If you skim through that you'll have an idea of what interests you and what to further ask about.

[1] https://web.engr.oregonstate.edu/~webbky/ENGR201_files/SECTI...

Re: Ask HN: Best Layman's Book on Electricity

#7
Look around for an older edition of the ARRL Handbook (no need to spend a lot on a newer copy, based on what you're asking.)

Once you are more comfortable with the basics, the usual next recommendation is Horowitz & Hill's Art of Electronics. For that, you do want the newest edition. This ia an incredible book but it will be far too much to deal with at first, so I'd strongly suggest starting with the ARRL Handbook.

Re: Ask HN: Best Layman's Book on Electricity

#10

Look around for an older edition of the ARRL Handbook (no need to spend a lot on a newer copy, based on what you're asking.) Once you are more comfortable with the basics, the usual next recommendation is Horowitz & Hill's Art of Electronics . For that, you do want the newest edition. This ia an incredible book but it will be far too much to deal with at first, so I'd strongly suggest starting with the ARRL Handbook.

Art of Electronics and the accompanying lab manual are hands down the best electronics books I've read. Yes, definitely have the very fundamentals down - the equivalent of a day's reading on the fundamentals should be more than enough IMO.
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