Electronics And Gadgets

Electronics is the field of science, engineering, and technology that deals with electrical circuits, such as active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes, integrated circuits, and related passive interconnect technologies. The nonlinear behavior of active components and their ability to control the flow of electrons enable the amplification of weak signals and are commonly used in information and signal processing. Similarly, the ability of electronic devices to act as switches enables digital information processing. Interconnect technologies such as printed circuit boards, electronic packaging technologies, and various other forms of communication infrastructure complete the functionality of circuits and transform mixed components into functioning systems.

Gadgets are small technological objects that have specific functionality but are often considered novel. At the time of their invention, gadgets were always considered more unusual or sophisticated than ordinary technological objects. Gadgets are sometimes called gizmos.

Electronics also include wires, motors, generators, batteries, switches, relays, transformers, resistors, and other passive components. This distinction began around 1906 with the invention of the triode by Lee de Forest. Triodes allowed the electrical amplification of weak radio and audio signals using non-mechanical devices. Until 1950, this field was called radio engineering because it applied primarily to the design and theory of radio transmitters, receivers, and vacuum tubes. Currently, most electronic devices use semiconductor components for electronic control. Although the study of semiconductor devices and related technologies is considered a field of solid-state physics, the design and construction of electronic circuits to solve practical problems is part of electrical engineering. This article focuses on the technical aspects of electronics.

An electronic component is a physical unit within an electronic system that influences electronic or associated fields in a desired manner consistent with the intended functionality of the electronic system. Components are generally intended to be connected together, usually by soldering, on a printed circuit board (PCB) to create an electronic circuit with a specific function (such as an amplifier, radio receiver, or oscillator). Components can be packaged individually or in more complex groups as integrated circuits. Common electronic components include capacitors, inductors, resistors, diodes, and transistors. Components are often classified as active (such as transistors and thyristors) or passive (such as resistors and capacitors). Most analog electronic devices, such as radio receivers, are constructed from a combination of several basic circuit types. Analog circuits use continuous voltage ranges rather than discrete levels like digital circuits. The number of different analog circuits developed to date is enormous. The main reason is that a circuit can be defined as anything from a single component to a system containing thousands of components. Although analog circuits are sometimes referred to as linear circuits, many nonlinear effects are used in analog circuits, such as mixers and modulators. Good examples of analog circuits include vacuum tube and transistor amplifiers, operational amplifiers, and oscillators.

It's rare to find modern circuits that are completely analog. Today, analog circuits may utilize digital and microprocessor technology to improve their performance. This type of circuit is commonly referred to as a mixed signal rather than an analog or digital one. It can be difficult to distinguish between analog and digital circuits because they have elements of both linear and nonlinear behavior. An example is a comparator, which, like a digital circuit, takes in a continuous range of voltages but outputs only one of two levels. Similarly, an overdriven transistor amplifier can essentially take on the characteristics of a controlled switch with two output levels.

Digital circuits are electrical circuits that rely on multiple discrete voltage levels. Digital circuits are the most common physical representation of Boolean algebra and are the basis of all digital computers. For most engineers, the terms digital circuit, digital system, and logic are used interchangeably in the context of digital circuits. Most digital circuits use a binary system with two voltage levels labeled 0 and 1. Logic 0 is often a lower voltage and is referred to as low, and logic 1 is referred to as high. However, some systems use the opposite definition (0 is high) or are current-based. Ternary logic (three states) was studied, and several prototype computers were built. Computers, electronic clocks, and programmable logic controllers are made up of digital circuits. Another example is a digital signal processor.

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