Chapter 1-7 Energy and Engineering Concepts (Vocabulary)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms from the lecture notes on energy, power, solar energy, and integrated design in electrical and computer engineering.

Voltage

Potential difference that drives electric current; the energy difference between two points; unit: volt.

Current

Flow rate of electric charge; electrons per second; analogy: water flowing in a pipe; unit: ampere.

Power

Rate of energy transfer; product of voltage and current (P = V × I); unit: watt.

Energy

Capacity to do work; in this context, measured in joules; energy = power × time; billed as kilowatt-hours.

Kilowatt-hour

Unit of energy equal to 1 kilowatt of power used for 1 hour; common electricity billing unit.

Joule

SI unit of energy; 1 joule is the energy transferred when applying 1 newton over 1 meter.

Watt

SI unit of power; 1 joule per second.

Terawatt-hour

Unit of energy equal to 10^12 watt-hours; used to quantify large-scale energy consumption.

Resistance

Property relating voltage and current; part of the relation among V, I, and R; topic to be discussed next.

Ohm's Law

Relationship among voltage, current, and resistance: V = I × R.

Solar energy

Energy from the sun; harvested energy using solar cells to generate electricity.

Solar cell

Device that converts solar energy into electrical current.

Photoresist

Light-sensitive material used in photolithography to pattern circuits on silicon wafers.

Silicon wafer

Substrate used to fabricate integrated circuits; base material for chips.

Photolithography

Process of using light, masks, and photoresist to pattern circuits on a wafer.

Mask

Template used in photolithography to define circuit patterns on a wafer.

Three-nanometer process

Advanced semiconductor fabrication node with feature sizes around 3 nm.

VLSI

Very Large Scale Integration; many transistors on a single chip.

DRAM

Dynamic Random Access Memory; a type of computer memory.

Fiber optic

Transmission medium that uses light through optical fibers for communication; low losses and noise.

Biomass

Renewable energy source derived from organic matter.

Coal

Fossil fuel used for energy production.

Oil

Petroleum-based fossil fuel used for energy and transportation.

Natural gas

Fossil fuel primarily methane; used for heating, electricity, and industry.

Nuclear

Energy produced from nuclear reactions; low operational greenhouse gas emissions.

LED

Light Emitting Diode; highly energy-efficient lighting option.

Fluorescent lamp (CFL)

Compact fluorescent lamp; energy-efficient lighting alternative to incandescent.

Global energy consumption by source (2019)

Overview of world energy use by source (biomass, coal, oil, natural gas, nuclear, solar) totaling around 23,000 terawatt-hours.

Efficiency

Ratio of useful output to input energy; represents how effectively energy is converted with minimal losses.

Integrated Design Project (IDP)

Software design project integrated into the curriculum; often sponsored by industry to provide real-world experience.

kilo

10^³

mega

10^6

giga

10^9

milii

10^-3

micro

10^-6

nano

10^-9