Electronics From Scratch is Easy: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 20:25, 19 April 2019

Workshop: Electronics From Scratch is Easy - a Nottingham Hackspace geek's introduction to electronics and why you can do it!

Duration: could be done in 2hrs.

Many a geek has come to electronics late and thinks that there's just a bit that he/she doesn't get. The subject appears "hard". Why isn't it straightforward like software? Well, the good news is that it IS straightforward and all that is needed is a particular way of looking at things.

This stuff just works but why? An inquisitive mind.

Electromagnetic phenomena
- WTF is electricity? I mean, seriously, WTF is electricity? !!!!!
why the correct words are important
- a common understanding
- common misunderstandings

Let's look at the "stuff"

electrical charge - electrons!
static electricity - making it, storing it, using it!
experimental science
a galvanometer!
real world analogies - some good, some bad, but most "good enough"!
- water
- air
- stone
- movement and potential
current - the "flow" of electrons
conductivity
electrical potential and voltage

The physics and mathematics of electromagnetic flux with Lorentz and Maxwell's equations (and why you can immediately forget this!)

maths: too abstract?
- Euclidean/Greek viewpoint (a love of mathematics and the equations) vs. Babylonian viewpoint (a love of physics and the concepts)
Lumped Matter Discipline
- moving from the realm of maths and physics to the realm of hands-on engineering
- we use components!
- Open the black box - take a look - close it forever!
- as long as we treat these things nicely, everything will work!
- play, fail, try again!
- hold on, this is taking too long -- back to the drawing board: we can do it with maths!

 Only after I've attained a visual and gut-level understanding of something, 
 only then is the math useful to me for refining it and adding all the details. 
 However, for me the math alone is not a genuine explanation. 
 Math is just a tool or a recipe, a crutch for those who want nothing 
 except the final numerical result, and it certainly does not confer expert knowledge.

William Beaty (1995) http://amasci.com/ele-edu.html

Components

resistance to current flow - resistors
storage of charge - capacitors
other forms of impedance and inductance (conversely, reactance!)
silicon semiconductors - a diode!
valves
bipolar transistors
building neat things
logic circuits
bigger and bigger systems
ICs
microcontrollers/SOCs/computers
ferrite core memory
supercomputers!
?????
world domination!

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 Workshop: Electronics From Scratch is Easy - a Nottingham Hackspace geek's introduction to electronics and why you can do it!
+Duration: could be done in 2hrs.
 Many a geek has come to electronics late and thinks that there's just a bit that he/she doesn't get. The subject appears "hard". Why isn't it straightforward like software? Well, the good news is that it ''IS'' straightforward and all that is needed is a particular way of looking at things.
@@ Line 6: / Line 8: @@
 * Electromagnetic phenomena
+** WTF is electricity? I mean, seriously, WTF is electricity? !!!!!
+* why the correct words are important
+** a common understanding
+** common misunderstandings
+Let's look at the "stuff"
 * electrical charge - electrons!
 * static electricity - making it, storing it, using it!
+* experimental science
 * a galvanometer!
-* current - the flow of electrons
+* real world analogies - some good, some bad, but most "good enough"!
+** water
+** air
+** stone
+** movement and potential
+* current - the "flow" of electrons
 * conductivity
 * electrical potential and voltage
@@ Line 15: / Line 29: @@
 The physics and mathematics of electromagnetic flux with Lorentz and Maxwell's equations (and why you can immediately forget this!)
+* maths: too abstract?
+** Euclidean/Greek viewpoint (a love of mathematics and the equations) vs. Babylonian viewpoint (a love of physics and the concepts)
 * Lumped Matter Discipline
+** moving from the realm of maths and physics to the realm of hands-on engineering
 ** we use components!
 ** Open the black box - take a look - close it forever!
 ** as long as we treat these things nicely, everything will work!
 ** play, fail, try again!
+** hold on, this is taking too long -- back to the drawing board: we can do it with maths!
+  Only after I've attained a visual and gut-level understanding of something,
+  only then is the math useful to me for refining it and adding all the details.
+  However, for me the math alone is not a genuine explanation.
+  Math is just a tool or a recipe, a crutch for those who want nothing
+  except the final numerical result, and it certainly does not confer expert knowledge.
+William Beaty (1995) http://amasci.com/ele-edu.html
+Components
 * resistance to current flow - resistors
 * storage of charge - capacitors
@@ Line 35: / Line 63: @@
 * ?????
 * world domination!
+[[Category:Events (past)]]
+[[Category:Electronics]]

Electronics From Scratch is Easy: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 20:25, 19 April 2019

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