Introduction to Electronics

Introduction to Electronics

In this course we would be having an in-depth tour into the world of Electronics. In this course we would be learning about:

• Basic concept of Electronics
• Electronics Components
• Electronics Circuit
• Semiconductor Devices
• Electronic Sensors
• Operational Amplifiers
• Oscillators ant Timers
• Voltage Regulators and Power Supplies
• Digital Electronics

We are also going to be Building and Designing a lot of DIY Electronics Projects.

NOTE: The Above lectures will be covered in Separate articles /posts. In this article we would be considering "Introduction to Electronics".

What is Electronics?

This is the study of the flow of electrons in electric circuits, it is the branch of physics and technology concerned with the design of circuits using transistors and microchips, and with the behavior and movement of electrons in a semiconductor, conductor, vacuum, or gas.

Introduction:

Electronics has generally been the prime driver of the digital space we find ourselves in. Even though the field of electronics has evolved over time from just just involving only hardware circuit to incorporating a programmable computer embedded into it. Having a background understanding of the fundamentals of electronics remains of utmost necessity and so even if you want to jump into other aspects of using programmable computers such as microcontrollers or microcomputers to implement one's circuit, we would still need a good knowledge of the concept of pure electronics.

Perhaps the most common predicament newcomers face when learning electronics is figuring out exactly what it is they must learn. What topics are worth covering, and in which general order should they be covered? , This course will do justice to that.

A starting point is to learn :

• The theory of electronics - This involves learning about voltage, current, resistance, capacitance, inductance, and various laws and theorems that help predict the size and direction of voltages and currents within circuits. As you learn the basic theory, you will be introduced to basic passive components such as resistors, capacitors, inductors, and transformers.
•  Discrete passive circuits -  Discrete passive circuits include current-limiting networks, voltage dividers, filter circuits, attenuators, and so on. These simple circuits, by themselves, are not very interesting, but they are vital ingredients in more complex circuits.
• Discrete active devices -  which are built from semiconductor materials. These devices consist mainly of diodes (one-way current-flow gates) and transistors (electrically controlled switches/amplifiers).
• discrete active/ passive circuits - . Some of these circuits include rectifiers (ac-to-dc converters), amplifiers, oscillators, modulators, mixers, and voltage regulators. This is where things start getting interesting.
• various input/output (I/O) devices (transducers). -  Input devices (sensors) convert physical signals, such as sound, light, and pressure, into electrical signals that circuits can use. These devices include microphones, phototransistors, switches, keyboards, thermistors, strain gauges, generators, and antennas. Output devices convert electrical signals into physical signals. Output devices include lamps, LED and LCD displays, speakers, buzzers, motors (dc, servo, and stepper), solenoids, and antennas. These I/O devices allow humans and circuits to communicate with one another.
• Digital electronics - Digital circuits work with only two voltage states: high (such as 5 V) or low (such as 0 V). The reason for having only two voltage states has to do with the ease of processing data (numbers, symbols, and control information) and storage. The process of encoding information into signals that digital circuits can use involves combining bits (1s and 0s, equivalent to high and low voltages) into discrete-meaning “words.” The designer dictates what these words will mean to a specific circuit. Unlike analog electronics, digital electronics uses a whole new set of components, which at the heart are all integrated in form.
• Specialized ICs - are used in digital electronics. Some of these ICs are designed to perform logical operations on input information; others are designed to count; while still others are designed to store information that can be retrieved later on. Digital ICs include logic gates, flip-flops, shift registers, counters, memories, processors, and so on. Digital circuits are what give electrical gadgets “brains.” In order for digital circuits to interact with analog circuits, special analog-to-digital (A/D) conversion circuits are needed to convert analog signals into strings of 1s and 0s. Likewise, digital-to-analog conversion circuits are used to convert strings of 1s and 0s into analog signals. 

With an understanding of the principals behind digital electronics, we are free to explore the world of microcontrollers. These are programmable digital electronics that can read values from sensors and control output devices using the I/O pins, all on a single IC controlled by a little program. And mixed in among all this is the practical side of electronics. This involves learning to read schematic diagrams, constructing circuit prototypes using breadboards, testing prototypes (using multimeters, oscilloscopes, and logic probes), revising prototypes (if needed), and constructing final circuits using various tools and special circuit boards

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Basic concept of Electronics