131–140 of 184 posts
The difference is like being physicist and mechanic. Do you want to be physicist and understand electricity as a phenomena or do you want to be an engineer and use it for something useful. Believe me, there is less overlap than you think.
One good resource I have found is series of articles on http://amasci.com/ele-edu.html which mixes a little bit of both worlds.
Have fun!
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The Art of Electronics is also fantastic
I respectfully disagree with this comment. I banged my head against The Art of Electronics for years before discovering that the problem wasn't with me... but rather, it was just a very poor book for a learner. It may be a great book for those who already have some grounding in the topic.
Exactly as you said, because I have already had some exposure to physics and to kind of modular systems (I am mathematician working as a developer) this was perfect resource for me.
Different people with different backgrounds learn in different ways and from different types of resources. It is wise to understand there is no single resource that is going to be best for everybody.
I recommend the book "Make: Electronics 2nd Edition" I knew nothing before starting the book and knew enough by about halfway through to start pursuing my own projects.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I respectfully disagree with this comment. I banged my head against The Art of Electronics for years before discovering that the problem wasn't with me... but rather, it was just a very poor book for a learner. It may be a great book for those who already have some grounding in the topic.
Please, don't disparage a book because you personally did not find it useful. I, personally, found it very useful and it was my most important learning resources at the beginning. Exactly as you said, because I have already had some exposure to physics and to kind of modular systems (I am mathematician working as a developer) this was perfect resource for me. Different people with different backgrounds learn in diffe…
So you're saying they're correct that it's not a good book for a learner without some exposure to the fundamentals. But what's the disparagement you're referring to?
First, it is important to distinguish between electricity and electronics. The difference is like being physicist and mechanic. Do you want to be physicist and understand electricity as a phenomena or do you want to be an engineer and use it for something useful. Believe me, there is less overlap than you think. One good resource I have found is series of articles on http://amasci.com/ele-edu.html which mixes a littl…
The divide you're talking about exists in both electrical and electronic engineering, if they are to be considered separate disciplines: in electronic engineering you have both the solid state physics required to understand semiconductor devices, and the layers of abstraction used to design analogue circuitry; in electrical engineering you have all the theory of electromagnetism, and the layers of abstraction used to design electrical machines.
The divide you're referring to is real, but it definitely isn't the electrical/electronic divide.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Please, don't disparage a book because you personally did not find it useful. I, personally, found it very useful and it was my most important learning resources at the beginning. Exactly as you said, because I have already had some exposure to physics and to kind of modular systems (I am mathematician working as a developer) this was perfect resource for me. Different people with different backgrounds learn in diffe…
> Exactly as you said, because I have already had some exposure to physics and to kind of modular systems (I am mathematician working as a developer) this was perfect resource for me. So you're saying they're correct that it's not a good book for a learner without some exposure to the fundamentals. But what's the disparagement you're referring to?
I believe if you have never been exposed to engineering or another discipline that deals with complex systems (like designing software or mechanical systems) you have to learn to build systems from smaller components. This is where many beginners fail. Even though they can sort of understand what parts do they can't put them together because they don't think in systems. In that case you need something else than AoE.
On the other hand, if you have built complex things in another discipline you may find yourself very at home with AoE with no previous exposure to electronics. That's because you already know how to build systems from lego bricks, now you just need to learn new kinds of bricks and rules to put them together.
Hyperphysics presents a organized tree-like view of concepts, terminology and examples. It's easy to click around and start building up a mental model of how things relate: http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/hframe.html
First, it is important to distinguish between electricity and electronics. The difference is like being physicist and mechanic. Do you want to be physicist and understand electricity as a phenomena or do you want to be an engineer and use it for something useful. Believe me, there is less overlap than you think. One good resource I have found is series of articles on http://amasci.com/ele-edu.html which mixes a littl…
I'm not sure I completely agree with this: electronics refers specifically to (essentially) anything concerning the control/emission of electrons (so transistors, thermionic valves, etc.); it's not just "advanced electrical engineering". The divide you're talking about exists in both electrical and electronic engineering, if they are to be considered separate disciplines: in electronic engineering you have both the s…
Think this way: do you need to understand how a complex IC part works? No, you don't. You read the manual and learn that if you put something on particular inputs you will get something on outputs. You leave designing the internals to others. You take parts other people built and solder them to long pieces to copper glued to PCBs.
That's really most of electronics.
You need to know a little bit of physics. You need to appreciate some phenomena like losses, noises, you need to know what happens at high frequencies, maybe you want to understand how heat is conducted away from your parts, etc. You need to know couple extremely simple formulae and laws (laughably simple to any physicist interested in the matter). Other than that your parts function as tiny little lego bricks that are transfer functions to affect how your circuit works.