Engineering Concepts and Terminology Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering key technical terms, semiconductor physics, power systems, communications, and control engineering concepts from the lecture notes.

Photons

Small packets of energy emitted by the sun moving at a speed of $3 \times 10^8\,\text{meters per second}$.

Flat-Plate Collector

A simple solar collector with no moving parts that exposes a dark surface to solar radiation to absorb energy and transfer it to a fluid, operating in temperature ranges from $40^\circ\text{C}$ to $100^\circ\text{C}$.

Solar Pond

A device combining collection and energy storage that consists of a $1\,\text{m}$ to $2\,\text{m}$ deep body of water with dissolved salts (such as sodium or magnesium chloride), creating a density gradient that prevents natural convection and retains thermal energy in lower layers.

Cavitation

A fluid dynamics phenomenon characterized by the rapid formation and collapse of vapor bubbles, occurring near high-velocity rotating blade tips where local pressure drops to vapor pressure, causing severe surface erosion.

GENCO (Generator Company)

An entity in a restructured electricity market that operates and maintains generating plants to sell electrical energy through negotiated bilateral contracts or organized spot markets.

Independent System Operator (ISO)

A neutral, independent organization responsible for ensuring open-access transmission, maintaining real-time grid reliability, and managing system energy balance.

Energy Gap

The energy difference between two orbital shells (such as the valence band and conduction band) that an electron must absorb to transition to a higher state.

Intrinsic Semiconductor

A pure semiconductor material (such as silicon or germanium) whose complete valence shell structure via covalent bonding renders it a very poor conductor at room temperature.

Doping

The process of intentionally introducing impurity atoms (trivalent or pentavalent) into an intrinsic semiconductor to significantly enhance its electrical conductivity.

N-Type Material

An extrinsic semiconductor doped with pentavalent impurities (such as phosphorus or arsenic), creating excess conduction-band electrons as majority charge carriers.

P-Type Material

An extrinsic semiconductor doped with trivalent impurities (such as aluminum or boron), creating excess valence-band holes as majority charge carriers.

pn-Junction Diode

A basic two-terminal solid-state component created by joining p-type (anode) and n-type (cathode) materials, designed to conduct electrical current primarily in one direction when forward biased.

Barrier Potential

The potential difference across a pn-junction formed by positive and negative ions in the depletion layer, equal to approximately $0.7\,\text{V}$ for silicon and $0.3\,\text{V}$ for germanium at room temperature.

Bipolar Junction Transistor (BJT)

A three-terminal (emitter, base, collector) semiconductor device whose output current, voltage, or power is controlled by its base input current.

Forward Current Gain ($\beta$)

The multiplication factor relating base current ($I_B$) to collector current ($I_C$) in a transistor, represented mathematically as $I_C = \beta I_B$.

Embedded System

A specialized computing system comprising a processor, associated hardware peripherals, and software designed to perform a single dedicated task.

Handoff

The process in cellular wireless networks where a call is automatically transferred from one channel or base station to another as a mobile user crosses cell boundaries without call disruption.

Measurand

A physical or chemical quantity, property, or condition (such as target gas concentration or temperature) that is intended to be measured by a sensor.

Actuator

An active component in a mechatronic system that accepts an electrical control command and produces physical action such as force, motion, heat, or flow.

Plant

The physical dynamic system (such as a mechanical assembly or chemical process) whose response is monitored and regulated by a controller.