Electronics-Definition, Branches, Circuits, And Applications

Electronics is a branch of physics that deals with practical applications of the movement of electrons through vacuum, gas, and semiconductor devices.

What is Electronics in Physics?

The branch of applied physics describes the principles and ways by which we control the flow of electrons in circuits. The advancement of electronics during recent years has been due to the development of semi-conductors devices such as junction diodes, transistors, and integrated circuits (ICs), Invention of integrated circuits in 1969 was a step further that resulted in the development of the microprocessor in 1971.

Silicon is widely used in the electronics industry and is the basic material for integrated circuits called chips. These chips are used in analog as well as digital electronics.

Electronics has wide applications in almost every field electronic devices, microwave-oven, washing machines, cameras, digital watches, mobile and digital phones, calculators, computers, medical equipment, industrial equipment, education, research, defense, communication, etc.

It had a huge influence on the development of modern society. The field of electronics and the electron age began in 1897 with the identification of the electron and the subsequent invention of the vacuum tube.

Thermionic valves were the first active electronic components that controlled current flow by influencing the flow of individual electrons and were responsible for the electronic revolution of the first half of the twentieth century.

The early growth of electronics was rapid, and by the 1920s, commercial radio broadcasting and communications were becoming widespread and electronic amplifiers were being used in such diverse applications as long-distance telephony and the music recording industry.

Branches of Electronics

There are different Branches in electronics given below:

1. Digital Electronics
2. Analog Electronics
3. Microelectronics
4. Circuit design
5. Integrated circuits
6. Power Electronics
7. Optoelectronics
8. Semiconductor devices
9. Embedded systems
10. Audio electronics
11. Telecommunications
12. Nanoelectronics
13. Bioelectronics

Electronic Component

Any component in an electronic system that is active or passive is an electronic component. To make an electronic circuit with a particular function, components are connected together by being soldered to a printed circuit board.

Components can be packaged singly or integrated circuits in more complex groups. Capacitors, inductors, resistors, and transistors are passive electronic components, while transistors, and their derivatives, are active electronic components.

Types of Electronics Circuits

There are two types of electronic circuits.

Analog circuits

Many non-linear effects are used in analog circuits, which is why they are sometimes called linear circuits. Some of the best examples of analog circuits are vacuum tubes and transistor amplifiers.

Modern circuits are rarely entirely analog and may use digital or even microprocessor techniques to improve their performance. This type of circuit is referred to as a mixed signal.

Digital circuits

A digital circuit is an electric circuit based on a number of voltages. The basis of all digital computers is digital circuits, which are the most common physical representation of Boolean algebra. In the context of digital circuits, the terms “digital circuit”, “digital system” and “logic” are often used by engineers.

Applications of Electronics

Electronics play a major role around us in our day-to-day lives. Any time you look around, you can find at least one device that works with electricity. Electronics have become a part of our daily lives. Let us know what applications the electronics are used for.

In the automobile industry, electronics are used in everything from engine control to car-entertainment systems. In utility systems, it is used in boiler feed pumps, high-voltage DC transmission, static circuit breakers, and smart grid systems. There is an important role for electronics in the aerospace industry.

Electronics are used in many activities in the healthcare sector. Electricity is used in the Electrocardiogram (ECG), X-ray, and many other procedures. The advancement of technology can be accomplished thanks to electronics.

There is a possibility of robotic checkups due to the electronics. Air conditioners, elevators, lights, laptops, printers, fax machines, and desktops are some of the appliances that use electronics in office spaces.

The agriculture of our country is dependent on electricity for watering crops, and it is also used for remote monitoring of crops.

The internet is a concept that has changed the world, electricity is the key to internet operation. Electricity is needed to transfer data from a server to the computers and from computers to the server.

Food can be stored in temperature-controlled storage with the use of electronics. Entertainment is one of the sectors that are dependent on electricity.

Projector screens, televisions, radios, cameras, mp3 or mp4 portable players, smartphones, and iPods all use electricity to operate. 3D and 2D images are developed with electronic media in the image processing field.

Disadvantages of Electronics

Electronic circuits that generate heat must be cooled, otherwise, they will fail immediately and cause poor reliability. To reduce heat dissipation it’s usually done by passive conduction or convection.

Heat sinks and fans for air cooling, and other types of computer cooling such as water cooling.   An unwanted interference on a useful signal that obscures its information content is known as electronic noise.

Signal distortions caused by circuits and noise are completely different things. Sound as well as light is generated by electricity. The noise is caused by the interference caused by the electrical current.

The operating temperature of the circuit could be lowered to reduce this. Shot noise is a type of noise that can’t be removed because of limitations in physical properties.

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