Electric & Electronic E-mail

Do you know the difference between electric and electronic? Fans, drills, heaters are electrics whereas TV set, computer, Automatic Teller Machines are electronics. So what is the difference?


Any component that works with electricity is electric, including both flashlights and electric drills, but not all electric components are electronic. The term electronic refers to semiconductor devices known as electron devices. These devices depend on the flow of electrons for operation.

Image
Electric circuits are connections of conductive wires and other devices whereby the uniform flow of electrons occurs. Electronic circuits add a new dimension to electric circuits in that some means of control is exerted over the flow of electrons by another electrical signal, either a voltage or a current. In and of itself, the control of electron flow is nothing new to the student of electric circuits.

Switches control the flow of electrons, as do potentiometers, especially when connected as variable resistors (rheostats). Neither the switch nor the potentiometer should be new to your experience by this point in your study. The threshold marking the transition from electric to electronic, then, is determined by how the flow of electrons is controlled rather than whether or not any form of control exists in a circuit. Switches and rheostats control the flow of electrons according to the positioning of a mechanical device, which is actuated by some physical force external to the circuit. In electronics, however, we are dealing with special devices able to control the flow of electrons according to another flow of electrons, or by the application of a static voltage. In other words, in an electronic circuit, electricity is able to control electricity.



 
< Prev